Thursday 29 June 2006

Anti-Terror Raid Apology

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair admitted that the Forest Gate anti-terrorism raid was in error.

This time we did not find what we were looking for and it seems we were wrong. Once again I apologise for the harm and disruption caused.
However, he went on to say that the police were "wrong" not in carrying out the raid, but in not finding what they were looking for.

This is a positive development, as it's far better that the police to state that it is preferable to make that sort of error rather than the kind that ends with bombs going off in Tube trains. However, it seems that the government still hasn't a clue as to the nature of this war, since Sir Ian also said, according to the report,

(I)t was his view that the police should find leading figures in the Muslim community "who will be able to examine our methodology, our intelligence assessments and decision making before major operations."
It's rather like consulting with Russian ex-pats during the Cold War before going after KGB agents. With that sort of "help" I predict that the police are going to come up empty handed with remarkable regularity.

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