MI5 head warns of liberties trade-off to fight terror

[Briar]

MI5 head warns of liberties trade-off to fight terror

Richard Norton-Taylor

The head of MI5, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, has publicly warned that civil liberties may have to be eroded to prevent future terrorist attacks in Britain.

Dame Eliza's decision to disclose her comments - first made at a private gathering in the Netherlands - is significant, given that she touches on a controversial issue at the heart of the government's political agenda.

Dame Eliza said she recognised rights had been hard fought for. "But the world has changed and there needs to be a debate on whether some erosion of what we all value may be necessary to improve the chances of our citizens not being blown apart as they go about their daily lives."

...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,12780,1566877,00.html

[non sociopath skin]

1. Don't think spooks have ever really been keen on liberty ...

... it gets in the way of good paranoia.

The Skin

[Briar]

2. Paranoia

seems essential to the maintenance of authority in modern states. Scare the citizenry into compliance!

[lockdown]

3. Sick of these "world has changed" fascists

To improve the chances of "our citizens not being blown apart", lets pass ever more repressive and unjust laws that diminish our democracy and build more resentment and extreme sentiment among disenfranchised communities, while continuing to lend justification and popular support to the violent idealogues who foment extreme sentiment and reaction through our murderous actions in Iraq and elsewhere. Either they are stupid or lying or both.

The only way to combat terrorism is to address the injustices that feed it. Repression and bombs don't work. Obviously. Hardcore violent radicals will always exist, but without a real cause to latch onto and the popular support that provides they are nothing, they are powerless. Obviously. All so obvious it's cliched, at least I always thought it was, but now the "world has changed" it'll probably be thoughtcrime soon.