Britain needs a war on extremism

FP‘s very own James Forsyth, in between writing missives for Passport and cranking out op-eds for the New York Daily News, has been busy scribbling some excellent analysis for ForeignPolicy.com on why homegrown terror plots seem to be a recurring theme of recent British summers. James argues that neither Iraq nor socio-economic disparities can adequately ...

607437_Forsyth25.jpg
607437_Forsyth25.jpg

FP's very own James Forsyth, in between writing missives for Passport and cranking out op-eds for the New York Daily News, has been busy scribbling some excellent analysis for
ForeignPolicy.com
on why homegrown terror plots seem to be a recurring theme of recent British summers. James argues that neither Iraq nor socio-economic disparities can adequately explain why some Britons are driven to plot against their neighbors. But what then explains why, in several polls, "57 percent of British Muslims regarded the campaign against the Taliban as a war on Islam, 40 percent thought those Britons who went to fight with the Taliban were justified, and 15 percent viewed the attacks on the Twin Towers as in some way warranted"? It's time, James insists, for Britain to wage an ideological war on the extremists.  

FP‘s very own James Forsyth, in between writing missives for Passport and cranking out op-eds for the New York Daily News, has been busy scribbling some excellent analysis for
ForeignPolicy.com
on why homegrown terror plots seem to be a recurring theme of recent British summers. James argues that neither Iraq nor socio-economic disparities can adequately explain why some Britons are driven to plot against their neighbors. But what then explains why, in several polls, “57 percent of British Muslims regarded the campaign against the Taliban as a war on Islam, 40 percent thought those Britons who went to fight with the Taliban were justified, and 15 percent viewed the attacks on the Twin Towers as in some way warranted”? It’s time, James insists, for Britain to wage an ideological war on the extremists.  

Carolyn O'Hara is a senior editor at Foreign Policy.

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