Date: 28th November 2006
Released by: ANDREW TURNER

The Director General of the MI5 has recently admitted that war in Iraq and Afghanistan has contributed to Al-Qaida’s propaganda narrative. The Home Secretary has admitted that the government’s foreign policy in Iraq and Afghanistan was a ‘motivating factor in radicalisation of young Muslims’. Nonetheless Tony Blair still refuses to acknowledge a link between Britain’s foreign policy and increased domestic terrorism.

Island MP Andrew Turner said,

“Although it is true that the threat of terrorism in this country predates our actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is ludicrous to suggest that those actions have not made it worse, given that suicide bombers have stated that they are at least partly motivated by what they see in those countries.

“Al-Qaida has developed an ideology which claims that Islam is under attack, and needs to be defended. This is a powerful narrative that weaves together conflicts from across the globe including Afghanistan and Iraq. Al-Qaida itself says that 50 per cent. of its war is conducted through the media. Much of the propaganda circulated focuses on the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan transmitted by groups which have flourished in the chaos following the invasion.

“The Prime Minister continues to ignore the implications of his foreign policy in a ‘see no evil, hear no evil’ fashion. It beggars belief that the Prime Minister can stand, as he did last week, at his press conference like some latter-day St. George in shining armour ready to slay the dragon of terrorism, not recognising that he, primarily among all politicians in this country, has fed that dragon.”

END Attached : Extract of Hansard 23rd November as pdf file