Into battle

This latest explosion in Belgium brings closer the fact that we are at war with sections of the Muslim community.
There's no point in kidding ourselves that the enemy is in the Afghan hills  or Northern Syria they are here in our midst. They lurk in the fabric of our cities, perhaps the only saving grace is that not only do they belong to the same faith but also they congregate amongst the people of that faith. 


One of the issues that has revealed itself is that the security forces have often been on the trail of many of these people who later go on to commit the crime. It seems that whilst on an evidence collection exercise which has been close but not close enough, the bombs have been detonated.
Under normal circumstances a person is deemed innocent until proven guilty. There are many guilty criminals "living it large" as they say on the Costa Brava but through lack of firm evidence they remain free. Their criminality is largely financial, although perhaps a murder may have been committed but there is no wanton mass destruction planned against an innocent public.
Today's terrorism is different, it is ideological, an act of undeclared war. The United Nations in its Charter has no way of defining acts of terror in so far as not being at war is concerned. Once war is declared a whole new set of defined retaliation comes into play including the secession of the rights of people "suspected" of potential tyranny.
Guantanamo Bay came into being because of the problem of not being able to gather enough evidence to stand up in court whilst knowing the person involved was one or two steps away
The area in Brussels known to be a hot spot for Muslim radicalism, 'Molenbeek' is a place where Salah Abdeslam the mastermind behind the Paris terrorist attack was holed out. Supported by the community as one of their own, he was secure.
In war the rights of men and women are put on another footing, and the common need to catch the perpetrator irrespective is deemed a price worth paying.
Perhaps we have reached our Guantanamo moment and whole swathes of young Muslim men and women have to be detained for the common good.
Maybe I must get out my Crusading Knights outfit and give Dobbin an extra handful of oats !!!