UK Terrorism Intelligence Report highlights extremist 'enclaves'
By Roderick Jones
A report entitled ‘International Terrorism’ drawn up by the intelligence branch of the Ministry of Defence in the UK, was leaked to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper in the UK. The document outlines the continued high threat to the UK from international terrorists aligned with al-Qaeda and in particular the severe threat to the Government Security Zone (GSZ) in the center of London, which covers the Houses of Parliament, Whitehall and Buckingham Palace. The report also highlights the continued presence of extremist 'enclaves' in the UK within Birmingham, Luton and South East England.
What is particularly interesting about this report is how little the extremist human and geographical terrain has changed within the UK over the past ten years. Similarly, the core actions of extremist networks have remained consistent in spreading their message, training, funding and procuring non-lethal military equipment to support Jihadi’s in Pakistan - this report really could have been written in 1998. What has of course changed is the explicit domestic targeting of the UK, which was less apparent ten years ago. The UK government’s response to extremism and international terrorism has also drastically shifted - I just hope they aren’t fighting the battle they should have fought in 1998.
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