The Terrorist Threat in London
By James Jay Carafano Posted in Foreign Affairs — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
LONDON -- Outside of the United States, few nations represent a more choice transnational terrorist target than Great Britain. London sits in the center of the bull’s eye. There are few better places to go to gauge the state of the terrorist threat and the state-of-the-art technology used to combat terrorism.
The 7/7 London bombings on July 7, 2005, killed 52 innocents and injured 700, the most terrible terrorist act in the nation’s history. In 2006, authorities busted a London-based plot to smuggle liquid explosives on flights bound for the United States. In 2007, British police uncovered a car stuffed with explosives, seemingly ready to bring a bit of Baghdad to the city.
The city has also earned the nickname “Londonistan” for a reason. In the last decades, London has become a magnet for religious extremists.
On the flip side, London employs some of the sophisticated counterterrorism technologies in the world, including the “ring of steel,” a web of barriers and closed-circuit televisions to protect the city against criminals and terrorists.
Real homeland security is about fighting terrorism, promoting economic growth, protecting individual liberty, and battling extremist ideas all equally well at the same time. Taking a closer look at London offers an opportunity to see how well one nation is responding to the challenge.
[The Heritage Foundation’s James Jay Carafano will be blogging on RedState about his trip to London to study counterterrorism measures.]