Friday, November 10, 2006

1,600 Terrorists in Britain - 230 Plots

The Director-General of MI5 has told the press of the level of threat from terrorism in Britain. The figures are shocking:

1,600 individuals are actively engaged in planning terror attacks

30 major plots are under investigation and 200 less serious ones are not being investigated because of lack of resources.

6 major terror attacks have been prevented in the last six years.

She added:

The threat is serious, growing and will, I believe, be with us for a generation. Today we see the use of home-made improvised explosive devices. Tomorrow’s threat may — and I suggest will — include the use of chemicals, bacteriological agents, radioactive materials and even nuclear technology

And there was a warning about grooming:

More and more people are moving from passive sympathy towards active terrorism through being radicalised or indoctrinated by friends, families, in organised training events here and overseas, by images on TV, through internet chatrooms and websites....

It is the youth who are being actively targeted, groomed, radicalised and set on a path that frighteningly quickly could end in their involvement in mass murder of their fellow UK citizens — or their early death in a suicide attack or on a foreign battlefield.
Frightening stuff. This is the kind of threat that the country needs to unite to stand against. When we fought the Nazis the enemy was clear and the cause was clear. Unfortunately, in our time, the enemy is hidden and they do their best to confuse their cause leading to disunity amongst their targets.