Wake Up, London Calling

From Brain Terminal:

There are plenty of people here and across Europe who believe the threat is imaginary or will otherwise subside with a few tweaks to American foreign policy. Such people are in deadly denial. Europe is particularly vulnerable. Many European politicians seem to shy away from strong domestic anti-terror policies; they don't want to risk alienating the large Muslim voting populations. (Taking a stand to defend your country might get you voted out of office, you see.) So, the proudly tolerant Europeans tolerate extremist madrassas preaching murder and teaching terror right in the hearts of their own cities.

There is no politically correct way to defend yourself.

Ignoring an enemy that's plotting to kill you is nothing more than slow-motion suicide.

Lack of delivery capability is the only reason the attacks in London are not replicated in every Western city every day of the week. The only reason suitcase nukes haven't yet been detonated in midtown Manhattan is that the opportunity has not yet presented itself to the people who pray for it to happen. Maybe we should hear a little more about the nature of our enemy on the evening news instead of Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib constantly. Yes, let's not become like the enemy, but let's not reduce ourselves to a quivering mass of self-doubt, either.

There's a real war going on out there, and the enemy isn't each other. If we can just stop assuming we're the problem, we might actually stand a chance of victory. But if we waste time navel-gazing in a world that contains wealthy terrorists and starving nuclear powers, we will ultimately be killed in our own streets in a way that'll make September 11th look like a verbal reprimand. And if you don't think that's a possibility, then you really don't know the enemy.

Brain Terminal also points the way to a 2004 Evening Standard article which reveals of the face of the enemy among us:

Four young British Muslims in their twenties - a social worker, an IT specialist, a security guard and a financial adviser - occupy a table at a fast-food chicken restaurant in Luton. Perched on their plastic chairs, wolfing down their dinner, they seem just ordinary young men. Yet out of their mouths pour heated words of revolution.

"As far as I'm concerned, when they bomb London, the bigger the better," says Abdul Haq, the social worker. "I know it's going to happen because Sheikh bin Laden said so. Like Bali, like Turkey, like Madrid - I pray for it, I look forward to the day."
...

"I agree with you, brother," says Abu Yusuf, the earnest-looking financial adviser sitting opposite. "I would like to see the Mujahideen coming into London and killing thousands, whether with nuclear weapons or germ warfare. And if they need a safehouse, they can stay in mine - and if they need some fertiliser [for a bomb], I'll tell them where to get it."

His friend, Abu Musa, the security guard, smiles radiantly. "It will be a day of joy for me."

As they talk, a man with a bushy beard, dressed in a jacket emblazoned with the word "Jihad", stands and watches over them, handing around cups of steaming hot coffee. His real name is Ishtiaq Alamgir, but he goes by his adopted name, Sayful Islam, meaning "Sword of Islam". He is the 24-year-old leader of the Luton branch of al-Muhajiroun, an extremist Muslim group with about 800 members countrywide, who regard Osama bin Laden as their hero.

Read the full article here.

How many more examples do we need about the threat that exists in our own countries as a result of our freedoms and tolerance?