"Cabinet ministers have been told
by the Foreign Office to drop the phrase 'war on terror' and other terms seen as liable to anger British Muslims and increase
tensions more broadly in the Islamic world. The shift marks a turning
point in British political thinking about the strategy
against extremism and underlines the growing gulf between the British and American
approaches to the continuing problem of radical Islamic militancy.... A Foreign Office
spokesman said the government wanted to 'avoid reinforcing and giving succour to the terrorists' narrative
by using language that, taken out of context, could be counter-productive'. The same
message has been sent to British diplomats and official spokespeople around the
world...... Eliza Manningham-Buller, the head of MI5, recently stressed the threat from growing
radicalisation among young British Muslims. Whitehall officials believe that militants use
a sense of war and crisis and a 'clash of civilisations' to recruit supporters, and thus
the use of terms such as 'war', 'war on terror' or 'battle' can be counter-productive....Though neither Blair nor
Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, has used the term 'war
on terror' in a formal speech since June, President Bush
continues to employ the term liberally."
Britain stops talk of 'war on terror'
Observer, 10
December 2006
 |
| Dame Eliza
Manningham-Buller Head Of Britain's Interior Intelligence Service MI5 |
"
I rarely speak in public. I prefer to avoid the limelight and get on with my job. I speak not as a politician, nor as a pundit, but as someone who has been an intelligence professional for 32 years..... There has been much speculation about what motivates young men and women to carry out acts of terrorism in the UK. My service needs to understand the motivations behind terrorism to succeed in countering it, as far as that is possible. Al-Qaeda has developed an ideology which claims that Islam is under attack, and needs to be defended. This is a powerful narrative that weaves together conflicts from across the globe, presenting the West's response to varied and complex issues, from long-standing disputes such as Israel/Palestine and Kashmir to more recent events as evidence of an across-the-board determination to undermine and humiliate Islam worldwide. The video wills of British suicide bombers make it clear that they are motivated by perceived worldwide and long-standing injustices against Muslims - an extreme and minority interpretation of Islam promoted by some preachers and people of influence. And their interpretation as anti-Muslim of UK foreign policy, in particular the UK's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Speech by Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, Head Of Britains Interior Intelligence Service MI5
BBC Online, 10 November 2006