General News Police stage realistic terrorist training exercise...people complain about realism.

A counter-terrorist exercise was held by Greater Manchester police involving a mock terrorist attack to practice responses. Fairly standard stuff nowadays.

But we have a problem. The pretend terrorist was (to reflect the type of terrorist attacks most likely to happen) an Islamic Extremist and shouted "Allahu Akbar" prior to detonating pretend suicide bomb.

Naturally the politically correct crew have been out in force claiming this is offensive and "stereotyping" and the police have issued a grovelling apology stating it will never happen again:

Police apologise for making fake suicide bomber shout

Here is the thing. These operations are expensive and absolutely vital, it has to be realistic to be worth doing. And yes Islamic extremism is the biggest concern to UK security right now....not the IRA, not unaffiliated lunatics, not any other religion or political group. The whole push for these type of training exercises has come from London, Paris, Belgium where yes, these prayers are shouted.

When you have gone to the trouble of giving actors realistic injuries and realistic reactions, staging it in a real shopping mall, using realistic pyrotechnics and fake explosions .... why would you not do the same with the terrorist? I mean, there wouldn't be much point if they just had some bloke casually walk in, go "I have a pretend bomb. Bang, it's gone off. Your dead now, right, can I go for a pint?".

And as commentators on social media have pointed out, if an everyday citizen heard someone shout "Allahu Akbar" on the street, they would probably flee the scene, and would probably be better safe than sorry to do so.

 

Re: Police stage realistic terrorist training exercise...people complain about realis

Exactly, it is all context.

It is a prayer usually used in a positive manner, but it has been frequently used in a negative manner (i.e. violently shouted) by terrorists in recent attacks, so in this context the inclusion of it being shouted makes sense. The exercise is designed to be like modern terrorist attacks (in the location, the victims, and importantly the perpetrator) to ensure it is realistic, so they are merely mimicking what actually happens in the world.

I don't really understand how people can object to the inclusion as "offensive" or uncomfortable when surely the whole exercise has the potential to offend (as terrorist attacks are scary, brutal and nightmarish). We are hardly talking light comedy here, it's people covered in fake blood and acting out harrowing events for the very reason that we unfortunately have to prepare for these things actually happening.

Really I think those offended need to turn their anger to the actual terrorists bringing the religion and subsequently the words of prayer into disrepute in the first place.

 

Re: Police stage realistic terrorist training exercise...people complain about realis

The British public are hardly to blame for the Iraq War. War was not part of the manifesto at the time of elections, there was no referendum for the war, and there were mass public protests against the war which was carried on regardless.

As with tuition fees, expenses, offshore tax havens etc etc etc, even when things directly affect the British population there isn't the ability to seize control back to that extent. We have reasonable democracy, but not 100% accountability (and that can be for better and worse - see gay marriage which would possibly not have survived a referendum).

Certainly foreign policy and historic colonialisation have an impact, but it is a lie to suggest they are the only causes of war and destitution in these countries. In the Middle East there have been wars long before white interventions, and certainly the challenging climate does not help matters.

Regarding immigration, it is not simply the case of the British population taking umbridge with immigrants, and it is a lie to suggest that. You have additional factors of lack of integration, and a complete disconnect with religious practices that do not align to modern British attitudes and behaviours. I think it is why xenophobia for certain immigrants is lesser than others - it depends on how the immigrants perhaps compromise and fit in. Similarly if I were to go to work in the Middle East I'd expect my reception would be different depending on if I learnt the language/respected host religion and practice vs did the opposite.

See the first point, the British population are hardly waging wars themselves.

I don't think it is right to justify terrorists as oppressed, wronged or neglected. If you are oppressed: protest, or at worst rebel against those actually impacting you (note the majority of these terrorists do not even attempt these steps). Deliberately targetting random civilians can NEVER be justified. That is evil.

Additionally, no, these people aren't acting out of sane desperation for their (or others') earthly situation - they are wilfully killing themselves and others because of religious belief. What could this possibly achieve towards a legitimate grievance? They are dead, the public they take issue with are even more resolute against them, and the situation they are supposedly concerned with doesn't change.

Islamic extremism is the biggest threat to national security when speaking regarding terrorism, abso-ruddy-lutely. To pretend otherwise is niave. Sure we have numerous other threats on this earth (general violence, sexual violence, climate change, natural disasters, pollution, religious oppression, racism, yada yada yada), but terrorism? Yes, it is presently mainly down to religious extremism, and in particular Islamic Extremism.

---------- Post added 10th May 2016 at 01:09 PM ----------

I don't think that was quite what they were going for though. These were ordinary people involved, and I think the police wanted them to behave like ordinary citizens in response to a stimuli (i.e. some running, some ducking, some screaming etc) to better get an idea of what emergency services would face. A terrorist attack is never going to be be orderly and calm in the aftermath, ever.

The shouts have happened in numerous real-world terrorist events, so it isn't particularly innacurate.

True, but in this particular case, if we are having an exercise designed to be as realistic as possible, you kind of have to go the whole hog. I'd agree this exercise is probably not the best, but it would be even weaker if you just had someone casually walk in and say "right, I'm the terrorist, the bombs gone off now, bye".