Responding to Terrorism in Britain - Essay Example

Responding to terrorism in Britain Nowadays, terrorism mitigation/response policies implemented by the world nations play an important role in limiting the rapid spread of cross border terrorism. Within this scenario, the scope of terrorism response in Britain is not limited to the context of internal insurgencies, but extends to the international initiative to limit the global spread of terrorism. One can see that internal insurgencies can be dealt with ease but the rapid spread of terrorism and it’s after effects on world nations cannot be dealt with ease. To be specific, cross-border terrorism is an imminent threat to the multiracial society of Britain. Problem statement: The report on the responding to terrorism in Britain proves that Britain plays an important role in terrorism mitigation in the international arena, but internal (within the United Kingdom) and external problems (global spread of terrorism) cause imminent threat to Britain in general. Background The origin of terrorism in Britain can be broadly divided into two: internal threats from those who fight for free Northern Ireland (IRA), from the Islamic terrorist groups that operate from UK and the treat from international terrorist groups operate from the Middle East Asia. Wayne C. Thompson stated that, “A Times poll showed that 86% of British respondents supported giving the police new powers to arrest people suspected of planning terrorist attacks” (74). One can see that most of the terrorist activities in Britain before the 21st century were carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). To be specific, mastermind behind the terrorist activities in Britain in 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and at the beginning of the 21st century was IRA. For instance, some of the most destructive terrorist activities in the history of Britain are: (1970s) Aldershot bombing (1972) and Guildford pub bombing (1974), (1980s) Hyde Park and Regents Park bombings (1982) and Brighton hotel bombing (1984), (1990s) Wembley bombing (1990) and Manchester bombing (1996), (2000s) Hammersmith Bridge bombing (2000) and RPG firing at SIS Building (2000). All these attacks/bomb blasts were by the IRA. Gradually, in the 21st century, especially in 2005 (London bombings), the Islamic terrorist organizations proved that they are powerful enough to carry out attacks in Britain. The Glasgow International Airport attack (2007) and Exeter bombing (2008) proved that the global spread of terrorism and Islamic extremism pose threat to Britain. Julian Richards made clear that, “We have mentioned that, in the UK, counter-terrorism work as we understand it today effectively began in 1883 with the formation of the Special Irish Branch by the Metropolitan Police in London, later renamed simply the Special Branch as it took on a wider range of work against extremist and terrorist activity” (50). So, one can see that rapid increase in the number of terrorist attacks forced the British authorities to adopt innovative measures to deal with terrorism in Britain. Responding to terrorism in Britain Earlier, the British response to terrorism was limited to the context of the attacks initiated by the Irish Republican Army. But in the 21st century, global spread of terrorism created much trouble in the multiracial society of Britain. Paul Thomas made clear that, “For Britain, the shock was different, as the 7/7 attacks were carried out by four young Yorkshiremen, all raised and educated, and some born, in Britain-‘ordinary’ young Britons with regional Yorkshire accents who had willingly killed themselves in order to also kill fellow Britons in the name of their understanding of Islam” (N.Pag.). To be specific, the Islamic extremists were able to influence some of the immigrants in Britain. This eventually led to extremist plots like London bombings in 2005. On the other side, the British response to terrorism is interconnected with anti-terrorist legislation under UK law. The Acts and laws aim to track down and limit the funding facilities of the terrorist groups, and detention of the offenders. So, one can see that the earlier response to terrorism in Britain is related to the cross-border terrorism initiated by IRA. Within the scenario of response to terrorism in Britain, the Home Office plays the most important role because this department is responsible to maintain security within UK. One can see that this department co-ordinates the anti-terrorism initiatives in UK. Besides, the different departments like UK Border Agency and M15 are under the Home Department. In addition, the M15 and M16 deal with internal and external security problems in UK. To be specific, the M15 deals with internal problems and M16 deals with external problems. Besides, Defence Intelligence (DI) is another agency/department that deals with security problems in UK. In a multicultural and multiracial society, counter-intelligence is an extreme difficult task to deal with. On the other side, the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) is a decision making body within the context of response to terrorism in Britain. As pointed out earlier, the Acts and Laws related to response to terrorism play an important role in reducing the scope of terrorist plots in Britain. The Parliament of the United Kingdom provides ample importance to anti-terrorism initiatives because there are so many Acts in UK that ensure and strengthen the smooth functioning of the different agencies/departments. Kent Roach stated that, “As will be seen, derogation and judicial review of derogations would play an important role in the post-9/11British response to terrorism, as would issues about the disclosure of intelligence and secret evidence” (251). In present condition, Britain is generally considered as one of the targets of international terrorism based on religious fundamentalism. After the 9/11 incident in America, Britain became one of the targets of international terrorist organizations because Britain co-operated with America to wipe out terrorism. But Derek McGhee stated that, “The post-9/11state of emergency in Britain and the laws that have been passed that make up Britain’s recent, Al-Qaeda-focused, anti-terrorism strategy since 2001 have proven to be highly controversial” (48). Within this context, the Terrorism Act 2000, the Terrorism Act 2006, the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008, and the Terrorist Asset-Freezing (Temporary Provisions) Act 2010 accelerated the British response to terrorism in the present condition. The Terrorism Act 2000 helped the British police to gain more importance in the national context because this Act legally strengthened and authorized them to play an important role in dealing with the problem of terrorism. On the other side, the London bombings in 2005 resulted in the implementation of Terrorism Act 2006 in Britain. Alex Conte stated that, “One of the main purposes of the Terrorism Act 2006, which was a direct response to the London bombings in July 2005, was to create offences and penalise conduct which was thought to fall outside existing statutes and the common law” (239). In addition, the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 helped the British police to deal with those who are involved in terrorist plots in Britain and abroad. At the same time, the Terrorist Asset-Freezing (Temporary Provisions) Act 2010 helped the British government to block the funding facilities of the terrorist suspects. So, the British response to terrorism underwent rapid change and proved effective to an extent within national and international contexts. Suggestions for reform/policy changes related to terrorism response in Britain One can see that the international terrorist organizations make use of the revenue from oil trade in the Middle East to extend their influence on the world nations. So, the British government must provide utmost importance to block the flow of funding facilities used by the international terrorist organizations. Besides, the extremist groups target the unemployed youths to implement their plans. To be specific, the British government must be cautious about the influence of the extremist groups among the immigrant population. The British policies related to terrorism response are effective but the terrorist organizations operate from the Middle Eastern nations. So, Britain must provide importance to the anti-terrorism measures adopted in the international context. To be specific, the rapid spread of terrorism is not limited to national boundaries. So, the outdated policies must undergo rapid change and government must ensure the security of the people. Within this context, the British parliament and the Home Office can take apt measures. Besides, the authorities must realize the fact that some of the policies related to the response to terrorism prove to be outdated and ineffective to deal with terrorist plots. Those policies must undergo strict evaluation and change. In addition, international support is essential to reduce the scope of cross-border terrorism in future. So, the British government must co-operate with the international initiative to prevent terrorist plots in future. Summing, the report proves that responding to terrorism in Britain is successful to an extent and innovative measures and policy changes can equip the Home Office to successfully deal with terrorism in future. To be specific, the British counter-terrorism initiatives/measures successfully dealt with the threat from IRA, but the London bombings in 2005 and other terrorist incidents prove that the British authorities must provide importance to the strict implementation of laws and regulations related to anti-terrorism. At the same time, the British authorities must realize the fact that the immigrant population is easily manipulated by the international terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda. So, proper balancing between domestic and international policies on terrorism mitigation can help Britain to deal with the problem of terrorism in a successful manner. Works Cited Conte, Alex. Human Rights in the Prevention and Punishment of Terrorism: Commonwealth Approaches: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. New York: Springer, 2010. Print. McGhee, Derek. The End of Multiculturalism?: Terrorism, Integration and Human Rights. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill International, 2008. Print. Roach, Kent. The 9/11 Effect: Comparative Counter-Terrorism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Print. Richards, Julian. The Art and Science of Intelligence Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print. Thomas, Paul. Responding to the Threat of Violent Extremism: Failing to Prevent. London: A&C Black, 2012. Print. Thompson, Wayne C. Western Europe 2012. Lanham: Stryker Post, 2012. Print. Read More