In our house the Today programme has to compete with the chat and clatter of children being got ready for school. But I'm sure I heard all-the-talents security minister Admiral Sir Alan West telling Ed Stourton this morning that our involvement in Iraq hadn't helped our struggle with terrorism at home - a suggestion that has always been strenuously denied by this and the Blair government. I'll be listening again (from 8.10) as soon as the Today website has been updated. Watch this space.
UPDATE: Right, you can now hear it for yourselves. The interview runs from 8.09 but the bit about Iraq comes just after 8.16. Edward Stourton asks Sir Alan what he thinks of the view that Britain's military involvements in Iraq and Afghanistan have "increased" the threat posed by terrorism in Britain. West's reply is heavily qualified both before and after by the usual stuff about how the threat was there before, it would still be with us anyway, there are a variety of reasons for it and that would-be terrorists will seize on any excuse to justify themselves. Nonetheless, he said:
"Has Iraq made a difference? Yes, clearly it has, to an extent. People do draw attention to that and clearly it's got a lot of people upset in this country."
Even with all the caveats - which I happen to think valid - this strikes me as a significant admission, one that no one in the Blair administration was brave or honest enough to make.
Of course Iraq has increased the threat and of course the government deny it. However, I don't see why this makes a difference.
Should the fact that a few fanatics threaten us with bombs alter how we conduct our foreign policy. In my opinion no. There is no justification in those fanatics use of violence so the only response should be to carry on as before, as we would have had the threat not existed.
Posted by: molasses | July 16, 2007 at 08:00 PM