Feedback | 21 August 2004

Alternatives to war

In his extended defence of the ‘war on terror’ George Osborne (‘While England sleeps’, 14 August) asks what other response there could be. History suggests several alternatives. When Britain was faced with terrorism in Malaya the civil authorities were resolute about the need to remain in charge and so the ‘war’ remained an ‘emergency’. This had huge implications for how the emergency was tackled. For instance, the military were not allowed to use large-scale force as they saw fit. They did not drop bombs on urban areas. It remained a police operation focused mainly on intelligence. In the end good police work, a refusal to bend to terrorist demands and political reform led to the defeat of the communists.

All of Mr Osborne’s goals — reducing support from the wider community, cutting links, if any, with existing regimes, preventing the escape of weapons of mass destruction — are best dealt with as political and police, not military, problems.