Echoes of Appeasement

I ran across an interesting review of Londonistan discussing past and current terrorism concerns, the issue of the Iranian acquisition of nuclear weapons, all in relation to the UK. I am assuming here, but other than the straight-forward mention of the UK, figuratively, the UK could also represent the rest of Europe and the West. I may be wrong in this, but bein unfamiliar with the author's work, the article mentions:

In retrospect, it seems oafish of Neville Chamberlain, Britain's prime minister in 1938, to have betrayed Czechoslovakia to Nazi rule in return for the empty promise of peace. Yet an overwhelming English majority looked with horror on the prospect of confrontation with Germany and a new world war, until Adolf Hitler forced England's hand by invading Poland. "The appeaser hopes the crocodile will eat him last," said Winston Churchill. Today's crocodiles may not be so patient.

Opposing voices in 1938 rang lonely and shrill, and just as shrill today sounds Daily Mail columnist Melanie Phillips in her portrayal of an emasculated Britain ashamed of its own national identity and anxious to appease the "clerical fascism" of the jihadis. That will change, perhaps even before the print is quite dry on her new book. She warns that the West faces a religious war with Islam.

The review then goes into a diatribe of 'reaping what you sow':

Britain, Phillips warns, is reaping what it has sown. A large minority of British Muslims are disaffected at best and seditious at worst. Phillips cites a 2004 Home Office survey finding that 26% of British Muslims felt no loyalty to Britain, 13% supported terrorism, and about 1% (up to 20,000 individuals) were "actively engaged" in terrorism or support for terrorism.

Another poll found that 32% of British Muslims agreed that "Western society is decadent and immoral and that Muslims should seek to bring it to an end". In the event of a violent collision between the West and Iran, for example, civil conflict might arise in Britain on a scale resembling that in Northern Ireland in the 1970s.

British government policy, in relation to handling terrorism is blasted:

A cynically narrow concept of national interest guided this policy, she argues, charging that MI6 (Military Intelligence Section 6, now officially known as the Secret Intelligence Service) believed "that if the Islamists were being left undisturbed to conduct their activities on the assumption that they would not then attack Britain".

But that can explain only part of the story, and Phillips searches for deeper causes of Britain's cowardice. "Denial" is a recurrent theme.

Source: This time the crocodile won't wait

Anyone read Londonistan or is familiar with works of Melanie Phillips?
Her book seems to be blunt and brutal, especially in light of the 2+ year efforts of the EU to 'negotiate down' with the Iranian's over their ongoing nuclear program and ambitions. How much longer must "diplomacy" be played out before it simply becomes characterized as appeasement?







seekerof

Originally posted by Seekerof
Anyone familiar with works of Melanie Phillips?

- Yes, she is one of the more 'barking' right-wing nutjobs that regularly contributes to that right-wing nutjob tabloid 'The Daily Mail' we have over here.

The kind who claim to 'see' and 'foresee' ruin and disaster everywhere, a neo-commie plot in everything and, possibly because of the Mail's actual history of support and appeasement with the real nazis in the 1930's, who see appeasement (of people and regimes they don't like) everywhere, if 'we' aren't for flattening 'them' all in moments.

(You got to laugh at that tragic 'Londinistan' nonsense, how quickly it's gone from London defiant to London's appeasement, huh?)

Think of an anorexic 'pills' Limbaugh or an older Coulter with grey hair and (maybe?) female genitals.

You'd love her?



[edit on 22-5-2006 by sminkeypinkey]

For anyone interested the Times had this to say about MI5 and the counter-terrorism efforts -

At present, just over half of MI5’s resources are spent on international counter-terrorism out of a budget estimated at £200 million. Of an additional 12 per cent, much of that is allocated towards providing security advice for government departments, national utilities, business and industry.

DANGER MONEY

52% of M15’s budget goes on international counter-terrorism


21% on Irish counter-terrorism


12% on security advice

6.5% on counter-espionage


3% on countering nuclear, chemical and biological weapons proliferation


2.5% on serious crime now goes on international counter-terrorism


2% on external assistance


1% on emerging threats

www.timesonline.co.uk...

- Clearly there has to be prioritising and obviously funding has it's limits but Phillips' claim ""that if the Islamists were being left undisturbed to conduct their activities on the assumption that they would not then attack Britain" is simply not true now if it ever really was.

IIRC that kind of attitude was applied to Islamic groups agitating within countries abroad from their British 'bases', long before Al Quaeda and any attacks in 'the West.
It certainly was not how MP describes it.