The answer of course, is that the many thousands of man hours it would have required to put under surveillance everyone who came into contact with these 5 men was just too much for our intelligence services.
Whose fault is this?
Well the answer is, it is no-ones fault. Yes, there was an intelligence failure and any lessons that can be learned need to be learned. But the government cannot see into the future any more than the electorate. Where was the overwhelming public call for more resources for the intelligence services? The answer is, there wasn't one. In fact there probably would have been an outcry against such a thing from some quarters.
If only those who blame the government over this would put as much effort into campaigning for better funding for health, education, public transport and reducing inequality - things that would improve and save far more lives.
Frankly, there will always be intelligence failures, there will always be errors of judgement. It's a balance of risk. Someone, somewhere made a judgement and on this occasion got it wrong. It happens, it will happen again. As you correctly surmise, I would object to my liberties being eroded further to try and do the impossible. I am not in favour of an inquiry. An internal assessment and lessons learned within the intelligence community, yes. Learn and move on, please.
ReplyDeleteHospitals etc? Had I not been blown up that might well be where I directed my efforts.As to civil liberties erosions - that's one of the reasons I campaign for an inquiry. If the Govt. will shred our constitution and parade on TV whenever there is a terrorism suspect arrested pontificating about the dreadful threat we face that necessitates ID cards and what have you, they can bloody well answer some questions about what we did know before 7/7 happened. Even if it is embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteRachel: It is a sad reflection that most people have no interest in anything unless it has affected them directly or affects them directly as you demonstrate. If you had been campaigning for more resources for intelligence services before 7/7 I frankly would give more credence to what you have to say.
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