the war on terrorism comes to the UK

This is as close to a declaration of war against an internal enemy as you’re likely to hear from a Western government in 2006, but it was made in Britain on November 9 by Eliza Manningham-Buller, Director-General of MI5, and repeated by Prime Minister Tony Blair, who agree that “the threat to the UK from Al-Qaida-related terrorism [is] ‘real, here, deadly and enduring” and that it will be with Britain for a generation.

Manningham-Buller:

I have been Director General of the Security Service/M15 since 2002. Before that I was Deputy Director General for five years. During that time, and before, I have witnessed a steady increase in the terrorist threat to the UK. It has been the subject of much comment and controversy. I rarely speak in public. I prefer to avoid the limelight and get on with my job. But today, I want to set out my views on:

* the realities of the terrorist threat facing the UK in 2006;
* what motivates those who pose that threat
* and what my Service is doing, with others, to counter it.

Among the many terrifyingly fascinating things she discusses in this extraordinary presentation are the limits of of intelligence work and the role of judgment in deciding when to act against those who are planning attacks. (I note this because the measures taken by the British government—and other Western governments down the road—are sure to become controversial over time as the terrorist threat continues to manifest itself, and it will be the subject of hysterical debate and legal wranging.) [emphasis added]:

intelligence is usually bitty and needs piecing together, assessing, judging. It takes objectivity, integrity and a sceptical eye to make good use of intelligence: even the best of it never tells the whole story. On the basis of such incomplete information, my Service and the police make decisions on when and how to take action, to protect public safety. Wherever possible we seek to collect evidence sufficient to secure prosecutions, but it is not always possible to do so: admissible evidence is not always available and the courts, rightly, look for a high standard of certainty. Often to protect public safety the police need to disrupt plots on the basis of intelligence but before evidence sufficient to bring criminal charges has been collected. Moreover we are faced by acute and very difficult choices of prioritisation. We cannot focus on everything so we have to decide on a daily basis with the police and others where to focus our energies, whom to follow, whose telephone lines need listening to, which seized media needs to go to the top of the analytic pile. Because of the sheer scale of what we face (80% increase in casework since January), the task is daunting. We won’t always make the right choices. And we recognise we shall have scarce sympathy if we are unable to prevent one of our targets committing an atrocity.

Blair:

Tony Blair has given his backing to the head of MI5 for her unprecedented public warning about the scale of the terrorist challenge facing UK security agencies….

“This is a threat that has grown up over a generation. I think she (Dame Eliza) is absolutely right in saying that it will last a generation.”

Speaking at No 10 Downing Street after a meeting with Helen Clark, his New Zealand counterpart, Mr Blair described terror as a global problem that should be tackled both by tougher laws and by countering the propaganda of those who “warp and pervert” the minds of young people.

“The values that we have and hold dear in this country - that are about democracy, tolerance, liberty and respect for people of other faiths - are the values that will defeat those values of hatred and division and sectarianism,” he said.

“It’s a very long and deep struggle this, here and right round the world, but we’ve got to stand up and be counted for what we believe in.”

I urge you to follow the links and to read both pieces. If you are pressed for time and have to choose, read the text of the presentation delivered by Manningham-Buller. I have never read anything quite like it in my life.

An addendum: Britain’s homegrown terrorism problem briefly came to the fore rather spectacularly in mid-August and then faded just as quickly amid accusations here at home that the dangers had been “hyped” in order to influence the American public in the run-up to the midterms. In September British journalist Katty Kay mentioned Britons’ fears that they are on the front line of the war on terrorism (I talked about it here).

I mention this stunning report because it is being overlooked—as is so much of reality that takes place beyond our shores—by the American punditocracy, not to mention the public.