Over the weekend, the U.S. special operations teams of Task Force 88 took another shot at al Qaeda's network operating inside Pakistan's tribal areas. The target of the Predator strike was Rashid Rauf, the man behind the failed bombing in 2006 of London airlines. The plan was for al Qaeda operatives to mix binary liquid explosives and detonate them on about a dozen planes while in mid-flight over the Atlantic. Pakistani intelligence claimed Rauf was killed, but this hasn't been confirmed.
The strike has led to protests--not from Pakistanis but British Members of Parliament. Rauf was a dual Pakistani-British citizen. Some Tory backbenchers are angry over the "execution" of a citizen, while some in Labor are concerned Rauf's civil rights were violated.
Patrick Mercer, Tory MP for Newark, said the attack had "ultimately led to the execution of a British subject". He called for a clear statement from the Government to explain what was known about the planned attack. Andrew Dismore, Labor chairman of the parliamentary Human Rights Committee, wanted to know whether British intelligence services had been consulted by the Americans.
The protests over Rauf highlight the fundamental disagreement between those who see the conflict with al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists as a war and those who see the conflict as a problem to be left to law enforcement agencies.
As the attitude of the British Members of Parliament shows, Britain, like most European countries, has opted for the latter view. This is why men like Abu Qatada, al Qaeda's "ambassador to Europe," are released on bail. Qatada cannot be deported to Jordan, where he was convicted on terrorism related charges, because his human rights might be violated. Instead the government pays him thousands of dollars a month in benefits.
Seven al Qaeda operatives, including a "recruiting sergeant," have skipped what are called "control orders," which essentially is bail, and are missing. British intelligence believes there are over 2,000 determined jihadists operating inside the country and plotting attacks from "enclaves" in London, Birmingham, and Luton. Britain's capital has earned the derisive title of "Londonistan" because terrorists and their supporters flock to the country, knowing they can operate in an environment where the law handcuffs the government.
