We condemn the terror attacks in London and Manchester, but we also need to call out the cynical and dangerous response from those in charge who have one solution — more of the same.
British Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May and US President Donald Trump are using these tragedies to ramp up Islamophobia, expand police powers, weaken civil liberties and strengthen the “war on terror” — the same policies that have failed to stop individuals from carrying out terror attacks.
May’s statement that “things need to change” is meaningless rhetoric given that she wants to the rip up human rights laws to make it easier to deport and detain foreign suspects. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has used the tragedies to try to bolster his unpopular Muslim travel ban, which has generated mass opposition on the streets.
Their hypocrisy is stark given the US government’s economic ties to reactionary regimes such as Saudi Arabia — a supporter of terrorist outfits including the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Trump is maintaining US arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which it is using to indiscriminately bomb neighbouring Yemen.
Read the full article by Jacob Andrewartha at Green Left Weekly.