The War on Terrorism (But Not Really)

Via Andrew Sullivan, news of another twarted terror plot in the U.K.-

Robert Cottage (49), of Talbot Street, Colne, and David Bolus Jackson (62), of Trent Road, Nelson, made separate appearances before the court charged with being in possession of an explosive substance for an unlawful purpose...

...The 22 chemical components recovered by police are believed to be the largest haul ever found at a house in this country...

Mrs Christiana Buchanan, who appeared for the prosecution in Jackson's case, alleged the pair had "some kind of masterplan".

She said a search of Jackson's home had uncovered rocket launchers, chemicals, BNP literature and a nuclear biological suit...

Given the super-crazed media hype in August, and temporary banning of liquids from airplanes, following the the thwarting of a liquid bomb plot in the U.K. that turned out to be fairly exaggerated, why have we not heard any reports yet about the arrests of these potential terrorists??

Andrew Sullivan has the obvious answer: that "this plot was by British far-rightists, the UK equivalent of Timothy McVeigh. And that's why you haven't heard of it. It doesn't serve the interests of the two governments to hype it."

Of course.

A snarky British blogger sarcastically states that "No doubt they’re organising the triumphant press conferences as we speak. Regardless of whether they are innocent or guilty, the Home Secretary will be commending his staff for their successful action, whilst calling on all decent, moderate members of the white community to condemn these Anglofascist extremists and their perverse interpretation of their cultural and moral values, and urge them to do more to co-operate with the authorities fully to deal with the threat in their midst. Meanwhile, he says, the police will be instructed to step up their guard, and white people will be subjected to targeted stop and search and additional security checks at railway stations and airports. At the same time, he would of course try and reassure the law-abiding majority that the government is working full pelt to thwart the forces of Anglofascism, and that we should not be afraid to sit next to white people on the Tube, even if they’re wearing rucksacks or sporting that funny shaven head haircut some of them have. The announcement’s due any minute. No doubt. I’m sure of it. Any minute now."

Last month, I also linked to a piece by Glenn Greenwald on how Michelle Malkin- one of the most radical defenders of Bush's terror policies- was outraged that three convicted Christian terrorists in Indonesia were going to be executed, because she supposedly had concerns about the fairness of the trial. At the time, I noted how that example perfectly illustrated how the far-right views the war on terror as just a means for a battle between Christianity and Islam... and not really about stopping terrorism at all. Stories like this one out of the U.K. only further hammer home that point.

Certainly Muslim extremists are the predominant threat we face. There is no question there- Madrid and London reminded us of that. But let's not also ignore that their threat provides a useful political tool for our leaders, who have exploited it immensely. And let us also not lose sight of the fact that terrorism didn't begin and end with Al Qaeda.

[Related/recommended post by Jonathan Schwarz on this hypocrisy:
It’s not the killing Americans part that’s important]