dr.umer
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22 Oct 2008
Two British counter terrorism officials have warned the US of undermining civil liberties with the 'war on terror' approach it has adopted.
I hope the next American president "would stop using the phrase 'war on terror," said the former head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency, Dame Stella Rimington, according to an International Herald Tribune report.
There had been a 'huge overreaction' to the September 11, 2001 attacks, added the former head of MI-5.
Meanwhile, Britain's top prosecutor, Sir Ken MacDonald criticized the US 'Guantanamo model,' and said it leads to severe violations of defendants' rights.
MacDonald said UK terrorism trials have been 'absolutely grounded in due process and pursued with full respect' for the country's 'historical norms' and 'liberal constitution.'
"Of course, you can have the Guantanamo model You can have the model, which says that we cannot afford to give people their rights, that rights are too expensive because of the nature of the threats we are facing," he said.
Following the Sep. 11 attacks, privacy liberties were also limited in the UK with the installation of surveillance cameras and new terrorism laws, which have made police arrests much easier.
Rimington said that further infringement of civil rights -such as identification cards and the ability to hold terrorist suspects 42 days without charges, which the current British Labor Government has proposed -were unnecessary and counterproductive.
She said calling the response to the September 11 attacks a war on terror "got us off on the wrong foot, because it made people think terrorism was something you could deal with by force of arms primarily."
Two British counter terrorism officials have warned the US of undermining civil liberties with the 'war on terror' approach it has adopted.
I hope the next American president "would stop using the phrase 'war on terror," said the former head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency, Dame Stella Rimington, according to an International Herald Tribune report.
There had been a 'huge overreaction' to the September 11, 2001 attacks, added the former head of MI-5.
Meanwhile, Britain's top prosecutor, Sir Ken MacDonald criticized the US 'Guantanamo model,' and said it leads to severe violations of defendants' rights.
MacDonald said UK terrorism trials have been 'absolutely grounded in due process and pursued with full respect' for the country's 'historical norms' and 'liberal constitution.'
"Of course, you can have the Guantanamo model You can have the model, which says that we cannot afford to give people their rights, that rights are too expensive because of the nature of the threats we are facing," he said.
Following the Sep. 11 attacks, privacy liberties were also limited in the UK with the installation of surveillance cameras and new terrorism laws, which have made police arrests much easier.
Rimington said that further infringement of civil rights -such as identification cards and the ability to hold terrorist suspects 42 days without charges, which the current British Labor Government has proposed -were unnecessary and counterproductive.
She said calling the response to the September 11 attacks a war on terror "got us off on the wrong foot, because it made people think terrorism was something you could deal with by force of arms primarily."
