• Military
• WMD
• Intelligence

• Security Menu                     

• Systems
• Industry
• Operations
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Space

Analysis: Confronting Terror in Open Society

Council on Foreign Relations

July 2, 2007
Prepared by: Eben Kaplan

Gordon Brown faced a trial by fire in his first week as Britain’s prime minister. Two days after ushering in his new administration, Brown found himself beset by threats of terrorism, first with the discovery of two car bombs (BBC) in central London, then later with a failed assault (Scotsman) on Glasgow’s airport. His response, detailed in this Telegraph timeline, draws attention to Britain’s terror response network, and more generally to how free societies treat the Muslims in their midst.

As British police investigating the car bomb plot press through quiet suburban neighborhoods (TIME), many now argue Britain must do more to deal with the threat of homegrown terrorism. Certainly domestic intelligence gathering is a critical ingredient. Michael McConnell, the U.S. director of national intelligence, recently told CFR.org that Britain’s experience with the Irish Republican Army leaves it well equipped for such an undertaking. An Online Debate examines the comparative strengths of the British and American systems, noting that Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, the MI5, is in some ways more effective at domestic surveillance than the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

Finding bad seeds among mostly moderate communities is a nuanced task. As Prime Minister Brown told the BBC in an interview, the challenge of homegrown terrorists is a “battle of hearts and minds.” Winning such a struggle, argues the Independent, requires “calm, caution, and intelligence.” According to William Rees-Mogg, a Times of London columnist, it will also require a new legal framework and a close look at Britain’s “deeply flawed” culture, which he says has alienated many British Muslims.

Britain is not alone. Europe’s failure to integrate descendents of Muslim immigrants has led to a generation of disillusioned youth (Foreign Affairs) who are increasingly susceptible to radical ideology.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2007 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.