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Home Made Bombs

I suppose the Extradition laws would not allow John Reid the power to extradite the 118 (mainly) US (mainly) youths who have put videos of their Home Made Bombs on the youtube site - even if he wanted to.

Click on the link above to get a list of the videos of making a home made bomb currently stored on YouTube.

What are the political points:
a) That the extradition laws remain unbalanced
b) That people wishing to make bombs out of fertiliser (cf the IRA) [or other generally available materials] can do so. It is not possible to completely eradicate all potential sources of explosive material (eg Sugar)
c) Security and peace require a reduction in the desire for conflict to a greater extent than a reduction in the ability to progress a conflict.

Hence the government should stop going around winding up the whole world (apart from the US and Israeli governments).

The government sort of recognise this by saying they are fighting for "hearts and minds". Well hearts and minds are an issue of persuasion. You do not persuade someone by shooting their family. That is called cooercion.

Comments

Tristan said…
and the government should stop deliberately inflating fear. that's what terrorists want. Those killed are colateral damage, its the disruption and fear which they seek.
numix1977 said…
do not persuade someone by shooting their family. That is called cooercion.

Do you think Israel should give in to the demands of Hizboollah and Hamas who use violence to cooerce?
Bob Piper said…
tristan... perhaps the government should just not say anything and pretend that tube trains in London and trains in Spain and offices in Turkey and on, and on and on, don't actually happen. It's called the ostrich view of government. Of course, if they don't warn people there will be people called tristan posting trite comments on blogs bleating... "they should have warned us."
John Hemming said…
Simon - of course not.

Bob - security is needed, but is not the whole solution.
numix1977 said…
Shaz, aside from the fact that Israel was created by the UN, I would like you to name a state in Europe that was not created (in terms of territory, the establishment of secure borders, civili authority etc etc) via non coercive means.

When you've decided that there probably isn't one (certainly not the UK!), can you explain to me why violence in the past legitimates violence in the present or the future?

John, as ever, I am at a loss as to what you think Israel should do when attacked. Caught between not giving in to extremist demands and not responding, what is left? I suppose just sitting there and taking it? Pretending the threat is not there (cf. Bob Piper)? Both are solutions, I have to confess, that do not appeal to me with our own home grown bombers.
John Hemming said…
Oddly enough there is a biblical quotation of "an eye for an eye". This implies a proportionate reaction not a totally disproportionate reaction.

I am not saying that people should not react, but that any reaction should be proportionate and not a massive overreaction. An overreaction heats things up.

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