Two Tests For England
Test One: Raids are underway as I post, following the publication of these photos of suspected terrorists were released. Fox is reporting that 400 calls were received after the photos were published. That's a pathetically small response for a city the size of London, especially given the high density of poorer (Muslim) neighborhoods.
The first part of this test is whether those calls came from Muslims. If the Muslim community did not rise up to report these vicious slime, the government should have no sympathy for protestations that the terrorists do not reflect mainstream Islam. If the creeps are turned in by their Muslim neighbors, fine, but Britain still will not have passed this test.
The second and more important part of this test will be how England handles people who knew these perps and did not turn them in. They should not be allowed to remain free if they can't but the safety of their nation ahead of a warped and indefensible religion.
Test Two: The Times of London leads off it's home page not with the search for suspects but the news that the fleeing suspect shot Friday in the Stockwell tube station appears to not be a terrorist, under the headline, "Stockwell death shows dangers of shoot-to-kill." It also shows the dangers of letting terrorists live in your midst while continuing to approach the threat with a lazy ACLU attitude.
If England's new, lighter restrictions on armed response are tightened after this first unfortunate test, England will fail the larger test. It's a test we still may well fail as well; tipping the delicate rights-vs-safety balance too far towards the rights of legitimate suspects.
The first part of this test is whether those calls came from Muslims. If the Muslim community did not rise up to report these vicious slime, the government should have no sympathy for protestations that the terrorists do not reflect mainstream Islam. If the creeps are turned in by their Muslim neighbors, fine, but Britain still will not have passed this test.
The second and more important part of this test will be how England handles people who knew these perps and did not turn them in. They should not be allowed to remain free if they can't but the safety of their nation ahead of a warped and indefensible religion.
Test Two: The Times of London leads off it's home page not with the search for suspects but the news that the fleeing suspect shot Friday in the Stockwell tube station appears to not be a terrorist, under the headline, "Stockwell death shows dangers of shoot-to-kill." It also shows the dangers of letting terrorists live in your midst while continuing to approach the threat with a lazy ACLU attitude.
If England's new, lighter restrictions on armed response are tightened after this first unfortunate test, England will fail the larger test. It's a test we still may well fail as well; tipping the delicate rights-vs-safety balance too far towards the rights of legitimate suspects.
posted by Laer at 11:34 AM
<< Home