Britain’s counter-terrorism measures on top gear

A few months back British intelligence warned the government that London is a prime target for jihadist terrorists.

Not that any warning was really necessary. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US and Britain's involvement in the invasion of Iraq in support of President Bush's neo-conservative driven policy to impose American will on the world, it was clear that Prime Minister Tony Blair had made his country extremely vulnerable to terrorist attack.

What most people did not suspect and so did not expect was that the attacks would come from those within and not without the country. They were all inside and not foreign imports, though perhaps foreign trained.

Not that the British public was unaccustomed to terrorist attacks from within. The Irish Republican Army had used terror bombings in London as part of its arsenal in fighting for its political cause.

But there is an essential difference between the IRA terrorism of the past and that of the jihadists. The IRA had vowed to cede from Britain and leave Northern Ireland to chart its future course as part of the Irish Republic or as an independent entity.

Yet the young Muslims responsible for the terror that came to London on 7/7 last year and the subsequent plots allegedly uncovered by intelligence had no pretensions of secession. Their cause appeared to be one born of anger and vengeance for the acts of western nations — particularly the US and the UK — against Islamic nations and Islam itself.

Some say this was only the superficial reason for cumulative grievances harboured by Muslims born and bred in the UK. They have turned against the country of their birth or adoption influenced largely by radical Islamic clerics preaching against infidels and extolling martyrdom.

The growing concerns about the radicalisation of local Muslims and their recruitment from universities and mosques for indoctrination and terrorist activities reached its high point four months ago with the uncovering of alleged plots to blow up several aircraft bound from the UK to the United States, the two western states most hated by jihadists for perceived anti-Islamic policies.

Tight security measures were introduced at airports and other steps were taken in London and elsewhere to prevent any terrorist attacks of the nature that killed almost 50 persons in July last year.

Even now announcements are made regularly at tube stations asking the public to report on unattended packages or ones that rouse suspicion.

With the Christmas shopping rush on in London, anti-terrorist forces are on alert for possible attacks.

The alleged plots to blow up civilian aircraft bound for the United States uncovered last August prompted Prime Minister Tony Blair to ask his Home Secretary John Reid to review the country's anti-terrorist capacity.

The two had agreed that a "radical step change" was necessary to bring about a co-ordinated strategy to deal with terrorism.

Dr Reid told the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee last week that he had completed his study and presented the report to Blair who would apparently examine it over the Christmas recess and decide how to go ahead on tightening up security measures and streamlining coordination among the various security and intelligence services that deal with foreign spying and internal subversion.

"This is now a serious threat. It no longer is easily divided into foreign affairs, defence or domestic affairs. It, therefore, needs a seamless, integrated, driven, politically over-seen counter-terrorism strategy which places at its heart the recognition that above all this is a battle for ideas and values," the Home Secretary told the committee.

What the report does not do is make recommendations. It offers a series of options and one of them is the appointment of a cabinet-level minister to be in charge of the subject.

Curiously when the Conservative Party suggested in 2002 that a minister be put in charge of homeland security, Blair dismissed it as "pathetic and transparent" opportunism by the Tory opposition.

Four years on it is one of the options offered by his Home Secretary and one that Blair would have to consider seriously if political leadership is to be given to counter-terrorism measures by the several security and intelligence organisations now involved in fighting the growing menace.

With Blair expected to hand over power to his successor Chancellor Gordon Brown sometime in the first half of the new year as many expect, then there would need to be continuity in the counter-terrorism strategy.

This would mean bringing Gordon Brown into the loop. If so, would Brown agree to have a cabinet level minister in charge of counter-terrorism or would he prefer another minister in the Home Office to deal with the subject?

The creation of a separate department headed by a cabinet minister dealing with security is seen by some as having obvious merit. Since John Reid has already said that what is required is a seamless organisational structure, a separate department would bridge any existing gaps between the Home Office, the Foreign Office, Defence Ministry, MI5, MI6 and the Metropolitan Police.

The need for streamlining the institutions gains currency because the nature of the threat has changed radically while some of the organisational structures have remained basically the same since they were first set up some 200 years ago. For instance the Special Irish Branch of the Metropolitan Police was established to counter bombings in the 1880s.

The historical mandate of MI5 and MI6 was to counter domestic subversion and foreign spying. But today they have quite a different job which is counter terrorism that includes infiltrating radical groups suspected of harbouring terrorist intentions or al-Qaeda cells or those of other perceived terrorist groups.

It is also more than that. It means winning the hearts and minds of minority communities that are most vulnerable to fundamentalist preaching and entertain grievances over perceived discrimination.

While the current concentration is on Muslim groups, it is known that the counter- terrorism units are taking a closer look now at organisations such as the LTTE and its activities because of the strong possibility of links between various organisations deemed as foreign terrorist groups.

By early next year it should be known what direction the new counter-terrorism strategy would take and how they would operate. The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre that combines the available expertise of the various intelligence services is located at MI5 headquarters at Thames House.

Will this arrangement continue or will there be a new Whitehall department that will bring all this expertise and information gathering under its wing?

We would just have to wait and see what shape and form the reorganisation would take.