The government should announce it is not going to??pursue the??war on terror further - it was a huge mistake of the the US and Uk administrations to think you could invade enough countries harbouring terrorists to close terrorism down. Instead the government should make clear it is going to use every?? diplomatic and democractic means to isolate terrorists from the communities that bolster them, and bring as many to justice as possible. Now both countries and their forces are bogged down in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is time to think again. I am glad to read that our new Prime Minister is thinking of changing the approach to Iraq. He should think of changing the whole approach to Islamic terrorism.

When I belonged to a government which faced a dangerous terrorist threat from Irish sources, we never once thought we should invade southern Ireland where terrorists could find shleter and support, nor did we contemplate military action agianst the countries where the money came from to finance the murderous activities. When the government departed from the normal process of treating terrorists as criminals by ??seeking to prosecute them and put them in prison after trial, it usually strengthened the hands of the terrorists.

There is a terrorist threat. We need to redouble our efforts to intercept their emails and correspondence, to eavesdrop on their mobile phone calls, infiltrate their networks and collect intelligence form neighbourhoods where they live. The best way of tackling terrorism is to use intelligence to be warned of their next likely actions. We need to follow the money, taking?? powers to search through bank accounts of suspects and where there is evidence obtaining Court permission to seize the funds. We need stronger controls at the ports of entry to keep out people who may threaten our way of life.

The art of tackling terrorism also rests on winning over people in the host communities to our way of due legal process and democratic debate, away from assisting or permitting violence as a political weapon. That also applies to the host governments abroad, where some will be easier than others to win over to suppoting the forces of international law and order. Showing frustration by invading countries that do not help us enough just creates more problems. It is also difficult to justify, when our own country harbours terrorists, thanks to weak border controls and insufficient intelligence.

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