• About
  • Our Team
  • Advertise
  • Legal
  • Contact Us
Write for Us
Shout Out UK
  • Politics
    • All
    • Brexit 2016
    • Elections
    • GE2017
    • Law
    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Three million drug addicts in the Philippines: The real Narcos Netflix didn’t cover

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Legal aid declines by 84% leaving the most vulnerable without justice

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Why the Commonwealth matters more than ever

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Democracy Dashboard: The missing piece British politics desperately needs

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Campaigning for equal rights in ALL Commonwealth countries

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Cold War II: Will McCarthyism repeat itself or will we heed the past?

    Trending Tags

    • Young People
    • Wikileaks
    • Women
    • Welfare
    • Theresa May
  • World News
    • All
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia
    • Europe
    • N. America
    • S. America
    • United Kingdom
    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Why Do Financially Savvy People Avoid Going It Alone?

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Three million drug addicts in the Philippines: The real Narcos Netflix didn’t cover

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Smart Ways To Grow Your Income Rapidly

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Legal aid declines by 84% leaving the most vulnerable without justice

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Why the Commonwealth matters more than ever

    Trending Tags

    • West
    • USA
    • Syria
    • US presidential election
    • Terrorism
  • Money
    • All
    • Business
    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Why Do Financially Savvy People Avoid Going It Alone?

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Smart Ways To Grow Your Income Rapidly

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Home Time: 4 Ways To Make Life Easier When You Get Home From Work

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Your Team Productivity Starts In The Workplace

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    The Formula For Business Success: Professionalism+Productivity=Profitability

    Trending Tags

    • Advice
    • University
    • Unemployment
    • Technology
  • Culture, Travel and Sport
    • All
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Media
    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    How Doing Yoga Every Day Can Help Ease Your Body Aches

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Making Time For Inner Quiet Is Important

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    We’re Ready For Summer! But Are Our Eyes Ready For The Sun?

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Comedians Roisin and Chiara on International Women’s Day

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    The Button Poets: Changing the world one verse at a time

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    In The Net: Why England’s Women Are So Psyched For Commonwealth Success

    Trending Tags

    • Motorsport
    • Cars
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Music
  • Reviews
    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Upstart Crow, Upstart No: Not a comedy but an outdated tragedy

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Philosophers’ Club: Irrational Man – Freedom in the Extreme

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Book Club: Woman at Point Zero

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Philosophers’ Club: The Revenant – Grisly but Unique

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Video Game Review: WWE 2K16

  • Films
    • Homelessness
    • Anonymous
    • Youth Leaders
    • Mental Health
    • One in a Million
  • Political Literacy
    • Offline Course
    • Online Course
    • Election Pack
  • Get Involved
    • Write for us
    • Opportunities
    • Brexit Youth Check
    • Events
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
    • All
    • Brexit 2016
    • Elections
    • GE2017
    • Law
    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Three million drug addicts in the Philippines: The real Narcos Netflix didn’t cover

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Legal aid declines by 84% leaving the most vulnerable without justice

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Why the Commonwealth matters more than ever

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Democracy Dashboard: The missing piece British politics desperately needs

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Campaigning for equal rights in ALL Commonwealth countries

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Cold War II: Will McCarthyism repeat itself or will we heed the past?

    Trending Tags

    • Young People
    • Wikileaks
    • Women
    • Welfare
    • Theresa May
  • World News
    • All
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia
    • Europe
    • N. America
    • S. America
    • United Kingdom
    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Why Do Financially Savvy People Avoid Going It Alone?

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Three million drug addicts in the Philippines: The real Narcos Netflix didn’t cover

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Smart Ways To Grow Your Income Rapidly

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Legal aid declines by 84% leaving the most vulnerable without justice

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Why the Commonwealth matters more than ever

    Trending Tags

    • West
    • USA
    • Syria
    • US presidential election
    • Terrorism
  • Money
    • All
    • Business
    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Why Do Financially Savvy People Avoid Going It Alone?

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Smart Ways To Grow Your Income Rapidly

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Home Time: 4 Ways To Make Life Easier When You Get Home From Work

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Your Team Productivity Starts In The Workplace

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    The Formula For Business Success: Professionalism+Productivity=Profitability

    Trending Tags

    • Advice
    • University
    • Unemployment
    • Technology
  • Culture, Travel and Sport
    • All
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Media
    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    How Doing Yoga Every Day Can Help Ease Your Body Aches

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Making Time For Inner Quiet Is Important

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    We’re Ready For Summer! But Are Our Eyes Ready For The Sun?

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Comedians Roisin and Chiara on International Women’s Day

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    The Button Poets: Changing the world one verse at a time

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    In The Net: Why England’s Women Are So Psyched For Commonwealth Success

    Trending Tags

    • Motorsport
    • Cars
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Music
  • Reviews
    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Upstart Crow, Upstart No: Not a comedy but an outdated tragedy

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Philosophers’ Club: Irrational Man – Freedom in the Extreme

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Book Club: Woman at Point Zero

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Philosophers’ Club: The Revenant – Grisly but Unique

    Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

    Video Game Review: WWE 2K16

  • Films
    • Homelessness
    • Anonymous
    • Youth Leaders
    • Mental Health
    • One in a Million
  • Political Literacy
    • Offline Course
    • Online Course
    • Election Pack
  • Get Involved
    • Write for us
    • Opportunities
    • Brexit Youth Check
    • Events
No Result
View All Result
Shout Out UK
No Result
View All Result
Home Education

Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

Nicholas Pentney by Nicholas Pentney
26/11/2013
0
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?
0
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

The Guardian newspaper has been heavily criticised for publishing stories about mass surveillance based on the Snowden leaks.  The government led the charge, claiming that the Guardian’s stories had put national security at risk.  Defenders of the newspaper made the obvious and accurate counterclaim that the paper was acting in the national interest. Those defenders have missed an even more obvious counter-criticism: the government’s own lack of credibility when it comes to handling national security, i.e. who is the government to talk about putting our national security at risk? Hasn’t the actions of this government and especially its Labour predecessor done far more than the Guardian to damage national security?

Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was also critical. He said that the Guardian was: “indulgent and irresponsible.” Astoundingly, he spoke of “avoiding [another] 7th July 2005”. This is staggering because the London bombings were the tragic outcome of decisions made by the government that Straw himself was such a prominent member of.

Chatham House (Britain’s premier foreign affairs institution) conducted an investigation into 7/7. It concluded that: “The UK is at particular risk [of terrorist attacks] because it is the closest ally of the United States, has deployed armed forces in the military campaigns to topple the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and in Iraq.”  Blair and the rest of his government, rather ridiculously, tried to deny that their foreign policy had anything to do with 7/7. They said that the terrorists had struck because they “hate our freedoms.” That denial was made to look even more ridiculous when one of the captured 21/7 (the failed attack that took place two weeks after 7/7) attackers told authorities that his actions were directly inspired by UK foreign policy and military involvement in the Middle East.

7/7 and 21/7 are only two cases of many that starkly demonstrate how UK governments have put national security at risk. Since operations in Afghanistan began in 2001, the UK has been targeted many times: the 2006 transatlantic plot, the Haymarket bomb plot, Glasgow Airport and Exeter City Centre etc. More often than not, it was the perpetrators’ ineptitude rather than any thwarting by our intelligence agencies that saw relatively little harm done. By and large, these failed or ineffective attacks were low-tech and lacked sophistication (whilst still carrying the potential to be very lethal).  This is important to note in the context of the Snowden/Guardian criticism – i.e. the terrorist threat to the UK is of a nature that lacks complexity and planning and therefore extremely difficult (if not impossible) for intelligence agencies to intercept.

So who is the reckless party when it comes to national security? In the case of our governments, we have seen the tragic result of foreign policy decisions which were undertaken in the certain knowledge that they would heighten the risk to national security. To be fair to the present government, they did not undertake the initial foreign policy decisions. However, the foreign policy that they inherited and maintain does harm national security.

In the case of the Guardian, there is no such tragic evidence like 7/7 to suggest they have put national security at risk. Of course, it is way too early to really tell. However, the Guardian, unlike the Labour government, did not take its decision in the certain knowledge that it would harm national security. It should also be noted that the paper has been extremely careful in what it has made public. Also, let us not forget the nature of the threat we outlined earlier: terrorist attacks that are low-tech and lacking sophistication – the kind of threat that intelligence agencies find near-impossible to intercept. Finally, we must also remember that the paper does have a fundamental journalistic responsibility to let the UK population know what the state is up to.

Despite being at significant risk from terror for more than a decade, we are fortunate that more blood hasn’t been shed. On the whole, this hasn’t been down to good intelligence but rather the very bad (or rather, lack of) intelligence of the perpetrators involved. Miraculously, they continue to botch their attempts to inflict harm upon us. We can count ourselves lucky but we must be aware that one day our good fortune may run out. We can’t count on dumb luck and ever dumber terrorists indefinitely. Instead, we need tackle the roots of what threatens us; not give attention to things that are, at best, secondary such as the Guardian’s stories.

 

Nicholas Pentney

Tags: CorruptionCrimesInternet FreedomYoung People
ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

Does the UK need a Fat Tax? Dealing with Obesity in the UK

Next Post

Cannabis in Britain: Time to Legalise for Brits and the world?

Nicholas Pentney

Nicholas Pentney

Related Posts

Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?
Society

Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

25/04/2018
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?
Asia

Three million drug addicts in the Philippines: The real Narcos Netflix didn’t cover

24/04/2018
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?
Law

Legal aid declines by 84% leaving the most vulnerable without justice

23/04/2018
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?
Society

Home Time: 4 Ways To Make Life Easier When You Get Home From Work

23/04/2018
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?
Politics

Why the Commonwealth matters more than ever

20/04/2018
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?
Health

Making Time For Inner Quiet Is Important

20/04/2018
Next Post
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

Cannabis in Britain: Time to Legalise for Brits and the world?

Stay Connected

  • 13.7k Fans
  • 20.4k Followers
  • 105 Followers
  • 1.3k Subscribers
  • 3k Subscribers

Support Us

Support our work by becoming a Patron today!
Become a Patron!

Subscribe to our mailing list to receives daily updates direct to your inbox!

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

This Country is my country: Why is rural working-class Britain overlooked in the entertainment industry?

27/03/2018
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

Votes for 16s could rescue the Conservative Party

28/03/2018
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

Electoral fraud punishable by little more than a parking fine?

03/04/2018
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

‘Missing The Mark’: The Slim Shady of Advertising

09/04/2018
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

In my borough council, women earn almost 25% less than men

1
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

Cold War II: Will McCarthyism repeat itself or will we heed the past?

1
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

Democracy Dashboard: The missing piece British politics desperately needs

1
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

Votes for 16s could rescue the Conservative Party

1
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

25/04/2018
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

Why Do Financially Savvy People Avoid Going It Alone?

25/04/2018
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

Three million drug addicts in the Philippines: The real Narcos Netflix didn’t cover

24/04/2018
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

Smart Ways To Grow Your Income Rapidly

24/04/2018

Recent News

Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

25/04/2018
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

Why Do Financially Savvy People Avoid Going It Alone?

25/04/2018
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

Three million drug addicts in the Philippines: The real Narcos Netflix didn’t cover

24/04/2018
Criticism of the Guardian is unfair. Who is really putting national security at risk?

Smart Ways To Grow Your Income Rapidly

24/04/2018
Load More
Shout Out UK

We are a multi-award winning independent youth news platform that provides young people with the tools necessary to engage in politics and a platform to shout out and be heard.

  • Advertising on Shout Out UK
  • Political Literacy Course
  • Editorial Guide
  • Legal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Subscribe to our mailing list to receives daily updates direct to your inbox!

  • About
  • Webmail
  • Our Team
  • Advertise
  • Legal
  • Contact Us

© 2018 ShoutOutUK LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
    • Brexit 2016
    • Elections
    • GE2017
    • Law
  • World News
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia
    • Europe
    • N. America
    • S. America
    • United Kingdom
  • Money
  • Culture, Travel and Sport
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Media
  • Reviews
  • Films
    • Homelessness
    • Anonymous
    • Youth Leaders
    • Mental Health
    • One in a Million
  • Political Literacy
    • Offline Course
    • Online Course
    • Election Pack
  • Get Involved
    • Write for us
    • Opportunities
    • Brexit Youth Check
    • Events

ShoutOutUK LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In