A man was shot dead on a tube train yesterday as a police chase ended violently and decisively.
Some people might think this was unnecessary and no different from the terrorism they're battling against. I say that is a specious argument and shows poor analysis.
This link might work:-
http://andymerrett.co.uk/weblog/2005/07/22/man-shot-dead-still-terrorism
I'm right there with the police officers and the decisive action. No way could they guarantee that the suspected perpetrator would not blow up himself and them with him, but the odds of stopping a potential blast are with the head shot.
Two weeks and a day after the 7th July bombings and one suspected terrorist is taken down. It gives a very clear signal that we won't be messed with. It's a sad change to our historically tolerant way of life in UK, where the need for such armed brandishings was not so long ago unheard of, but we live in interesting times and we need to get serious and give the right signals that UK is no longer a soft target.
EDIT 03-Nov-2006
Since my original post, the plot went pear-shaped and then thickened like treacle. First we found that Jean Charles Menezes was not close to being a terrorist but was a tragic victim of mistaken identity.
Then there was news that his stay in UK was not properly cleared, which may have explained why he ran away from the police. Then we heard that there was no chase. Then we heard that the police boss man Sir Ian Blair claimed not to know about the mistaken identity way past when he should have been told, as an explanantion for duff information he gave at a press conference.
I'd still endorse the dread strategy and tactics used by the police in principle but getting your intel right is paramount. They failed in this responsibility.
Since this incident this poor man has become a symbol of us getting it wrong in the so-called war against terror.
It's all a mess.
Some people might think this was unnecessary and no different from the terrorism they're battling against. I say that is a specious argument and shows poor analysis.
This link might work:-
http://andymerrett.co.uk/weblog/2005/07/22/man-shot-dead-still-terrorism
I'm right there with the police officers and the decisive action. No way could they guarantee that the suspected perpetrator would not blow up himself and them with him, but the odds of stopping a potential blast are with the head shot.
Two weeks and a day after the 7th July bombings and one suspected terrorist is taken down. It gives a very clear signal that we won't be messed with. It's a sad change to our historically tolerant way of life in UK, where the need for such armed brandishings was not so long ago unheard of, but we live in interesting times and we need to get serious and give the right signals that UK is no longer a soft target.
EDIT 03-Nov-2006
Since my original post, the plot went pear-shaped and then thickened like treacle. First we found that Jean Charles Menezes was not close to being a terrorist but was a tragic victim of mistaken identity.
Then there was news that his stay in UK was not properly cleared, which may have explained why he ran away from the police. Then we heard that there was no chase. Then we heard that the police boss man Sir Ian Blair claimed not to know about the mistaken identity way past when he should have been told, as an explanantion for duff information he gave at a press conference.
I'd still endorse the dread strategy and tactics used by the police in principle but getting your intel right is paramount. They failed in this responsibility.
Since this incident this poor man has become a symbol of us getting it wrong in the so-called war against terror.
It's all a mess.
