Three quick links on the way the wholehearted pursuit of the "war on terror" is destroying the UK:
- The International Commission of Jurists have issued a report [PDF] arguing that the war on terror has seriously undermined international law, and that many of the tactics used (e.g. torture, rendition) are illegal and counterproductive. It specifically points the finger at the US and UK for undermining human rights protections both at home and internationally, and argues that both have exploited fear of terrorism to introduce measures which violate human rights.
- Former MI5 Director-General Stella Rimington has accused the UK government of "exploiting terrorism" and whipping up public fear to push through repressive (and counterproductive) measures. I guess she'd know...
- It turns out that UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband had asked the US to threaten to cut off intelligence cooperation so he could cover up the torture of a UK resident. Isn't that called "manufacturing evidence"? Isn't it a crime?
Rimington is right: if the UK keeps doing this, it will end up as a repressive police state (if it isn't already - and their panopticon looks pretty close). Which means that in an important sense, the terrorists will have won. But somehow, I don't think the UK's authoritarian political class will mind one bit.
Update: So what's Miliband hiding? Looks like the UK's own torture by proxy policy using the Pakistanis and Americans to keep MI5's hands officially "clean". Another thing we can all thank Tony Blair for...
