Zach LarkinsTHE U.K. RAIDS
Well, it looks like the Democrats have it right. We should cut and run out of Iraq as fast as possible. The terrorists pose no threat to us and the Iraqi population can take care of itself without outside interference. Maybe we're spoiled on this side of the ocean. The Dems seem to know for a fact that there are no terrorist cells hidden in Canada or the US, so why worry about what happens over there? It isn't our problem.
You may have a bit of a hard time convincing the people of the West Midlands in England about that. The police on Thursday questioned nine terror suspects who were arrested for reportedly planning to torture and behead a British Muslim soldier and broadcast the killing on the Internet. But that's a problem English people have to contend with. It couldn't possibly happen here. The alleged plot, said by British media to mirror the brutal killings of foreign hostages in Iraq, was in its final stages and uncovered during a six-month surveillance operation by anti-terror officers in this city (Birmingham) of more than one million in the heart of England.
The soldier believed to be targeted in the kidnapping was a lance corporal in his 20's who was on home leave after serving in Afghanistan. Gee, sorry about his luck. Thank God nothing like this could ever happen here. What destroys the terrorists claim of wanting peace is that the Defence Ministry said 330 Muslims are serving in the British armed forces. The suspects are believed to have drawn up a list of Muslim soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, The London Times reported. The suspects had narrowed their targets to a shortlist of three men, We don't know if the fellow in question was a Muslim or not, but were these terrorists trying to show force in order to convert the Muslim soldiers to join their side?
The nine suspects are believed to be British men of Pakistani descent and were arrested in a pre-dawn raid Wednesday on homes and businesses in several Birmingham neighbourhoods, which were mostly Pakistani. Maybe the Brits shouldn't have allowed all these questionable immigrants in in the first place. Enoch Powell, in the 60's warned Britain about the dangers they were opening themselves up to. Now his lesson seems to be coming home to roost. But it is a problem the English have to deal with. Not us. It can't happen over here. The suspects intended victim was an British army soldier to be killed in an "Iraqi-style" execution and broadcast on the Internet. Nothing to do with us. We don't have terrorist cells here.
Britain has been at the heart of several thwarted terror plots. One involved a British Muslim who pleaded guilty to plotting to blow up landmarks including the New York Stock Exchange. Last August, police foiled an alleged plan by Muslim extremists to use liquid explosives to blow up as many as 10 flights between the United States and Britain. Well, okay, maybe they meant to attack us again, but these guys were in the U.K. and so they don't really affect us. The Brits are doing a good job of outing these cells so why should we worry? But the Birmingham kidnapping plot raised fears that a new type of terrorism had reached Britain, one that threatens to spread the type of terror seen in Iraq with kidnappings and publicized beheadings, and one that suggests Britain's young Muslims are becoming angrier over their country's continued involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On July 7, 2005, four suicide bombers Muslims raised in England who expressed anger over Britain's role in the wars killed 52 people on London's transit system during rush-hour attacks. The killings were western Europe's first suicide bombings. Well, seeing as how it was the first incident of its type in western Europe, we should have plenty of time to get something in place before it ever reaches our shores. Britain's first Muslim soldier to be killed in Afghanistan last year was from Birmingham, where his death prompted militant Islamist websites to denounce Cpl. Jabron Hashmi, 24, as a traitor. Probably. I mean the man was doing what he was told in order to reduce extremism in the Muslim world and that surely makes him a traitor doesn't it? He had a chance to suicide-murder his fellow soldiers and blew it. Yup, looks like a traitor in my books. Just further proof that we should cut and run ASAP.
During the raids in Birmingham on Wednesday, 12 houses and four businesses including two Muslim bookstores and an Internet cafe were cordoned off. The raids opened fresh divides in the city's predominantly Pakistani neighbourhoods, with some residents complaining that British media reports about the alleged plot were subjecting them to unfair criticism and suspicions. This is so very true. Why do we insist on profiling Arabs when everyone knows it is unfair to look also at blue-haired, blue-eyed grannies from Sweden? These johnny-come-lately terrorists want you to learn how to play Canasta and relax in a sauna. Can you think of anything worse?
Counterterrorism experts say Islamic extremists are looking for new ways to rattle the West with their use of the web to broadcast propaganda and unsettling images such as the beheadings of western hostages in Iraq. Thank God it's happening over there and not here. We don't have a thing to worry about.
Sources: The Post
You may have a bit of a hard time convincing the people of the West Midlands in England about that. The police on Thursday questioned nine terror suspects who were arrested for reportedly planning to torture and behead a British Muslim soldier and broadcast the killing on the Internet. But that's a problem English people have to contend with. It couldn't possibly happen here. The alleged plot, said by British media to mirror the brutal killings of foreign hostages in Iraq, was in its final stages and uncovered during a six-month surveillance operation by anti-terror officers in this city (Birmingham) of more than one million in the heart of England.
Britain has been at the heart of several thwarted terror plots. One involved a British Muslim who pleaded guilty to plotting to blow up landmarks including the New York Stock Exchange. Last August, police foiled an alleged plan by Muslim extremists to use liquid explosives to blow up as many as 10 flights between the United States and Britain. Well, okay, maybe they meant to attack us again, but these guys were in the U.K. and so they don't really affect us. The Brits are doing a good job of outing these cells so why should we worry? But the Birmingham kidnapping plot raised fears that a new type of terrorism had reached Britain, one that threatens to spread the type of terror seen in Iraq with kidnappings and publicized beheadings, and one that suggests Britain's young Muslims are becoming angrier over their country's continued involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On July 7, 2005, four suicide bombers Muslims raised in England who expressed anger over Britain's role in the wars killed 52 people on London's transit system during rush-hour attacks. The killings were western Europe's first suicide bombings. Well, seeing as how it was the first incident of its type in western Europe, we should have plenty of time to get something in place before it ever reaches our shores. Britain's first Muslim soldier to be killed in Afghanistan last year was from Birmingham, where his death prompted militant Islamist websites to denounce Cpl. Jabron Hashmi, 24, as a traitor. Probably. I mean the man was doing what he was told in order to reduce extremism in the Muslim world and that surely makes him a traitor doesn't it? He had a chance to suicide-murder his fellow soldiers and blew it. Yup, looks like a traitor in my books. Just further proof that we should cut and run ASAP.
During the raids in Birmingham on Wednesday, 12 houses and four businesses including two Muslim bookstores and an Internet cafe were cordoned off. The raids opened fresh divides in the city's predominantly Pakistani neighbourhoods, with some residents complaining that British media reports about the alleged plot were subjecting them to unfair criticism and suspicions. This is so very true. Why do we insist on profiling Arabs when everyone knows it is unfair to look also at blue-haired, blue-eyed grannies from Sweden? These johnny-come-lately terrorists want you to learn how to play Canasta and relax in a sauna. Can you think of anything worse?
Counterterrorism experts say Islamic extremists are looking for new ways to rattle the West with their use of the web to broadcast propaganda and unsettling images such as the beheadings of western hostages in Iraq. Thank God it's happening over there and not here. We don't have a thing to worry about.
Sources: The Post
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