The Invention of Terrorism 48


I was awoken just before 8am this morning by LBC asking me to contribute to the Nick Ferrari show. I had time to brush my teeth and then I was on. I greatly dislike these formats that give you a minute to express a view, and I frequently turn down LBC requests. However they generally contact you the night before, and the poor researcher sounded desparate to find anyone who would defend the release of Ibn Qatada.

I made a couple of points. A Tory MP whose name I did not catch referred as always to unelected judges in Strasbourg. This is a standard Tory catchphrase and rather ignores the fact that all our judges are unelected. But I also pointed out that Qatada has not been convicted of anything in this country and that if, as Nick Ferrari was claiming, he had been calling in this country for the killing of Jews, that would be an offence for which he could rightly be tried and jailed. Because the tabloids say something doesn’t make it true. In the six years he had been held in jail, the state had found no evidence against him that would stand the scrutiny of a court.

The Tory MEP (whose name I did not catch) then interjected that our anti-terrorism laws were not that strong, because there had not been a single conviction for terrorism last year. I did not have a chance to return, but that seemed to me to reveal the very heart of the problem. For those in power terrorism must exist. It is a justification of much of their power and a great deal of state apparatus, not to mention a great deal of private profit. If nobody is being convicted, it is not because there is no terrorism – despite the fact that, plainly, there isn’t, nobody has been killed by a terrorist in mainland UK for seven years – it is a sign that the system is not working.

Now if nobody had been convicted for burglary last year, I would worry. There are lots of burglaries. But that nobody has been convicted for a crime that did not happen, seems to me a good thing. What is deeply, deeply worrying is that we have politicians who think there should be a regular flow of convictions for terrorism, whether there is any terrorism or not.

On which subject, I am troubled by the current large terrorism trial in Woolwich. The defendants entered a plea of guilty after being told that they would then face a maximum fifteen year jail sentence, and would probably serve just another six. If they pleaded not guilty and lost, they could serve twenty five years.

Forget that the charge is terrorism – I deeply resent the effective introduction of plea-bargaining into our justice system, with the obvious danger that innocent people will take the less risky course. For what it is worth, my impression from the evidence in this case is that these were fantasisers about terrorism who were unlikely actually to become dangerous, but were rightly pulled up. It is very wrong that they were dissuaded from having the evidence against them tested by a jury. There is a particular danger that more detached individuals were induced by group psychology or pressure to join the others in this guilty plea, but may have been cleared.


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48 thoughts on “The Invention of Terrorism

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  • Rose

    ” I deeply resent the introduction of plea bargaining into our criminal justice system”

    Craig – I have seen this in operation time and again over many years in the lower courts – except it’s never called that. Pleading guilty to a lesser charge is the usual phraseology. Use of language again – RIP George!

  • Mary

    ITV 10 pm News are showing the same film of Homs that the BBC were showing earlier with Paul Wood commentating. ITV had this Danny Abdul Dayem character commenting. He is the subject of this thread below from medialens. The ITV news began with this four word line – Slaughter in Syria continues.

    The main broadcasters are colluding in the propaganda.
    .
    http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/msg/1328547290.html
    .
    Earlier on the BBC 6 O’Clock news, the word pounded was used three times.

  • nobody

    Hullo Craig,
    .
    “For those in power terrorism must exist.”
    .
    Like everyone said above, Bingo. Likewise for DownWithThisSortOfThing with ‘If terrorism didn’t exist the government would have to invent it’.
    .
    How now 7/7? Why not discuss the crime of that day in terms of means, motive, opportunity? Were we to do so, the only thing disqualifying the otherwise transparently suspicious entities of MI5, mossad, Peter Power, Bob Kiley et al is the pathetic sentiment ‘well, they would never do that’. Ha ha ha, wouldn’t they? Keeping in mind that ‘they’ could comfortably be described as a pack of professional liars and killers.
    .
    Anyway Craig, you remain, as ever, a hair’s breadth away. Me, I’m happy to declare that there is no terrorism in your country (or mine) that doesn’t involve either the full or partial complicity of the spooks who rule us.
    .
    Oh, and bravo on Gould Werrity. Absolutely sterling work, I’m enjoying it immensely.

  • Fedup

    ” Mr Clarke insisted on Tuesday that the release of Qatada – who has been described as Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe – was nothing to do with the European Court.”
    ,
    ,
    St Teresa is lying through her teeth by the looks of it.
    ,
    as per this communist rag’s report;
    Abu Qatada ‘has not committed any crime’
    ,
    Well I told you so, all those years ago, but hey what would I know, just a lucky guess I suppose, it was fifty, fiddy who knows? Heck the guy is a Muslim and that on its own is crime, ain’t it Cooter?

  • amanfromMars

    Let me try that again, just to try and correct its formatting. ….. [such is the curse/blessing of the pragmatic perfectionist/dogged delusionist :-)]
    .
    It a fact that Martin McGuinuess worked for MI5/MI6 and and that Gerry Adams is deeply suspect due to his constant promoting within the IRA of known informants. Most will not accept that the IRA was run by the British and may experience cognitive dissonance, they may even rationalise it by saying it was just some rogue elements in the security services. The trouble is these ‘rouge elements’ have been running Western foreign policy for the best part of 60 years.“…DownWithThisSortOfThing 7 Feb, 2012 – 11:06 am
    .
    Quite so, DownWithThisSortOfThing, and they are extremely well skilled in the art of remote grooming and the rogue planting of wild seeds to propagate their needs and feeds. However, you may like to consider nowadays, and for the foreseeable future, are rogue elements morphed into wild rovers. An altogether different kettle of phish …… http://www.ur2die4.com/?p=1565
    .
    And so crazily effective in that which they do because of the easy plausible deniability of that which they do, even if and/or whenever it may be made known what they do. Such is what is known as SecureD IntelAIgent Stealth …… and a vital and virulent and viral virtual component in any and all Guaranteed Failsafe Operations and NEUKlearer HyperRadioProActive IT.
    .
    You are familiar with the traditional wild rover are you not …… thus to be hereby freely advised of its post modern morph?
    .
    As you can see/read, Craig, have there been a few radical changes made, and none of them at all bad. I Kid U Not.
    .
    Have a Nice Day.

  • Guest

    I wish we could find out the share dealings etc (with emphasis on the word “etc”) of all the people involved in this. Known what future events are going to take place would be very lucrative, they must be making untold billions from the sickening horror they have/are inflicting upon humanity.

  • amanfromMars

    Thanks, Craig/Mod., for the correctly formatted post substitution [8 Feb, 2012 – 8:38 am in place of 8 Feb, 2012 – 8:29 am]
    .
    It is much appreciated.

  • Azra

    It is strange that the general strike in Israel was not mentioned in the MSM here. what is this? black out on any negative news about Israel? are we to believe that Israel is the paradise?? very weird indeed
    A friend with family in Israel was telling me that almost half million workers were on strike hospital were running with skeleton staff, Tel Aviv airport was closed and yet not a word in the media!

  • Paul Zukowskyj

    Next time LBC call, pass them on to me. I’ll tell them exactly why the ECHR is necessary and essential and why the Tory MP needs to get his head looked at. Since 2001 we’ve seen serious erosion of our freedoms and victimisation cults growing, there’s so many parallels with 1930’s Germany it is frightening. Unless we allow freedom of expression and freedom from persecution for political beliefs, we risk becoming a repressionist and dictatorial state. ‘Send him back to Jordan – who cares what he’s done, we don’t like him’ isn’t any sort of justification for condemning someone to torture. Trial by media is an astonishingly bad idea and we need to ensure politicians are not swayed by the gutter press into handing more of our freedoms away under the guise of protecting them. That’s why the entry into the cabinet of Ed Davey is one of the best events I’ve seen in some time. He is someone I believe will not stand by and let trial by media steamroller the freedoms we hold dear.

    Freedom is elusive, lose sight of it and you may never get it back.

  • Fedup

    Azra,
    The huge numbers of public relations companies working their socks off, along with an army of dewy eye GIYUS army/keyboard warriors, do you honetly expect any real news about Isreal to make it onto the news agenda of the controlled media that is passed as the oh, so “independent media” ?

  • Mary

    Paul Zukowskyj 9 Feb, 2012 – 1:56 pm
    ‘That’s why the entry into the cabinet of Ed Davey is one of the best events I’ve seen in some time. He is someone I believe will not stand by and let trial by media steamroller the freedoms we hold dear.’
    .
    Compare and contrast what you said with this statement from Davey and spot the contradiction.
    ‘I consider myself a friend of Israel, as a beacon of democracy in the region.’
    .
    http://www.edwarddavey.co.uk/archive/articles300.htm

  • sovereigntea

    ” Mr Clarke insisted on Tuesday that the release of Qatada – who has been described as Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe – was nothing to do with the European Court.”

    09/2002 Qatada First arrested

    13/12/2001 Bin laden aka CIA operative Tim Osman reported RIP location Tora Bora

    How can Qatada have been the “right hand man” after that date ?

    I smell male bovine faeces.

    No surprise that Ken Bilderberg Clarke is involved does anyone trust him ?

    Clarke is reported as attempting to introduce more secret courts and re-write our constitution.

    Justice must be seen to be done ! Clarke and his “friends” must be thwarted.

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