Part One can be found here.
.... 8. Why Americans Must Reject British Tactics of 'Counter-Radicalization' and Denial on Islamic Supremacism
In April 2007, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff told the Daily Telegraph that he feared that the next 9/11 would come from British Jihadists. What has changed?
America has faced threats of mass-casualty terrorist attacks from British Jihadists repeatedly: the British shoe-bomber Richard Reid who attended London's Finsbury Mosque where British cleric Abu Hamza preached, the British Jihadist Dhiren Barot who hoped to attack America before the 9/11 bombers and who adopted Islam based on talks with British cleric Abu Hamza, and the August 2006 British Jihadists who sought to hijack transatlantic jets to 'punish' Americans in the name of Allah. Is it only a matter of time until British Jihadists plan another attack on America?
The United Kingdom remains as great a threat to America's national security as any other nation on Earth, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. This is because of the long history of British tolerance of Islamic supremacism in its country, allowing Jihadists to make it a base of operations for planned attacks in Israel, United States, and other nations.
Yet in 2008, few Americans are aware of the significant Islamic supremacist threat that remains in the United Kingdom. UK has remained 'under the radar' for many Americans for years. Two days after 9/11, few Americans noticed the article in the September 13, 2001 Daily Telegraph declaring that 'Britain is 'safe haven' for world terrorism,' describing some in the UK 'who will be celebrating' the 9/11 attacks, and acknowledging British Jihadists' links to al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan.
Islamic supremacists were so convinced of the British government's so-called 'covenant of security' with Islamic supremacists that Osama bin Laden sought asylum in the United Kingdom in 1995 as part of a plan to move his base of operations to the UK, while he was planning the 9/11 attacks. This 'covenant of security' is repeatedly referenced by other Islamic supremacists, and has historically been part of their claims on why UK should not be attacked prior to July 7, 2005. In January 26, 2003, the Guardian/Observer report quoted a former British Special Branch officer who stated that: 'There was a deal with these guys... We told them if you don't cause us any problems, then we won't bother you.' This 2003 article was ironically titled 'All eyes on Britain as terror war accelerates.' In fact, this has never been the case, and most Americans remain unaware of the threat that British Islamic supremacists pose to America. In September 2003, as British Islamic supremacist group al-Muhajiroun held a rally praised 9/11 attackers as the 'Magnificent 19,' again most Americans were unaware of the threat. In 2004, New Statesman author Jamie Campbell stated 'it has long been recognised by the British Islamists, by the British government and by UK intelligence agencies, that as long as Britain guarantees a degree of freedom to the likes of Hassan Butt, the terrorist strikes will continue to be planned within the borders of the UK but will not occur here.' Yet American commentators remained focused only on Iraq and Afghanistan.
In Melanie Phillips' book Londonistan, she discusses the historical 'covenant of security' between the British government and British Islamic supremacists (page 92, UK hardcover edition):
'The bargain, or 'covenant of security,' had been the dirty little secret at the heart of the British government's blind-eye policy. It had had allowed Islamist radicals free rein in London and elsewhere in Britain in a kind of unspoken 'gentlemen's agreement' that if the British authorities left them alone, they would not turn on the country that was so generously nurturing them. The British didn't care what they were up to in other countries. Abroad wasn't their concern. As long as there was no threat to Britain, the government and security establishment just didn't want to know.'
One deeply troubling aspect of the British government's inconsistent position on Jihad is the possibility that it may be seeking to re-establish such a 'covenant of security' with Islamic supremacists once again, by focusing only on al Qaeda's threats to attack UK's homeland, while tolerating Hamas and Hezbollah meetings, fund-raising, and propaganda within UK, as well as allowing hate-mongering Islamic supremacism to continue to be taught in British mosques. It should disturb Americans that high British government officials call for talks with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. It should worry Americans that the British government seeks to de-radicalize British Muslims, while it officially claims that there is no connection of Islamic supremacism to Jihad, and that the Home Office tells UK government officials that the very words 'Jihad,' 'Islamist,' are not to be used.
Furthermore, the British 'counter-radicalization' tactics of seeking to have Islamic supremacists avoid violence may, in fact, simply be tactics to discourage them from violence in the United Kingdom only. British Jihadist actions in Israel, in Somalia, in Russia, in Pakistan, in Afghanistan, and repeated attempts to attack the United States over the past several years only reinforce what should be a reasonable suspicion on the part of American analysts, policy makers, and lawmakers, regarding the UK's primary goal of 'counter-radicalization.' History has shown that the United Kingdom, not Afghanistan, not Saudi Arabia, not Pakistan, and not Iran, could have easily been the source of the most significant Jihadist attacks on American homeland, if repeated British Jihadist attempts on America had not failed. Just two years ago, British Jihadists threatened to kill many thousands of Americans in a plot to hijack multiple transatlantic jetliners in what would have likely been an attack that would have dwarfed 9/11.
Recall the words of British Jihadists (revealed in April 2008) regarding their August 2006 transatlantic airline terrorist plot involving flights headed to Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco – (excerpts from BBC, London TimesDM, LT, DT, BBC)
British Jihadist Tanvir Hussain: 'People keep on saying, you know, that we keep on targeting innocent civilians, yeah... We're not targeting innocent civilians. We're targeting economic and military targets... They're the battle grounds of today so whoever steps in these trenches, they, yeah, you haven't got us to blame...You've got to blame yourself...People are going to die. It's worth the price. For many years I dreamt of doing this but I didn't have the means. Thank God Allah accepted my duas [prayers] yeah, and provided me a means to do this... Don't mess with the Muslims... You know, I only wish I could do this again, you know come back and do this again, and just do it again and again....' (DM, BBC)
British Jihadist Arafat Waheed Khan: 'We will rain upon you such a terror and destruction that you will never feel peace and security. There will be floods of martydom operations and bombs falling through your lands... I would like to thank Allah for giving me this opportunity to bless me with this Shahada [martyrdom]...I ask Allah to help the Mujahedeen everywhere in every way.' (DM, BBC)
British Jihadist Ibrahim Savant: 'All Muslims feel the need to dust your feet in the training camps of Jihad where men are made. Cease debate and enter the battlefields seeking paradise. Mujahedeen, for years I've desired to meet you, to walk the paths you've walked, to sacrifice what you have sacrificed. Now Allah has honoured me with an invitation to his Kingdom... All Muslims take heed, remove yourself from the grasp of the Kuffar [non-believers]' (BBC, DM)
British Jihadist Waheed Zaman: 'I will pray that Allah makes us successful in our actions, may he grant us Jannah... May he raise us on the Day of Judgment to be with the prophets, martyrs and people in the right path. May Allah bless the Mujahedeen with victory upon victory wherever they may be and may he focus their aim and may he make them of the patient ones...The only solution to this current situation of the Muslims is by fighting Jihad for the sake of Allah...' (BBC, DM)
British Jihadist Umar Islam: 'This is an obligation on me as a Muslim to wage Jihad against the Kuffar [non-believers]. We are doing this in order to gain the pleasure of our Lord and Allah loves us to die and kill in his path. Anyone who tries to deny this, then read the Koran and you will not be able to deny this because this is the words in the Koran and the words of our the messenger of Allah, prayers and peace upon him...This is revenge for the acts of the USA in the Muslim lands and their accomplices, such as the British and the Jews.' (BBC, LT)
The American public only learned of the words from these British Jihadists nearly two years after the failed British Jihadist transatlantic airline plot. What else is the British government keeping secret from us on those British Jihadists who seek to kill us today?
Do these individuals sound like Islamic supremacists who would be willing to direct their energies into 'political' action? What has since improved in the United Kingdom, when the British government fears to even acknowledge that Islamic supremacism exists as an ideology?
In July 2008, Centre for Social Cohesion (CSC) released poll results stating that 32% of British Muslim youth believe that killing for their religion is acceptable (and 15% 'unsure'). In addition, support for segregationist Sharia law continues to gain acceptance among young British Muslims, and the idea of offering a separate set of Sharia laws for British Muslims has gained increasing support among British leaders and in courts. Such acceptance of segregationist positions shows the increasing acceptance of Islamic supremacism in the United Kingdom. The 2008 European Union's Europol study on terrorism found that statistically the number of 'Islamist terror' arrests in the UK were greater than in all of Europe combined, with a threat of 'young, radicalised British citizens.'
Does this sound like British 'counter-radicalization' is working? Why should Americans believe that the British government policies of 'counter-radicalization' have accomplished anything? How can the British government 'de-radicalize' an ideology that they are unwilling to define other than 'extremism'?
This is not merely a foreign policy issue, or an academic exercise in analyzing a foreign nation's counterterrorism policy. This is a vital issue affecting Americans and the values of equality that America represents. This is a critical issue when a foreign nation's policy of denial about Islamic supremacism is being promoted to American policy makers and its military leaders. Most of all, this is a vital issue regarding the future of where our nation is headed in the very values of equality that we fought so long and so hard to achieve in America.
It is not surprising that Britons do not understand America's history. While they are allies with Americans in theaters of war, we cannot expect them to understand our values, our history, our experience. In fact, it is because we were so different from the United Kingdom that we are a United States of America, not a British colony.
We are and will continue to be a nation that despises, confronts, and does not tolerate supremacism. We are and will continue to be a nation where 'all men are created equal.'
Any American with a rudimentary knowledge of American history is well aware that white supremacism was confronted, not appeased, by seamstress Rosa Parks, by preacher Martin Luther King, Jr., by newspaper reporters, by baseball players, by grade school teachers, by mechanics, by musicians, by FBI agents, by American soldiers, by housewives, and by average citizens everywhere in America.
These sentinels of equality and liberty in the fight against supremacism may not have held doctorates in American history, in American political science, or American constitutional law. But they understood who and what America is about. They understood the gravity of defending the natural law and American value that 'all men are created equal.' They understood the historical importance of defending the courage of our convictions. They understood that without defending equality everywhere for every person, no American would enjoy freedom, no American would have security. They knew that the fight against supremacism, no matter how unpleasant, no matter how divisive, no matter how dangerous, was not someone else's job, or something that could be left to be solved at a later time. They knew it was their job, and it was their job right now.
Today, Americans face such a challenge once again with Islamic supremacism.
We could accept the counsel of 'experts,' who offer direction based on foreign nations with a history of appeasing and knuckling under to supremacists. We could accept guidance on 'counter-radicalization' that deceives us into believing supremacists can be bargained with, negotiated into accepting a pluralistic society that values equality. We could choose to believe that tactical measures, talks, and high-tech surveillance will be enough to change those whose supremacist ideology is inimical to our values, our laws, our society, and our way of life. These are the choices that the British government, 'expert' analysts, and those who aren't concerned about why Jihad happens offer us. Accepting such counsel, especially with such 'expert' backing, would be the path of least resistance, and would cause us the least personal short-term sacrifice in becoming educated on the issues so that we can guide our elected representatives. Listening to the 'experts' who ignore Islamic supremacism is the easy thing to do.
But is it - the American thing to do?
Is that what Americans are to be reduced to? Being led around by the nose based on the policies by the British government, who through nothing short of repeated miracles, has not resulted in the death of countless thousands of Americans through British Jihadists appeased over decades? Given the repeated attempts, plots, and threats of attacks on America by British Islamic supremacists due to UK's seemingly endless complacency, shouldn't the British government be the last people we should be listening to? Should the British government, with senior leaders who seek talks with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, be someone our government should even be talking with?
Or will America's people, the ragtag sentinels of liberty that aren't degreed in Islamic studies and foreign affairs, but who understand the values of America, who represent the variety and diversity of a egalitarian society that so many fought and died for, who simply know that our nation stands first and foremost for liberty... will they rise to the occasion once again and confront this new evil of Islamic supremacism - as forcefully and as defiantly as they did to white supremacism?
Those who seek denial on and appeasement to Islamic supremacism don't think so. They think Americans have better things to do than worry about such things. They seek to tell Americans, tell their elected representatives, and tell their military what they should do. They will do Americans' thinking for them.
Americans - prove them wrong. Make up your own mind. Let your American government know that, no matter what the British government does, America's government must stand up and identify the ideology of Islamic supremacism, and must develop a strategy to combat it.
Show them that in America, Islamic supremacism (or any other supremacism) will not be tolerated - violent or non-violent - and that it has no place in the land of the free, home of the brave., Daily Mail, and Daily Telegraph reports):
British Jihadist Abdulla Ahmed Ali: 'Expect floods of martyr operations against you and we will take our revenge and anger, ripping amongst your people and scattering your people's body parts... You call us terrorists but you can see we don't mind that if you call us terrorists 'cos we will keep on terrorizing you until you learn your lesson... We love to die in the path of Allah... On top of this is to punish and to humiliate the Kuffar [non-believer], to teach them a lesson that they will never forget. It's to tell them that we Muslim people have pride, our people of Allah, the people of Islam, we are brave. Thanks to God I swear by Allah, I have the desire since the age of 15/16 to participate in Jihad in the path of Allah. I had the desire since then for Jannah [paradise] for the Koran. I want to go to my prophet and his companions.'
