Radicilisation in Britain: The Problem

With the proverbial unmasking of “Jihadi John” – now being reported as Mohammed Emwazi, together with the disappearance of three young girls from England to Syria, England, the UK and the world in general continues to become more and more at risk of radicalisation.

The advancement of ISIL would have been near-impossible without the influx of foreign fighters into Syria and Iraq. It has been estimated that 30,000 foreigners have travelled to the war-torn areas to join the so-called caliphate. A few days ago, three schoolgirls based in England fled to Syria. For the families it is horrible, yet you would have to question the motive for anyone who is radicalised. First, to leave a successful life in England for a war-ravaged area would be near unheard of, this suggests that anyone who has done this is leaving little behind. While you could also suggest that there is always a choice in terms of choosing the radical ways of ISIL or staying with Western Values – this suggests people that are radicalised are weak.

As if three schoolgirls fleeing the country wasn’t bad enough, it has been reported that “Jihadi John” is the pseudonym for a man named Mohammed Emwazi. Emwazi was born in Kuwait, though spent many years in the UK, even graduating from the University of Westminster with a degree. It is such a shame, what could have been a highly successful life has turned into a horrible one, with the blood of so many innocent people on his shoulders. Though the real issue is how he became radicalised.

It could be argued that more needs to be done to help people that feel withdrawn from society. The more withdrawn they are, the more likely they are to be swayed by radical messages. However a bridge to that stage would be to shut down public speaking’s from known Jihadists. Incredibly, the University of Westminster were due a talk the very same day as the unmasking of Emwazi from an infamous Islamic preacher. Some would suggest you are just asking for trouble with events like this being held.

Overall, the fact is that radicalisation is not going to stop anytime soon. It is a shame, as in some instances people leave good lives behind to go and fight against freedom. What has happened to Emwazi is a shame, there have been many before him and many after him. Britain and the rest of the world needs to do something to stop radicalization, or things will only get worse.

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(‘042’)

Woeful British Justice System summed up: Imran Khawaja Sentenced

A growing problem at the moment is the conflict in the Middle East, where the so-called Islamic State have been claiming large swathes of territory. Thousands of foreign fighters have joined them, many coming from Western countries like England and France among others. A related problem is those very same fighters attempting to return to these countries after spending time in Iraq or Syria. Imran Khawaja is an example of someone who faked his own death before trying to return to England. He was caught – however he has received a shambolic sentence of just twelve years (or 6 as it is England).

Footage of Imran Khawaja holding up severed heads were shown in front of court, with his disgusting acts clear to see for all. The problem with the Islamic State is going to only get worse if there is no deterrent. By handing a twelve-year sentence – what message does this hand out? It means first of all, provided he has good behaviour, he will be released early in 2021. 6 years, how would you feel if you were family of one of the many people shown in the footage, only then to see someone toying, disrespecting the memory, to only receive a short sentence.

While Jordan reacted to the death of their hostage by the Islamic State with their own executions, compare that to England and again, problems exist. A simple “strongly condemn” message does little to harm the Islamic State. This is one of just many gaping holes in the British Justice System – paedophiles, perverts and sometimes even murderers, get highly-lenient sentences, before being released, often re-offending. One would imagine that the Justice System has a duty to its citizens to protect them, but when you see sentences like this handed out, it makes you question the system.

As mentioned there is a danger to the UK, brought on by the radicalisation of many youngsters. However, nothing will help stop this until tougher sentences are handed out. While in other countries Treason is met with the death penalty, in England a menial sentence of six years is handed out, it simply doesn’t work.

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(‘038’)

Debate: Terrorist or freedom fighter?

INTRODUCTION
“One man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter.” This quote is a well-known one – with the on-going conflict around the world, the debate surrounding this quote is more fervent than ever. While the West has categorically labelled those fighting for the Islamic State and other similar groups as terrorists, for others, they are freedom fighters. The question is though, which of these beliefs is correct, or do both have grounds?

IDEOLOGIES
Western and Eastern ideologies play a big part in this overall debate. While the West is firmly in the modern day, offering an opportunity and a better life for many, the East appears at times to be in the dark ages, often medieval with some of their rules and regulations. As mentioned, there are a host of conflicts going on at the moment – the on-going conflict in Iraq and Syria, the battle in the Congo and also the Nigerian encounter.

TERRORISTS?
To take an example – the Islamic State – formally known as ISIS or ISIL. During their bid to claim large swathes of Iraq and Syria, forming a “caliphate”, they have left a bloody trail behind, killing thousands. Without doubt, this has been an act of evil. While they suggest that they do this in the name of religion, no religion can condone the acts of violence we have seen in recent months. There have been so many victims of the advancement of the Islamic State. When the West designates an organisation like this as a terrorist group, there are always grounds to do this.

Perhaps the biggest signifier that they are terrorists is their sickening videos they have released through their Al-Furqan media arm. Many journalists, even some aid workers – all innocent bystanders in the conflict, have been murdered in cold blood, before putting their families through the pain of releasing a video of the act. While these videos have been released in their dozens, we are yet to see a video of Barack Obama or any leading authority figure from the West engaging in such a brutal act. The US continue to help the Iraqi and Syrian civilians in trying to halt the advance of the Islamic State, however there is only a certain amount they can do.

FREEDOM FIGHTERS?
While the obvious idea is that those that take part in these mass executions, suicide bombings and despicable videos are terrorists, it would be unfair to not analyse the other side of the story. A freedom fighter is defined as a “person engaged in a resistance movement against what they believe to be an oppressive and illegitimate government.” When applying this to Syria – you could suggest that the Islamic State can fit this category. The Assad regime have been known to not treated their civilians well.

The Nigerian group Boko Haram have also labelled themselves’ freedom fighters. They bid to impose sharia law in Nigeria. Their name translates close to “Western Education is forbidden.” One thing is for certain – it is unfair to deny children the right to an education – no freedom fighters would be doing this. But it is only to fair to an extent to consider terrorist groups freedom fighters – after all, many consider them to be.

OVERALL
In conclusion, this is a topic very much open to opinion. From a Western perspective, it is clear that these organisations are terrorist-related. No politically-correct group would go round killing masses in sickening executions. The Islamic State are an ideal example of how a group can be designated terrorist. What is important to remember is that these groups do have support, whether those who support them have had their mind-warped is a question for another day, but to some, they are freedom fighters. However overall, it is hard to justify the acts of terrorist groups around the world, with their designation as a terrorist group surely correct.

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(‘036’)

UK Terror: Arrests made in Cardiff, Barry

Reports on various news outlets revealed that this morning five terror-related arrests were made across Wales, while two others were held in London. It is almost becoming customary to here such news, it is a shame that the UK has become like this. But what is even sadder is the location – Barry – a location that primarily brings laughter and joy – due to the popular program Gavin and Stacey.

The town of Barry has popular connotations – many people associate it with the popular show Gavin and Stacey. Such a light-hearted program, and yet now the town is shrouded in bad news over these arrests. It also shows no location is safe from terror. Sometimes it seems the only locations at risk in the UK are the big cities like London and Birmingham, but these arrests prove otherwise.

In terms of the actual arrests, it is a shame. It does make you wonder what people see in terror – it is beyond me how they think killing innocent people helps in any way, or can be justified by religion. As for what plans the seven people had – they are currently unknown. But there will be more people after them, just like there have been countless before them arrested like this.

It is a shame that the UK continues to be at risk rom terrorism. But then so many countries are – but with the Police and other law enforcement agencies doing their best to keep the public safe, there is hope yet that the UK can remain a safe place to live.

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(‘026’)

R.I.P: Peter Kassig’s full letter to Parents

In sad news, Peter Edward Kassig has been murdered by ISIL militants. He is the fifth Western hostage to have been killed by ISIL, as they continue to murder thousands in acts of depravity and pure evil. Kassig was captured in October 2013, being held for thirteen months. It truly is sickening, that  a man that went to Syria to try and help those affected by conflict, has been murdered for his actions. It once again shows that ISIL have no heart, their acts are evil. Hopefully one day they will be stopped.

Kassig sent a letter to his parents via a released prisoner. Here is the full letter:

It is desperately sad to read the letter. Kassig sounds like he is almost resigned to his fate. It is near-unimaginable what he and his fellow hostages went through in their captivity. Yet ISIL maintain they are doing the world a favour. But their acts, reminiscent of the medieval ages, will hopefully be stopped.

It is also sad for the parents, as well as Kassig’s friends. The parents will not have their son with them ever again, they will be constantly reminded of what their son had to go through. It simply isn’t fair on them. We can only hope that in time ISIL will be defeated, and that his death wasn’t for nothing. It is the fifth time that a western hostage has been brutally murdered by ISIL in recent months, hopefully they are also resting in peace.

I’ll leave you with a final image, one that shows Kassig with his father. The sad thing is, when this photo as taken – seemingly at a happy time for both, no one was aware what was to come.

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(‘022’)

U.S. Drone Strikes: Can they be Justified?

With the terrorist group ISIS advancing through large swathes of Iraq and Syria, leaving a bloody trail behind them, it is no surprise to see the United States leading drone strikes against them to try and halt their progress. There is an old saying that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” However in this case this couldn’t be further than the truth – ISIS are pure evil, with force required to try and defeat them. These drone strikes help to stall their progress and weaken their numbers. Drone strikes are nothing new, but how justifiable they are remains to be seen.

Drone strikes have been used effectively for over ten years. One of the main positives about the drone strikes are that the drones themselves’ are unmanned and difficult to detect, meaning they can be used effectively. Many of Al-Qaeda’s most influential personnel have been killed by targeted drone strikes. Of course the cost of these drone strikes are the main negative – just one predator drone will cost a minimum of $5M!

Back to the overall argument and it is difficult to ask whether or not they can be justified. Drone strikes have been in operation since 2002. I have taken a small sample of information which can help to represent some overall statistics. Below is a table showing statistics from the New America Foundation, showing the effect of the drone strikes:

It is worth stressing that these are just statistics for Pakistan. This table completely discounts the drone strikes currently being used in Iraq and Syria to try and stop the movement of ISIS. In total in the last ten years there have been almost 3,000 in total killed by the drone strikes. What is important when choosing whether or not they can be justified or not is to look at the civilian column. 286 civilians have been killed in drone strikes in Pakistan.

This is 286 victims of the conflict. It is highly unfortunate for them to be caught up in this conflict, after all, they are just civilians. What it comes down to is the question of whether or not it is acceptable to make this sacrifice to kill 2,291 militants. Within reason, there is one civilian death for every ten militants killed. It can be argued that this is for the greater good. It is of course as mentioned very unfortunate for civilians to be caught up in this – but at the end of the day USA and other countries taking part in drone strikes are just looking out for their best interests.

They have a duty too protect their own civilians – if drone strikes can do this, then surely it is acceptable for civilian casualties – as long as there aren’t many of them. But then the counter argument to this is that what price can you put on an innocent life? Out of the civilians killed – it is likely that many of these people would’ve had families – families that have been dis-jointed as a result of these strikes. There is also research to suggest that these drone strikes actually cause more people to come up against USA – they see it as an act of aggression. It is also worth bearing in mind that the data I used above was just for one country – this number would be huge if it was on a worldwide scale.

Overall there are some evil, evil people in this world. The USA  have helped enormously to protect their own citizens against many militants – these drone strikes are perhaps the main cause of this. Although it may seem harsh, it is almost necessary that for as many civilians lives’ that are lost – it is ultimately worth it as more people are safe because of it. It is a difficult subject – one that open to opinion – everyone will have different ideas over how fair the strikes are – but one thing is for certain, they aren’t going to stop anytime soon.

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(‘019’)

World Conflict: Will it ever end?

There is a considerable amount of conflict around the world at the moment. There is the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict, militants around the world waging war against civilians – among them the Boko Haram militant group in Nigeria. Then there is the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, while one of the conflicts heavily in the news at the moment is the advancement of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq. Some of the acts that have taken place in recent weeks and months border on barbaric. How is it that after all of this time on Earth, there is still mass conflict around the world, it affects so many people.

It is extremely unfair that it seems to be the civilians who suffer the most. Through no fault of their own, they are being caught up in horrible situations and are in no safe situation. In Iraq at the moment members of the Yazidi community have had to flee their homes to go and seek refuge on a mountain range. Thankfully US forces are flying in aid to help limit the damage. It isn’t right that people are being persecuted for what they believe in. The Islamic State (IS) have caused an unbelievable amount of deaths, releasing gruesome, harrowing videos of some of the murders. There were so many innocent people caught up in the conflict, woman and children as well. It is not fair that IS haven’t given a chance to some people just because what they believe in. They have been responsible for some cowardly actions, this particular conflict shows no sign of ending any time soon.

Then there are other conflicts as well around the world. Ukrainian rebels allegedly shooting down a full-airplane – what did the 300 or so passengers on board do to deserve being shot down? It isn’t just the victims that suffer either – it is all of the families of the victims as well. It simply isn’t fair that there is so much evil in the world.

As sad as it is it doesn’t look like any time soon the conflict around the world will stop. When people are born they are born with a fresh slate – no one is born evil. But there is obviously a lot of hate around the world at the moment – things don’t show any sign of getting any better. The fact that so many lives have been lost in recent times underlines the problem – but realistically there isn’t a lot that can be done. However in the future, there is always the chance that perhaps things will get better – for the good of the human race, I certainly hope that things do get better. Realistically though – this isn’t going to happen any time soon.

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(‘007’)