by Zalman Shoval
The MI6 chief is not entirely alone in the fight against Islamist terrorism. Britain is a bit more experienced in the field and their experience with Irish terrorism has made them more wary of terrorist threats -- but most of its allies are still confused and unable to clearly see the threat posed to them, let alone have the political power to deal with it.
British intelligence
agency heads generally refrain from making public statements to outside
sources, contrast to their Israeli counterparts, and even more so they
do not spit in the well they drank from after retiring from their posts.
With that said once they are relieved of their official titles the
British intelligence chiefs do allow themselves from time to time
(usually with authorization, sometimes even motivation from their
superiors) to express themselves more freely about subjects they
previously were not able to.
This is true both for
both former MI5 chief Eliza Manningham-Buller and former MI6 (of James
Bond fame) head Sir John Sawers. And Sawer's recent statements were
clear and direct: the current chaos and terrorism in the Middle East is a
security threat to Europe no less than the Soviet Union was during the
Cold War.
One could assume Sawers
told his superiors the same thing while he was still at his post (he
retired in November), but it seems that either he or his superiors
believe that now is time to let the public know about the growing threat
-- and show that it is not a matter of isolated incidents or passing
thing, but a general offensive, and to say that the fight against
Islamic terrorism must include measures no less sweeping than those
taken during the Cold War.
The MI6 chief is not
entirely alone in the fight against Islamist terrorism. Britain is a bit
more experienced in the field and their experience with Irish terrorism
has made them more wary of terrorist threats -- but most of its allies
are still confused and unable to clearly see the threat posed to them,
let alone have the political power to deal with it. Such is the case for
France, which has its own set of problems, or Germany -- and what
stands out most is the U.S.'s tendency to ignore reality.
Though we actually
received a surprise in that field recently: New York Times Foreign
Affairs columnist Tom Friedman, who generally is a steadfast supporter
U.S. President Barack Obama's policies, called on Obama to "say it like
it is" in a weekend feature. Friedman was referring to Obama's evasive
wording when it comes to global terror and Islam.
"This administration,
so fearful of being accused of Islamophobia, is refusing to make any
link to radical Islam from the recent explosions of violence against
civilians (most of them Muslims) by Boko Haram in Nigeria, by the
Taliban in Pakistan, by al-Qaida in Paris and by jihadists in Yemen and
Iraq. We've entered the theater of the absurd," Friedman wrote. Too bad
he "forgot" to mention Hamas.
Friedman also expressed
his shock at White House spokesman Josh Earnest statement regarding the
Charlie Hebdo attacks, which implied that the terrorists who massacred
12 people at the French magazine's office were doing so out of a random
act of terrorism, and only later realized Islam would be an appropriate
explanation for it and thus used it.
"President Obama knows
better. I am all for restraint on the issue, and would never hold every
Muslim accountable for the acts of a few. But it is not good for us or
the Muslim world to pretend that this spreading jihadist violence isn't
coming out of their faith community," Friedman said.
Will the warnings from
London and New York fall on deaf ears? Only history will be able to tell
us that, though we can only hope so.
Zalman Shoval
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=11517
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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