Paul Reynolds has an article about terrorism experts ‘floundering about’ in an attempt to understand suicide bombers.
He seems to think they are missing something:
‘I felt that the conference rather ignored some of the political influences on suicide bombers, like the world events -Afghanistan, Iraq, the Middle East, Chechnya, Bosnia and others – that provide a basic motivation for many of them.’
Well I am quite prepared to accept that they are floundering, and missing something- the question is, what? Since, for instance, the West’s assistance for Muslims in Kosovo and Indonesia after the tsunami seemed to cause no softening of the “militant” rhetoric I would be inclined to agree with Peter C. Glover:
‘It is amazing how even the most intelligent and understanding among us sometimes refuse to countenance the plainest of answers when it comes to issues of faith. The root cause here is Islam’s teachings. As I have shown repeatedly on these pages Mohammed taught and the Koran and the Traditions teach openly that murder, violence is a perfectly Allah-given path to subjugating all other peoples, cultures and faiths. Moderate Muslims may well deny it by their overlooking of the innumerable passages that teach these things – something we should be thankful for (and encourage)…But it doesn’t change the reality. The ‘radicals’ not the ‘moderates’ are the ones living out true Islam. Until we grasp this key fact and understanding – as hard as President Bush and others find it – we are never really going to ‘get it’ entirely.’
Certainly political events have their impact, but the interpretation of them is the key, and that interpretation is provided by the extreme suspicion, negativity and contempt which can be drawn with a far amount of ease from the pages of the Koran.
In related matters, Ian Dale notes the BBC drawing back from calling terrorists terrorists, again.
I should add, I think, that over the course of time I’ve grown to like Paul Reynolds and his well-meaning work- aided no doubt by the personal encounters enabled by blogging and his own rather generous-spirited approach to us. Therefore I tend to see this kind of analytical weakness as a symptom of BBC malaise rather than a cause of it, in distinction to other BBC men.
Our own Laban Tall, meanwhile, notices another whitewashing of religion. I dare say he may post about it here sometime, but here is a link to the post, painfully funnily titled ‘Mr Clarke – Over Here !’. And here is a taste:
‘“Abdul El-Gharras, 31, was obsessed with decapitation and had downloaded videos of al Qaeda beheadings before murdering Marvin Gentles last June in an argument over crack cocaine, the Old Bailey criminal court heard.”
(Reuters)
Presumably a foreign national then – and with an unhealthy interest in the more robust manifestations of the Religion of Peace. Can’t understand why the BBC should have missed that’
BBC article here.
It is a Foreign Office blindspot known as “the Eton Problem”. Trying to understand irrational behaviour from a rationalist standpoint.
The danger with an over-educated class is that they can no longer think in the unstructured, incoherent manner so many people do think. They underplay frustration, emotion, antagonism, hatred, joy of pain and sheer cruelty.
These are all aspects of human personality lost on the West European who probably thinks pulling wings off butterflies, sticking pigs, or plucking your own chickens after ritually slaughtering them is cruel and obscene.
How Neville Chamberlain – one of only three British Prime Ministers to have attended a College other than Oxford or Cambridge – in his case Mason College of Science in Birmingham – could compregend a man like Hitler who had already ordered his closest associates murdered in 1934……………………..or how Eden, Macmillan, Wilson, Callaghan could really relate to men like Khrushchev or Brezhnev who had lived through and participated in Stalin’s murder of millions is not clear.
In short they could not conceive of people who were brutal, evil, demented, paranoid, and who would not retire but be killed in office unless they killed first (Khrushchev was the first Soviet leader allowed to retire).
Thus it is that studying terrorism, reading books, studying articles is no preparation. Any naive or stupid schoolgirl or teenager can be persuaded given time to become a human-bomb just as effectively as in Western Europe they can fund an entire industry which feeds them cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, cannabis.
Starting from the position that “I have studied what you are doing, therefore I know rationally why you are doing it” is fine intellectually but the decision is neither intellectual nor rational.
Rick:
This is underlined by the clear lack of reason in the reward incentive for terrorists/suicide bombers.
Leaving aside the point that heaven does not exist what is the attraction of 72 virgins?
If it is the physical fact of virginity that is the pull then after 72 shags there are none left!
If the attraction of virginity is that the girl is guarranteed disease free and pure in heart then 1 virgin will do!
This is simply not amenable to logical analysis and there is no point in trying anyway since you would never be able to convince a fanatic. By that time it is too late.
I simply cannot understand the mindset of the individual terrorist. I wonder if it comes down to a group of people sharing and recycling their grievances without a calming injection of realism from any of the group until one or more of them explodes (literally).
FAO Ed Thomas:
Ed,
your links to Iain Dale’s and Laban Tall’s pieces actually link to the BBC and Peter Glover items again.
Whoops, will correct. Thanks. Always nice to know people follow the links. Essential.
O/T
NIck Robinson toys flying out of pram alert!!!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2006/04/im_not_covering_1.html
I simply cannot understand the mindset of the individual terrorist. I wonder if it comes down to a group of people sharing and recycling their grievances without a calming injection of realism from any of the group until one or more of them explodes (literally).
Sleep deprivation – traumatic event – feeling of helplessness – authority figure with convincing story of this being very important for others…………spirit of self-sacrifice
I’d say broken superiority complex.
Following Koran = heaven on Earth.
But nations that follow the koran are obvious shitholes.
As the west is massively superior to the islamic world, the islamist is merely trying to destroy the evidence of their own eyes before it destroys his faith.
Charlie
Lying bastards caught out again.
Amazing!
On News 24 just now a non-BBC journalist was called in to comment on Prescott and Clarke. On Prescott: private life has no relevance. On Clarke: in dangerous position but should not resign because (unbelievably) he is competent (at least that’s what I think I heard!). The independent journalist was that well-known fount of disinterested comment and critic of New Labour, Polly Toynbee of The Guardian. When is Richard Littlejohn going to be invited on to News 24 (or any BBC programme) for his views?
Rick,
The Foreign Office are diplomats who deal with other diplomats.Diplomats are,well,diplomatic and try to win you round or at least soften your impression of their country.Thus the FO types deal with nice people and dont mix with the ordinary people of subjective country.Thats why they are surprised when things blow up and atrocites happen in such countries as Yugoslavia.
We are better to ask people who have worked or travelled in the countries needind analysis rather than the FO9or for that matter the BBC).
Robin, you are correct!
The Japanese have a saying “to the man with a hammer everything is a nail.”
So to the diplomat, all problems have a diplomatic solution. That will be true more than 99% of the time.
The catastrophe occurs when they insist on dealing with the recalcitrant one percent which is not within their competence.
Well spotted, Charlie! That was quite a nice little rant from Nick Robinson.
Shame it was as bogus as a nine bob note!
However much the BBC may hate Bliar, the thought of a Tory government fills them with horror (as it does me, let it be said – though perhaps for different reasons) so when the chips are down, it still rallies round the flag – in this case letting Prescott (possibly the most dangerous man in government) slide off the hook and Hewitt walk away from the wreck she has made of NHS morale.
O/t
Frank “Don’t Shoot, I’m a Muslim” Gardner’s story continues in the Sunday Times and, guess what, he was shot by TERRORISTS!
“Shot by terrorists, Frank Gardner’s greatest fear was how to be a father in a wheelchair”…
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2092-2157853,00.html
Now, the Beeb aren’t responsible for what headline writers in Rupert M’s empire say, but once again, we see the T-word trotted out for Beeboids while for innocent Israeli citizens blown to bits on buses, they are killed by militants.
In today’s episode by Gardner, I dod not see him using the T word. Maybe he winced when he saw that it was used in the headline.
It would be interesting to see if and how he uses the T word in the book as a whole.
http://www.stephenpollard.net/ puts the BBC to the sword in a wide ranging criticism of its activities.
G Cooper
As you stated earlier that the thought of a Tory goverment is as much of a horror to you as it is to the BBC, you have again devalued your opinions. Unless you can be honest enough to state or at least make a little clearer which party you would like to be running Britain.
There is only 2 parties in this country capable of gaining power from Labour. This is as clear as monday following Sunday.
As you love stateing how you hate liberalism and conservatism, that only leaves Socialism. As you correctly hate New Labour as well. The National socialist type is all that is left. Do you really think the best way to get rid of a socialist government is to vote for a socialist government?
There is only one conservative right-wing party in Britain, that stands for all the things you SAY you do, SO WHY DONT YOU VOTE FOR IT THEN?
You must have a university education to have ended up with so little common-sense. But dont feel lonely most of you colledge boys dont have any.
There is no chance a right-wing country will form until we get rid of the belief of most people that government is a suitable solution to peoples problems.
We should worry more about changing the nature of political debate in the MSM ( which means aboloishing the BBC and getting rid of laws which would prohibit fox news type newschannel)
Theres too many morons, self interested corrupt commies for this to happen.
OT
but a link that Gary (and others) might find useful and his readers a relief.
Don’t take this as an attack Gary, just trying to be helpful.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/ieSpell_d2476.html
Cool site, as well, if you’re looking for interesting software.
Gary Powell writes:
“You must have a university education to have ended up with so little common-sense. But dont feel lonely most of you colledge boys dont have any.”
If you ever have anything to say about the BBC and its biases which warrants a direct response, and if I should feel inclined to make one, I will.
Until then, I’ll simply continue wincing every time you charge around like a bull in a china shop, raising smiles on the faces of those pro-BBC commenters here, who like to snigger and patronise about the “nutters and numbskulls” who post at b-BBC.
capitalist
Could not agree more. Except that I do believe it is possible. I am old enough to remember, when there was only one commercial TV broadcaster and that was run by an ex communist. All the legal radio stations were BBC ones.
Listen to TALKSPORT radio. This sort of right-wing bias broadcasting was unthinkable when I was young. At least you can watch Fox News on cable. I think things can get better in the future, because they have before.
The BBC sadly would not change much, even if you put a bomb underneath them. However a metaphorical bomb under their financing arrangments would help, my sanity at least.
GCooper,
Watch out you’ll be called a Nazi by the local purveyor of non-standard spelling.
G cooper
Someone said John Reith dodged questions. You are making me agree with him more every day.
Are you then indicateing by your statement, that you do support the BNP or just that you just like complaining a lot but you dont like to take resposibility for anything that ever happens, however bad it is?
You not only must be an ex university student, you also could not possibly have any children.
Are you also saying that all your comments are about BBC bias. As I read a lot of yours, and they are no more or less relevant than mine.
For instance please explain how expresing your personal horror of a Tory goverment was relevant to BBC BIAS, in the first place?
Nick Robinson toys flying out of pram alert!!!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2006/04/im_not_covering_1.html
~
The theme is that he is not covering up for the Deputy Prime Minister. Which makes me wonder how much material is required to cover the Deputy Prime Minister; he wears dark clothes a lot, perhaps because they are flattering. He should get in touch with Nigel Lawson, who famously lost a lot of weight when he was at an advanced age.
Crumbs, I have just discovered that Sir Cyril Smith is *still alive*! And so is Ludovic Kennedy. Perhaps Ludovic Kennedy is waiting for Cyril Smith to die before he himself dies.
Anyway, Nick Robinson’s words would have more weight if this wasn’t so similar to the thing with Charles Kennedy a while back, whereby he admitted that the BBC had long known about Kennedy’s alcoholism, and that it had affected Kennedy’s work (he blamed the stresses of family life), but nonetheless the BBC held back on the news until they were just about to be scooped by ITN.
Rob Read
Yes he might be, but it does not meen he is not, or you for that matter. If you are not Nazis why do you not come out and say you are not. I think either saying or suggesting that you will vote for the BNP is a big clue. But then I cant spell very well, so I cant possibly know what I am talking about.
Ashley Pomeroy writes:
“Anyway, Nick Robinson’s words would have more weight if this wasn’t so similar to the thing with Charles Kennedy a while back, whereby he admitted that the BBC had long known about Kennedy’s alcoholism…”
It’s interesting, isn’t it? If Robinson is doing his job properly (and we must give him the benefit of the doubt) then he, like Trevor Kavanagh and the rest of the Westminster corps, must have known about Prescott’s behaviour for a long time.
In which case, as he actually says he considers it a bona fide story, why didn’t he break it?
Equally, of course, why didn’t Kavanagh? And what else is ‘common knowledge’ to everyone except we commoners?
Anonymous “we see the T-word trotted out for Beeboids while for innocent Israeli citizens blown to bits on buses, they are killed by militants.”
Or even
The Tawhid and Jihad Iraqi militant group killed Mr Bigley
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4933490.stm
Orla Goering supplies a report for BBC1 News from Darfur.
She gives the “international community” a severe tongue lashing for its failure to stop the killing in Sudan.
No names, no packdrill.
If the US could be easily put in the frame, I’m sure she would have become specific. But she can’t bring herself to criticise the UN, or inform the audience that the Chinese are the obstacle to UN action.
The US & EU have funded the African Union deployment to the region, but get no acknowledgement. There is only criticism of the lack of adequate funding by that “world community”.
Meanwhile in the US we have George C. Looney demanding that people contact their congressmen to urge action. He is not specific as to what. Wouldn’t al-Qaeda just love the direct intervention of the Western nations into Muslim Sudan?
Equally, of course, why didn’t Kavanagh? And what else is ‘common knowledge’ to everyone except we commoners?
GCooper | 30.04.06 – 10:28 pm
One of the worst ongoing cases of this sort of cover-up is that by the beeb’s NI correspondent.
If he is well-connsrcted enough to do his job professionally then he must know the truth about how personally involved in terrorist killing are adams and mcguinness.
However, you never get so much as the tiniest hint of what they have done. Not even the admission that they are on the ira army council.
Plenty of crap thrown at Ian Paisley though. It must be galling for the beeb that IP’s consistently honourable position over so many years has at last paid off, since they have tried so hard to ridicule him out of existence.
The other thing that’s teed me off about Nick Robinson, and the Beeb in general in fact, is that they’ve adopted this kind of snotty attitude to reporting on, say, the Deputy PM using his staff as a personal harem.
Yes, some folks will say that it is trivial muckraking, but that’s for us to decide. It’s not the role of a publically-funded broadcaster to decide which news it will pass on.
ed, dumbcisco and other learned colleagues,
The World Service had a snippet of news this afternoon which aptly demonstrated its allergic reaction to the dreaded ‘T’ word:
The Egyptian parliament has agreed to a request from the Prime Minister, Ahmad…. , to extend the current state of emergency for another two years after recent bomb attacks. In the past week, explosions in the Red Sea resort of Dahab killed about 20 people.
[Funny how bombs just pull into town, park and detonate themselves.]
And two suicide bombers targeted multinational forces and Egyptian security personnel.
[Amazingly, there’s nothing to complain about here. This is accurate, fair reporting. Targeted is a good choice of a word because the bombers chose their target and blew themselves up, but didn’t manage to kill anyone.]
Keith Adams has just sent this report from Cairo:
Egypt’s emergency laws have become one of the focal points of the country’s reform movement, which is demanding their abolition. The Prime Minister, Ahmad…., told parliament the 2-year extension was necessary in the light of what he described as terror attacks last week in the Sinai….
[Somebody should explain to BBC staff that when they are already quoting somebody they don’t have to indicate again, in the very same sentence, that they are still quoting him. They handle the ‘T’ word so delicately, one would think it’s an actual bomb.]
….and recent sectarian violence between Christian and Muslim communities.
[BBC hacks are so practiced at ironing inconvenient little facts out of their reports – like the fact that 100% of the violence was by Muslims and 100% of the victims were Christians – that they should be in the laundry business.]
But the opposition Muslim Brotherhood told the BBC that despite these assertions, the laws, which have been in place since 1981, had failed to prevent terrorist attacks….
[Now, wait a second, BBC, why didn’t you say what they described as terrorist attacks? Is it because what comes out of the mouths of the Muslim Brotherhood must be treated as Gospel while the Prime Minister’s words must be qualified? Is the ‘T’ word somehow OK when uttered by the terrorist’s fellow-travellers?]
….and had repressed opposition and violated human rights.
[Hmmm, they really are presenting the Muslim Brotherhood as something special. Maybe they should mention that the terror group Hamas has its roots in the MB. Just for a bit of balance. Maybe they should find out whether any MB members have destroyed Christian churches recently. A bit of real journalism from the BBC would be refreshing from time to time.]
Gary,
I have never said I would vote for the BNP, you cannot read or spell.
Rob Read writes:
“I have never said I would vote for the BNP, you cannot read or spell.”
Mmmm… smells of ‘I am not now, nor have I ever been…’ doesn’t it?
I wonder what else they’re being taught in “Dave’s” ‘Not the Conservative’ Party?
On that point, the BBC’s silence on Cameron’s threats to members of his frontbench team who dare express the “wrong” opinion on exit from the EU (more tactics worthy of Stalin – what are they teaching them at Eton, these days?)is also highly signficant.
Is “Dave” trying to win over the BBC – first by sucking up to their idiotic espousal of the Greenpeace agenda, and, secondly, by going along with their Europhilia?
It sounds like a marriage made in hell!
Rick – you mention Khrushchev being the first Soviet leader who actually retired. Who were all these other leaders killed in office then?
We can see that the only other two former leaders (Lenin & Stalin) died in office but that was of natural causes – probably. Your implication is of them being killed.
G Cooper
Still you play childish games with your countries future. So I can take it then, that you dont have any children as well. Have some they will help you grow up, and take life a little more responsibly.
So first the Conservative Party is not conservative, now its Communist.
The National Socialist Party is not Socialist, it is conservative.
The Liberal party are so bad you dont even talk about them. You hate liberals anyway.
New Labour and the BBC you think are destroying your country and your culture.
But the prospect of a DC goverment fills you with horror.
As you can spell and read, you must understand that you are not makeing sense. Unless you do or intend in the future to vote for the BNP.
Do you really think there is any alternative to DC other than more Labour?
Why do you and some of your mates, constantly avoid this basic FACT of life. If you dont want a socialist government why would you or any conservative vote for one? Or assist the current one in power, stay in power, any longer than it has to?
I have been contributing to this site for well over a year. People on here are very quick in mocking politicians and rightly so. But all the finest well spelt and gramaticaly perfect Bullshit in the world, is considerably devalued if you cant take responsibility, and propose a practical alternative, that may at least help the situation.
That is a non-nazi, non-socialist, non non-unelectable one.
Now pick up your rattle cos mummys not going to pick it up for you anymore. Or risk being called a Nazi again, cos that is what you are.
Now this can’t be right, can it?
Fatal arson ‘racially motivated’
“Police hunting a man who firebombed a shop in south London, killing one employee and injuring three others, believe he is a racist serial arsonist…
…Mr Hayat’s wife and family are believed to be in Kashmir and poor communications stemming from last year’s earthquake have made it difficult to contact them.
He is thought to have children, and has been living in the UK for several years.
A second man, who was trapped along with Mr Hayat, is critically ill in hospital.
Two others ran through the flames and suffered minor burns.
The suspect is described as a black man, barrel-chested with a shaved head, aged 30 to 35, about 5ft 10in with a strong jaw line and rough skin.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4959980.stm
There’s only one answer to that kind of ‘racism’: More multi-cultiralism.
Should have read “multi-culturalism”
One more thought: Would the Beeb have made it a ‘racially motivated’ crime if it had been a member of the RoP fire-bombing a shop run by Blacks?
Probably not… they might try and sell it as insurgency or militancy.
Gary
I saw the Heath Government in action. It was labelled Conservative – but in my view it did great harm.
I regard a lot of what Cameron is now saying as moonshine. He will make some things worse, and he looks very soft on some things that Howard would have been fierce on. He did not say these things when he was campaigning for the leadership.
Also, the Tories should have a commanding lead in the polls by now, given the mess that Labour has been created, the continual bad news. But the gap in the polls is derisory so far – the Tories have been flatlining under Cameron.
Am I not allowed to say that ? Does that make me a Nazi ?
You really are being extreme – and in particular, your personal attacks are distracting from the focus of this site.
disillusioned_german,
Fascinating stuff. The BBC actually identified the suspect as a black man?
And published his picture?
Can we take this as evidence that, as far as the BBC’s victim groups go, Asians trump blacks?
“In the absence of any identifying motive, we are treating these offences as racial incidents.”
Hmmm, can anyone imagine the police making such a value judgement if the victims had been white and the attacker Asian?
Would never happen in a million years. In fact, judging by their past record, they’d probably insist that racism had nothing to do with it.
The easiest thing to do with Gary Powell, which I’m sure 90% of visitors here do, is just skip over his incomprehensible rants.
Back on topic, what is a moderate Muslim? I have yet to come across an example of the species.
Maybe a moderate Muslim is one who:
*Is not yet armed
*Has not yet gone on a jihad
*Only prays for the murder of infidels, but has not yet killed any
*Drives the getaway car after the radical Muslim has planted the bomb
*Finances suicide bombers
*Writes text books for children describing Jews as ‘the sons of pigs and monkeys.’
It would be interesting if anyone could find any real evidence of moderate Muslims out there.
any real evidence of moderate Muslims out there.
You meet them at embassy receptions or cocktail parties in London when you are a politician looking for funds, or else it is when you are looking to staff a quango or award a grant…………..people can be so moderate when it suits them.
Does that make me a Nazi ?
Actually no. Most people who joined the NSDAP did so to keep their jobs – when membership or non-membership of a particular party becomes the basis of continued employment higher levels of membership are noted.
More importantly disillusioned-german is whether the firebomber or his victim had the legal right to be in Britain, and, if convicted, the firebomber is found to be a case suitable for repatriation if indeed he is an illegal committing illegal acts then claiming legal protection from deportation
It’s unbelievable how the ‘authorities’ in the UK are handing the keys of the country over to anyone and everyone who can claim ‘victim’ status.
Rick – you mention Khrushchev being the first Soviet leader who actually retired. Who were all these other leaders killed in office then?
Lurker – Lenin was shot by an SR and although he survived the bullet poisoned him and he died in 1924 – his syphilis probably added to his woes.
It seems fairly certain that Stalin was murdered by Beria acting on behalf of the clique around Stalin before he could unleash the war he planned against the West – of which Korea was the opening (see Volkogonov).
Beria was part of the Troika and he was killed and his NKVD troops massacred in Moscow by Zhukhov bringing regular troops into the capital – they were disposed of in mass-graves outside Moscow – year 1956.
Stalin was buried in concrete after being removed from Lenin’s Mausoleum.
Stalin only had Molotov survive long term – everyone else had a shelf-life especially his NKVD heads like Yagoda and Yezhov and Chekists like Dzerzhinsky
News 24 strapline.
Dead sea ecology
environmentalists say sea is dying
OT – BBC Radio 4 are having a love in sometime this week with a show called “Thatcher, Ha ha!” with the usual suspects Alexi Sayle and Ben Elton…I dare say Mark Steel and Jeremy Hardy cannot be far behind…. link to follow.
Back to bias:
“Today” interviewer talking to Lord Desai about the death of J K Galbraith was stunned into silence when Lord Desai (a member, still I think, of New Labour and ennobled at the recommendation of the Labour Party – surely a “safe” commentator) tore into Galbraith (the BBC’s favourite elder statesman of leftie economics and allround good egg) as the Jeffrey Archer of economics: out of touch and just plain wrong although an admirable writer and populariser of economics. I don’t think Lord Desai will be back on Today (or the BBC) for some time. I suspect that whoever suggested him for interview has severely damaged his/her career at the BBC. A rather different take than Lord Desai’s on Galbraith was last night’s (unchallenged) reflection on BBC 24 by Lord Hattersley who obviously believed that Galbraith has ascended to economics heaven in a golden chariot.
“Today” then made up for this lapse by allowing Norman Mailer a 5+ minute unchallenged anti-Bush anti (US) conservative rant.
dumbcisco
Spot On.
David Cameron = Ted Heath MkII
Gary
Please give it a rest.
I was a Conservative party activist in the late sixties and seventies (I even met Heath). I’ve voted Conservative all my life with the exception of 1997.
I cannot in all seriousness vote for blue labour. If I do go to a polling station it will be to vote for UKIP or to write ‘None Of The Above’ on the ballot paper.
Can we get back to what this blog is about now, namely far left bias in the BBC.
This saturday, you lucky people.