British Liberals Strike Blow to Blair Terrorism Bill
Jim Kouri, CPP
November 10, 2005
It's being heralded as a resounding defeat for British Prime Minister Tony Blair by the liberal news media in the United Kingdom. However, the only people who will suffer from the politics-as-usual silliness in the House of Commons will be the English, Welsh, Scots and Northern Irish.
On the day before the catastrophic terrorist blasts in Jordan, and while the streets of France are ablaze with burning cars and debris, The liberals, especially those in the Labor Party, defeated Blair's plan to allow the police to detain suspected terrorists for up to 90 days without charges. Police commanders said they needed this legal power in order to prevent the terrorists from escaping from England or to prevent them from perpetrating terrorist attacks while police question them and conduct their investigations.
The liberal's in the news media -- which means most of the news media -- were almost celebratory in their coverage of this setback in combating terrorists already living in the United Kingdom. They appeared more concerned about political infighting and bringing down an unpopular Prime Minister than about the protection of life and property.
As part of beefing up internal security in England following the summer terrorist attacks on London's mass transit system, Blair wished to comply with the police's request for greater detention powers.
According to British news reports, Mr. Blair sullenly shook his head as it was announced that the 90-day detention plan had been rejected by 322 votes to 291. A total of 49 Labor joined the Tories and Liberal Democrats to reject the proposal.
The Members of Parliament then proposed a 28-day detention limit. Currently, British criminal law allows detention for a maximum of 14 days and the new bill will double the amount of time terrorists may be jailed and questioned without being brought to court for arraignment. The police did not believe it was a total defeat, but it was well short of the 60-day fallback position favored by the police chiefs and the Blair Government.
Pundits believe that this defeat for Tony Blair will add to the pressure for him to step aside and allow a Foreign Secretary Gordon Brown, a Liberal Democrat, to take over as England's Prime Minister. Blair had hoped to remain in office at least until 2007, at which time he'd celebrate 10 years as the PM.
Police officials accepted the parliament's decision on a 28-day limit, and they believe the question of a longer detention is certain to come up again in the future because of the new terrorist threat facing the United Kingdom.
It would appear that liberals on both sides of the Atlantic prefer political victories over victories in the war on terrorism. In days of communist domination in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China and other countries, the mantra was "workers of the world unite." Today it's "liberals of the world unite." Unite for the defeat of Western civilization.
On the day before the catastrophic terrorist blasts in Jordan, and while the streets of France are ablaze with burning cars and debris, The liberals, especially those in the Labor Party, defeated Blair's plan to allow the police to detain suspected terrorists for up to 90 days without charges. Police commanders said they needed this legal power in order to prevent the terrorists from escaping from England or to prevent them from perpetrating terrorist attacks while police question them and conduct their investigations.
The liberal's in the news media -- which means most of the news media -- were almost celebratory in their coverage of this setback in combating terrorists already living in the United Kingdom. They appeared more concerned about political infighting and bringing down an unpopular Prime Minister than about the protection of life and property.
As part of beefing up internal security in England following the summer terrorist attacks on London's mass transit system, Blair wished to comply with the police's request for greater detention powers.
According to British news reports, Mr. Blair sullenly shook his head as it was announced that the 90-day detention plan had been rejected by 322 votes to 291. A total of 49 Labor joined the Tories and Liberal Democrats to reject the proposal.
The Members of Parliament then proposed a 28-day detention limit. Currently, British criminal law allows detention for a maximum of 14 days and the new bill will double the amount of time terrorists may be jailed and questioned without being brought to court for arraignment. The police did not believe it was a total defeat, but it was well short of the 60-day fallback position favored by the police chiefs and the Blair Government.
Pundits believe that this defeat for Tony Blair will add to the pressure for him to step aside and allow a Foreign Secretary Gordon Brown, a Liberal Democrat, to take over as England's Prime Minister. Blair had hoped to remain in office at least until 2007, at which time he'd celebrate 10 years as the PM.
Police officials accepted the parliament's decision on a 28-day limit, and they believe the question of a longer detention is certain to come up again in the future because of the new terrorist threat facing the United Kingdom.
It would appear that liberals on both sides of the Atlantic prefer political victories over victories in the war on terrorism. In days of communist domination in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China and other countries, the mantra was "workers of the world unite." Today it's "liberals of the world unite." Unite for the defeat of Western civilization.
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