Europeans See the UK as an Outstanding but Wholly Incapable Centre of Counter-Terrorism
By Ronald Sandee
24
September 2020
Europeans
see the UK as an outstanding centre of counter-terrorism — but one that is
wholly incapable of counter-extremism. Britain has a world-class security and
counter-terrorism apparatus. MI5, MI6, the police, military and GCHQ together
have unrivalled capabilities when it comes to disrupting domestic and
international terror plots (at least 25 in the last three years alone). The
country is seen as a cornerstone of shared European security, working
harmoniously with allies to combat the evolving terror threat, share new
tactics, intelligence and technologies. Yet until the United Kingdom is able to
take decisive action against extremist ideology, Britain's streets will once
again see bloodshed.
Counter
terrorism officers on patrol following the London Bridge terrorist attack
(Getty images)
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Counter-terrorism
alone cannot stop every threat. In the UK, up to 3,000 volatile terrorist
suspects are actively monitored at any one time. There are 40,000 extremist
sympathisers on MI5’s watch list. To follow an individual on a 24/7 basis
requires 10 to 12 officers, so to monitor 3,000 of the most dangerous
individuals requires huge amounts of resources. It’s perhaps why Manchester
bomber Salman Abedi was not proactively surveilled, despite MI5 receiving
intelligence months prior to the bombing. Difficult decisions have to be made
about who to follow, while many volatile people dip in and out of extremist
ideology.
Countering
terrorism is like placing a bucket below a leaking roof when we only have so
many buckets. You need to fix the roof and that means getting up into the
rafters to fix the broken structure. But the UK has no strategy. Its current
counter-extremism strategy was adopted five years ago; it's now obsolete in the
face of an evolved enemy.
Worse
still, there is a dearth of leadership across the UK. This has led to a lack of
clarity and consensus on the use of language. Take, for instance, what happened
earlier this month, when the Manchester arena bombing inquiry heard claims that
Abedi had been seen 'praying' near the arena just 50 minutes before he carried
out his attack. When this was reported, some were unhappy with what they saw as
the dangerous idea that Abedi’s act of praying was an indicator of what he was
about to do.
Or how
about reports that police could review the use of the term ‘Islamist terrorism’
when describing terror attacks carried out by those who claim to be motivated
by Islam? What's the alternative? Describing such acts as 'terrorists abusing
religious motivations'. This would be a major win for Islamists, and show the
treacherous path that we have seen the UK veer towards.
Islamism
is, after all, a political ideology — it is the engine room that powers the
greatest terror threat facing the west. It is the mantra that guides Isis,
Hamas, Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. Its aim is to achieve an Islamic
state, either through armed struggle or political action. If you choose not to
see this ideology, you are unable to recognise its threat.
And it’s
easy to understand why the UK has become so blind. Islamists like the Muslim Brotherhood
have worked hard to insert themselves into UK politics, particularly in the
progressive left, co-opting the Palestinian cause for their own ends.
Britain
should learn from the Netherlands — my home country — and France and Germany
where we have mobilised formidable Muslim leaders to debate and challenge
Islamism in public. In the UK, the debate is undermined. The UK desperately
needs new, powerful counter voices.
In the
Netherlands, a parliamentary commission is looking at developing a transparency
law that would make it mandatory to declare where the money for religious
institutions is coming from. The Dutch government may even ban foreign funding
of religious institutions altogether.
While
extremists exploit gaps in UK law to push their agendas, we in Europe take a
more pragmatic approach. In France, the government has adopted an 'Al Capone
strategy' — targeting members for low-level offences to dismantle Islamist
groups from the bottom up. These are brave choices but behaviour that
undermines the authority of nation states must be challenged.
We are only
as strong as our weakest link. For the sake of our shared European security,
the UK must take brave and decisive action to confront violent extremism in all
its forms.
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Ron Sandee is a former senior counter-terrorism
official at the Dutch Military Intelligence Service (MIVD) and global terrorism
expert
Original Headline: Britain is the weak link in Europe’s
counter-extremism network
Source: The Spectator
URL: https://newageislam.com/radical-islamism-jihad/europeans-see-uk-outstanding-wholly/d/122941
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