There is no war on terror' (UKGuardian)

[katty]

excerpt: http://politics.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0%2C%2C1997247%2C00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=1

'There is no war on terror'

Outspoken DPP (Sir Ken Macdonald) takes on Blair and Reid over fear-driven legal response to threat

Clare Dyer, legal editor
Wednesday January 24, 2007
The Guardian

But he said: "It is critical that we understand that this new form of terrorism carries another more subtle, perhaps equally pernicious, risk. Because it might encourage a fear-driven and inappropriate response. By that I mean it can tempt us to abandon our values. I think it important to understand that this is one of its primary purposes."

Sir Ken pointed to the rhetoric around the "war on terror" - which has been adopted by Tony Blair and ministers after being coined by George Bush - to illustrate the risks.

He said: "London is not a battlefield. Those innocents who were murdered on July 7 2005 were not victims of war. And the men who killed them were not, as in their vanity they claimed on their ludicrous videos, 'soldiers'. They were deluded, narcissistic inadequates. They were criminals. They were fantasists. We need to be very clear about this. On the streets of London, there is no such thing as a 'war on terror', just as there can be no such thing as a 'war on drugs'.

"The fight against terrorism on the streets of Britain is not a war. It is the prevention of crime, the enforcement of our laws and the winning of justice for those damaged by their infringement."

[partylessinOhio]

1. Very clear assessment! Thank you for posting it.

I have no fear of terrorists. We are in danger from the "terrorist" in our midst.

[ms liberty]

2. Hear, hear! K&R n/t