cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/11251740
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“Sadly, mass-casualty terrorist ambition endures… but the terrorist threat now sits alongside strategic national security threats posed by capable states,” [says Sir Ken McCallum, the head of Britain’s security agency MI5].
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{On the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the U.S.], McCallum warns particularly of Russia and China as well as of ‘islamic terrorism’.
"This is my call to arms after 25 years: government, business, academia, and the public must treat national security not as the specialist concern of a handful of agencies, but as a shared national endeavour.”
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The threat level in the UK is currently at severe, the second-highest category, meaning that an attack is highly likely. Commemorations for the 2,977 people who died in 9/11 will be marked around the world, remembering the day the world changed.
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Russia’s hybrid war against the West and China’s competition over minerals and trade routes have led to increasing calls for a “whole nation” response rather than a reliance on the security services and armed forces for protection and survival.
He writes: “Contending with rising state-backed aggression – whether sabotage subcontracted to criminals, or covert interference in our democracy, or destructive cyber attacks on power stations – demands new laws as well as new tradecraft.”
Russia has used the full spectrum of attacks that he refers to against the UK in the past 15 years as well as state-sponsored murder.
“We cannot wait for the next shock to discover who owns the vulnerability, who has the authority to act, or who was supposed to pick up the phone.”
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What happened since 9/11 that the values of the world have changed? Maybe a war of aggression against Iraq in which the British participated? A bit of self-awareness could be helpful.
Tim Snyder did a good article
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/quarter-century-of-aggressive-war-and-official-lying-since-911-attacks-by-timothy-snyder-2026-09
This should be an older, free version of it:
https://snyder.substack.com/p/helping-the-terrorists-to-win
Couldn’t have invaded Afghanistan without Russian permission to use bases in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Putin was an ally of the senseless war on terror. Even talked about joining NATO.
In 2001, Russia was willing to join the West. One of the biggest misjudgements that we only played them along, as e.g. the notes of the German chancellor suggest.
We must have thought that we can contain China on our own.
The war was not senseless. Afghanistan opens another front to China. Iraq allowed to get Syria for pipelines that Russia opposed. Terror is just the justification.
It doesn’t speak for Russia that they supported a war that was used to limit their influence.
Yeah, how has that worked out?
China isn’t the one starting wars like US and Russia
The momentum allowed for the Iraq war and the takeover of everything in that region but Iran.
Afghanistan built dams and controls an important water source for Iran.
So, it worked out ok so far. I think after the midterms we will see how much of an obstacle Iran is.
But China will take over the global economy if nobody stops them. So we will start that war. We are preparing for it and use the Russian threat as cover.
Allowed for the destabilising of the region and US bases are now empty due to Iran’s missile capabilities.
And the Taliban are back in power in Afghanistan lol, imagine painting that as some strategic win
China isn’t expansionary, they just seem like the reliable partner right now as USA achieves historic aura loss from Iran war and shits on its allies. US isolationism failed last time it tried it.
Iran isn’t an obstacle, it’s a cluster fuck of the highest order
After the sudden victory in Syria I don’t write off America from that setback with Iran. We don’t know the objectives.
That’s why there will be war. The West will lose global control otherwise.
We do know the objectives, every Israeli prime minister for 30 years has been asking the US to do this. None of them have been stupid enough to believe it would be a simple in and out job, 2 weeks special military operation lol.
US has given up the rules based order. It’s a multi polar world now. US just wants the western hemisphere.
Or the US are preparing for a war with China and they solve the middle east before Iran can create chaos on the energy market when the US needs it the least.
What is Trump e.g. doing in Azerbaijan? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia–Azerbaijan_peace_agreement
That doesn’t look very western hemisphere to me.
Also, there is no way the US can compete with China on their own, or just with South America. The US is betting on AI because they want to remain the hegemon and keep everybody else dependent.