Calm Down

Simon Jenkins in the Sunday Times (via Europhobia) hits the nail on the head. Repeatedly. I'd recommend reading it all but here are a couple of snippets.

That some London passengers were sadly killed earlier this month does not put the security of the British state at risk. I have a higher respect for that security than most people seem to have. Britain is not at war just because some Arab says so. No amount of tabloid hysteria — or tabloid government — should make it otherwise. No city can be immune to bombs but that does not subvert democracy and engender a state of emergency. Anyone who pretends otherwise is an accessory to the terrorism itself.

I concur.

Terrorism’s “useful idiots” have had a field day this past fortnight. They have jumped from “nothing can justify the bombing” (true) to “nothing can explain the bombing” (absurd). They have jumped from “Britain’s war in Iraq is no excuse for killing innocent Londoners” (true) to “Britain’s war in Iraq has nothing to do with the bombing” (palpably absurd). They jump from “we must not be driven to alter our way of life” (true) to demanding that we do just that. The “useful idiots” demand new powers, new restrictions and new measures against the Muslim community. Above all they declare “war on terror”, turn murderers into warriors and incite Islam to proclaim jihad in response.

He's not wrong. Read it all. It's responsible level headed writing on the current situation, and that's pretty unusual these days. And in a Murdoch newspaper, would you believe? As Nosemonkey points out, this is somewhat negated by the Sunday Times front page story mentioned in the previous post. I wonder if the editorial staff realise that they are also terrorism's "useful idiots"?