Who made bed?
I was totally unimpressed with Theresa May’s speech on Sunday morning after the atrocious terrorist attacks in London on Saturday night. It was ineffective, pathetic and downright embarrassing for what can be described as a wartime situation. She asserts that there is “far too much tolerance of extremism”. This soundbite designed to play to the voters is true, however, if this is the case, who was the Home Secretary for the last six years who cut police officers on the streets by 20,000, and dismissed MI5, when they warned her about a potential increase of potential attacks, as scaremongering? She also made a complete mess of the Border Agency and refused to take responsibility for it.
To add insult to injury, the Manchester bomber was reported five times and nothing was done. The public want far tougher action; she may talk tough but I have no confidence in May’s leadership or her ability to keep the country safe. GORDON KENNEDY Simpson Square, Perth
If the blinkered, simplistic approach of the four leading letter writers yesterday, regarding “Islamic extremists” is typical of British public opinion as a whole, then the likelihood of ever reaching a solution to the problem is poor. We have to face the fact that, from their point of view, those people do have a legitimate grievance against the West over the arbitrary destruction of the ruling regimes and the killing of the rulers and many thousands of the citizens in Iraq and Libya. As well as our governments’ incitement to rebel in Syria, which has led to the virtual destruction of that country and many, many thousands of deaths and the forced exile of thousands more.
Only now are we in the West beginning to understand that the only workable system of government for the Islamic countries of the Middle East at their present stage of evolution is a military dictatorship working hand in glove with the shadowy leaders of the Islamic religion. However repressive, and even abhorrent, that system is to us in the West, at least it gives the citizenry their best chance of peace and stability. No matter how we try to gloss over the facts, we have selectively destroyed that system in three of those Middle Eastern countries and in so doing have drastically worsened, and even destroyed, life for the ordinary citizens and dispersed thousands of others around the world.
The memories of the diaspora of those countries is going to influence world events for centuries to come and, in the medium to long term, more violence and aggression cannot possibly solve the problem.
IRVINE INGLIS Reston, Berwickshire