Posted on 08/28/2006 6:14:35 PM PDT by blam
Britain 'is now biggest security threat to US'
By Francis Harris in Washington
(Filed: 29/08/2006)
Britain now presents a greater security threat to the United States than Iran or Iraq, an American magazine said yesterday.
In an article on Islamists headlined "Kashmir on the Thames", the New Republic painted Britain's Muslim communities as a breeding ground for violent extremism.
Citing recent opinion poll evidence suggesting that one in four British Muslims believed that last year's London Tube bombings were justified, the magazine said: "In the wake of this month's high-profile arrests, it can now be argued that the biggest threat to US security emanates not from Iran or Iraq or Afghanistan, but rather from Great Britain, our closest ally."
The magazine, with a circulation of 60,000-a-week, has its roots on the Democratic Left although in recent years it has backed much of President George W Bush's foreign policy. The claim is the latest in a series of hostile reassessment of Britain by Americans in the wake of the alleged plot to bring down transatlantic airliners.
Many have been appalled both by the existence of enthusiastic jihadis in British cities and by the call from some of their leaders for a change in the country's foreign policy.
Other publications and the think-tanks that shape public debate in America have also issued stern criticism both of Britain's Muslims and of the Government. Nile Gardiner, of the Right-wing Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Telegraph yesterday that Americans were coming to view Britain as "a hornet's nest of Islamic extremists" and thought it posed ''a direct security threat to the US".
He said that if British-based terrorism continues, America is likely to respond harshly.
"A major concern would be the tightening of travel restrictions unless the authorities start to crack down on Islamist militancy," he said. More than four million Britons enter America annually using the visa waiver programme. Any change would force Britons wishing to visit the US into lengthy queues at American diplomatic missions.
Mr Gardiner said the issue had not yet acquired a head of steam in Congress, but that another plot, or a "successful" attack by British Muslims on an American target, would be likely to spur an immediate response.
Investor's Business Daily has already demanded an end to the programme because it "allows Pakistani Britons to dodge security background checks".
Much of the outraged American response this month was sparked by the call from Muslim leaders for a change in British foreign policy. The letter from six Muslim MPs and 38 community leaders said "current British Government policy risks putting civilians at increased risk both in the UK and abroad".
The theme was taken up by the Wall Street Journal, which said: "It is typical of some of Britain's so-called moderate Muslims, who seem less concerned with fighting extremists in their midst than in excusing them."
The newspaper went on to attack Tony Blair's government for "cultivating and promoting such pseudo-moderate Muslim organisations". The BBC and the Foreign Office, described as "a preserve of Arabists", were also lambasted both for quoting extremists and allowing them into Britain.
The Redcoats are coming ...with towels on their heads!
Britain over Syria, Iran or Saudi Arabia? Not buying it.
Clearly our biggest threats are farther afield than Britain.
However, I agree that there are some dangerous threats growing in the U.S., Canadian, British, etc. muslim communities.
| As you probably know, the recent violence followed the kidnapping of three Israeli soldiers, one in Gaza and two in southern Lebanon. Which of the following statements comes closer to your own view? |
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| Israel has the right to defend itself and the Israeli attacks in Gaza and the Lebanon have been an appropriate and proportionate response to the kidnappings |
17 |
| Israel has the right to defend itself but the Israeli attacks in Gaza and the Lebanon have been an inappropriate and disproportionate response |
63 |
| Neither/Don't Know |
20 |
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| Some people say the Israelis have brought the present violence on themselves by refusing to withdraw behind their original borders and by taking over Palestinian land in the West Bank. Do you think the Israelis have, to any extent, brought the present violence on themselves? |
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| Yes, there would be fewer attacks and a real chance for peace if Israel withdrew behind its original borders |
40 |
| No, the opponents of Israel will always attack Israel and try to destroy it, no matter where its borders are |
35 |
| Don't know |
25 |
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How would you rate the American administration's performance in the current crisis? |
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Excellent |
1 |
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Good |
4 |
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Fair |
18 |
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Poor |
32 |
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Very Poor |
27 |
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Don't Know |
18 |
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Which of the following statements comes closer to your own view? |
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Tony Blair in the current crisis gives the impression of making up his own mind and taking his own line |
15 |
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Tony Blair in the current crisis gives the impression of siding with the Americans, whatever the Americans say |
64 |
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Don't know |
21 |
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I agree. We need to keep a close eye on the home grown variety.
ICM Research interviewed a random sample of 1,000 adults aged 18+ by telephone on 20-21st April, 2002. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults.
. . .
"Q3. In the dispute in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians, from what you have seen and heard about the conflict which of the two do you sympathise with more, Israel or the Palestinians?"
Israel 14%
Palestine 28%
Both 14%
Neither 23%
Don't know 20%
...historical background info on Britain's relationships with Arab countries.
British Mandate for Palestine (WW I to 1948)
http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_mandate.php
Oh spare me. The NY Times [MSM] and the Democrat Party are the biggest security threat to the US. They are doing their best to destroy us from within.
BBC continues to spew antiAmerican hatred.
Know what you're saying, but how easy would it be for someone to get here from Syria? We treat travel to and from the British Isles like it was flying from NY to Arizona. Britain has been the most hospitable European nation to Islam. Maybe it's guilt over the Empire thing, but the Brits have leaned way more over than france, Sweden, Germany etc in welcoming Muslims and putting up with the craziest of them. Couple that attitude with the UK's easy acess to both Canada, the Bahamas, as well as the US and this article is not far from spot on.
Whats a bigger threat? The crazy guy over the other side of town or the nut-job standing in front of you with a gun pointed at your head.
1.6 Million Islamic Jihadists in London can book a ticket tommorow morning and be in New York City by the afternoon with no security check or Visa.
Muslim agenda....same as any enemy.
Divide and conquer.
You're right. The more you watch it, the more you realize the BBC is merely the "Live" version of the Koran.
The more welfare benefits you give this scum, the more venom they have for the west!
Really? Our President has stated over and over again how Islam is a religion of Peace. This is one of the reasons that I have felt "lied to" by this administration. The other is that illegals are doing the jobs Americans won't do.
Nothing new there, been that way for decades.
"A major concern would be the tightening of travel restrictions unless the authorities start to crack down on Islamist militancy," he said. More than four million Britons enter America annually using the visa waiver programme. "
I think the difference is that a Jihadi in Syria, Iran or Saudi Arabia would not be able to come to the US as easily. Can they come? Heck yeah, but it is not automatic. Compare this with the fact that a British citizen (and all muslims who have committed terror acts in Britain have been British citizens, most if not all born and bred there) can simply get on a US-borne flight TODAY and simply jump the pond. Wouldn't even have to get a visa. The title didn't say that Britain was an enemy to the US, just that it was a substantial security threat. And in that vein it is true due to the number of citizens of the crown who also happen to be scions of radical Islam, and who can be in the US in the time it takes a plane to get here.
Yup. And by doing nothing, we are condoning the continuation of this situation.
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