Britain under siege from all sides

The relationship between communities and government is deteriorating by the day as several heads of state institutions issued strong statements against Muslims during the last three years. These and other irresponsible statements deeply impacted the multicultural traditions of the country. 

by Musa Khan Jalalzai

( October 28, 2016, Islamabad, Sri Lanka Guardian) Terrorists do not carry out attacks to undermine military installations alone, but also aim to spread fear, uncertainty, disruption, and harassment in society. There is no doubt that the threat from domestic and international terrorism in Britain is real, and it requires proportionate strategies to tackle it. During the last 15 years of war on terrorism, we experienced countless terror-related incidents in which extremist forces targeted both public and government installations. Britain is under siege from all sides as terrorist organisations from the Middle East, Pakistan, Central Asia, Bangladesh and Europe have established strong networks in every corner of the country, challenging the authority of law enforcement agencies.

These groups are highly professional, and their collaboration with foreign intelligence networks is even more disturbing. There are several channels that finance terrorism across Europe, while with the emergence of Daesh in the Gulf region terror finance models have become more complex and sophisticated. Technological innovations have also facilitated terrorist groups to successfully strike against government installations.

Last week, some harrowing incidents across the country created panic when terrorists tried to attack public and government installations with chemical and biological weapons to create fear and uncertainty in London, but security agencies responded with professional means. Before these incidents, the Scotland Yard police had already deployed hundreds of highly armed commandos on Britain’s streets as a part of plans to beef up security following a spate of deadly terrorist attacks in Europe. These 600 Hercules officers were entrusted with the task of security of major landmarks across London, but the question is notwithstanding the deployment in sensitive places, why terrorists succeeded in striking at airport and other public places. No doubt, the force has been equipped with massive machine guns, heavy-duty military-grade equipments and Kevlar body armour, but for tackling ever-changing terror tactics, a technical approach is needed to understand the evolving dynamics of a security environment.

In view of this intensifying security environment in the country, Commissioner of Metropolitan Police, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe unveiled a plan to put more highly visible patrols, fully armed, to positively respond to the revolving national security threats. Sir Hogan-Howe said that many terror-related attacks were foiled due to the collaboration between the police and MI5 and MI6, which helped intercepting terrorist attacks on Britain. The deployment of the latest highly trained force means the terror threat has intensified as foreign espionage and intelligence networks are operating with a greater offensive mood in our cities and towns challenging the authority of law enforcement agencies. Incidents at the London City Airport and other places forced government to keep the threat level as severe.

Recent studies confirmed that the contradictory counter-radicalisation approach of the British government causes many problems as the minority communities complain about the harrowing tactics of police surveillance. Experts say that it has proved to be potentially counterproductive, but the Home Office insists that the Prevent strategy is working properly and it does not harm residents and businesses. Minister of State for Security Ben Wallace recently said that the threat from radicalisation was real, which means Muslims are posing a threat to the security of the country because the majority of the ministers and government officials perceive radicalisation as a product of Muslim communities in the UK.

One cannot deny the sincere efforts of Britain law enforcement agencies in countering terrorism and radicalisation across the country, but one thing is clear that the non-technical approach and security lapses prompted the emergence of over 3,000 criminal gangs, and foreign intelligence and terrorist networks, which pose a precarious threat to the national security of the country. In our multicultural society, the relationship between police and communities presents some of the more enduring and complex problems. Moreover, that relationship has become deeply complicated, as the two do not fully cooperate with one another in dealing with street crimes and major national security challenges. The conventional wisdom says that minorities face many problems with the policing agencies during their operations.

Britain maintains a professional law enforcement infrastructure and intelligence networks, and collects every piece of intelligence information with care, but during the last decade, many things have not been going in the right direction.

The current terror-related incidents also spotlighted the weaknesses and contradictory national security approach and counterterrorism measures of Britain’s agencies. War in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq and the Brexit politics gave birth to many complicated and disturbing events that left negative impacts on the security environment. The failure to professionally mange its population, ethnic imbalance and law enforcement mechanism made the UK government and its law enforcement agencies suspicious in the eyes of minority communities. From search and stop to watchdog and secret monitoring systems, all policing and law enforcement strategies have failed to restore the confidence of communities as foreign intelligence agencies and criminal gangs spread to all cities and small towns, making the job of our police and intelligence agencies complex. Police have failed to tackle thousands of local and European criminal gangs and their modern tactics, while MI5 and other agencies are in deep trouble to effectively counter the exponentially growing foreign espionage networks across the country.

The relationship between communities and government is deteriorating by the day as several heads of state institutions issued strong statements against Muslims during the last three years. These and other irresponsible statements deeply impacted the multicultural traditions of the country. Attacks on Muslim children in schools and their mothers in buses, streets and works places indicate that all counter-racism, discrimination and extremism policies of government have failed to address these issues by social and technical means. International terrorism is going out of control while the spectre of domestic security revolves in the opposite direction.

The EU and UK relationship is not friendlier, while the country’s involvement in several ethnic and sectarian conflicts in South Asia and the Middle East enraged communities across the country. Britain’s financial sector and nuclear assets are under a constant threat from cyber terrorists and state-sponsored terrorism. The threat of nuclear terrorism and the use of biological bombs in parts of Europe and the UK created panic; this kind of terrorism can cause huge fatalities. Last year, the MI5 had estimated that more than 3,000 people in Britain were posing a terrorist threat while all but 1,000 had travelled to Iraq and Syria.

The writer is the author of Fixing the EU Intel Crisis, and can be reached at zai.musakhan222@gmail.com