‘There is no war on terror’
It is critical that we understand that this new form of terrorism carries another more subtle, perhaps equally pernicious, risk. Because it might encourage a fear-driven and inappropriate response. By that I mean it can tempt us to abandon our values.
London is not a battlefield. Those innocents who were murdered on July 7 2005 were not victims of war.
We wouldn’t get far in promoting a civilising culture of respect for rights amongst and between citizens if we set about undermining fair trials in the simple pursuit of greater numbers of inevitably less safe convictions. On the contrary, it is obvious that the process of winning convictions ought to be in keeping with a consensual rule of law and not detached from it. Otherwise we sacrifice fundamental values critical to the maintenance of the rule of law – upon which everything else depends.
Nice to see someone talking sense.  The last 5 years have had too much “but this time it’s different” rhetoric. Terrorism is not nice but it’s always been around and always will be. One only has to look at Northern Ireland or South Africa in the 80s to see that you don’t win the “war” by adding short cuts to a trusted judicial system.
‘There is no war on terror’ | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics
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