The War on Terror: Brutal Murder, Radicalisation and Drones

Drummer Lee Rigby R.I.P.

This week has seen the brutal murder of Lee Rigby, a serving UK soldier, who was attacked and killed, whilst walking down the street outside Woolwich Barracks, by two men with knives who were boldly proclaiming their attack to be revenge for the deaths of Muslims abroad. The immediate effect of this attack has been to highlight the dangers of religious extremism and the violence it encourages, produces and condones, with politicians and security services acknowledging that, in a free society, it is hard to prevent such isolated incidents from occurring. With the radicalisation of British citizens questions are being asked about how to prevent such attacks from happening again. The vast majority of British Muslims, and indeed Muslims worldwide, are shocked and appalled by such violence and it is as a diverse but united society that tensions and extremism must be addressed. Whilst not lessening the brutality of this attack, or justifying it, that the attackers are able to point to civilian deaths as a result of the ‘war on terror’ should be noted. The UK and its allies are responsible for civilian deaths abroad and that they are abroad does not lessen the human suffering they cause. The shock and outrage, as well as the empathy for Lee Rigby’s family and friends, caused by this incident will be mirrored elsewhere when innocents die. If any good can come out of such a vile act such as this, hopefully the public here will better understand what feelings are stirred by such violence occurring somewhere which should be safe.

EDL Undercover faction

We have also witnessed, despite the statements and actions of the vast majority of Muslims, another reactionary type of extremism both online and on the streets, with the English Defence League (EDL) – a far right and often violent group whose Facebook page now has over 100000 likes – mobilising its supporters to ‘protest’ outside of Mosques and the British National Party (BNP) –a  far right political party – calling for deportation and days of ‘national action.’ In the days since Lee Rigby’s murder there has been an increase in attacks on Muslims and mosques and many have noted an increase in bigotry, racism and xenophobia appearing in their Facebook and Twitter feeds. Although I have been fortunate enough to read many posts in my own Facebook feed from friends condemning both violence and bigotry and celebrating the fact that their friends have not resorted to posting such things, I have also been exposed to some very reactionary and bigoted views from friends I would not have expected it from. It appears that extremism feeds on extremism, with both extremes here reacting to the other and using their actions as a recruiting device. Just as attacks motivated by Islamic extremism undoubtedly help to recruit for the EDL and BNP, the statements and ‘protests’ carried out by the BNP and the EDL make it far easier for British Muslims to become radicalised online and by radical clerics. Hate breeds hate.

Anonymous killer

Coincidentally, this week has also seen President Obama attempt to justify US drone strikes, which follows on from his recent restart of the push to close Guantanamo, as well as revelations about the UK’s role in rendition carried out by the CIA since 9/11 and the escalation of the ‘war on terror.’ It was particularly interesting reading an article this week attempting to justify the continuing use of drone strikes by the US on the grounds that civilian deaths are falling. In isolation, and when far removed from the actual realities of the drone strikes, this would appear to be a reasonable argument, but, when you consider the effect that just one death can have on a population, any continuing civilian deaths are likely to cause further radicalisation and be the recruiting tool, and justification, for further violent attacks. Since the beginning of the ‘war on terror’ the UK and the US have used violence abroad to try and stop violence on home soil and this has fanned the flames of extremism by giving ever increasing numbers of people a reason to fear and hate the West. As we have seen this week, violent attacks from one extreme fuel recruitment for, and incidents from, another extreme. We have seen a rise in far right extremism, a rise in bigotry, a rise in xenophobia, a rise in fear and a rise in hatred. This is the result of one shocking and violent death. Imagine if we lived in constant fear of a drone strike, being able to hear them overhead and always wondering whether you, or someone you know, might be taken for a ‘military-age male in a strike zone’ and killed or snatched away to be ‘interrogated’ and held in a foreign country without charge, trial, conviction or defence.

Radicalised LEGO

Much is made of the need for terrorism to be combated at home, and for work to be carried out within the Muslim community to stop radicalisation, but this is only one part of the solution. The recruiting devices of extremist groups and extremist clerics, both at home and abroad, are the very acts carried out on foreign soil which are supposed to make us safer, and, for as long as they continue, people will be radicalised and will want to perpetrate violence. The problem here is that, due to the longevity of the ‘war on terror,’ there are Western troops on the ground in largely Muslim states, a powerful symbol even when not engaged in fighting; there are targets in numerous states, who are being attacked by drones; and there are ever increasing numbers of radicalised Muslims who wish to attack the US and the UK, therefore increasing the number of targets. With this being the reality, it seems unlikely that the violence will stop long enough to stop acting as a recruitment device. Considering  this reality, it is likely that, in spite of President Obama’s fine words about tackling ‘underlying grievances and conflicts that feed extremism,’ we will continue to see an escalation of extremism both at home and abroad as the ‘war on terror’ appears to be far from over.