The new Prime Minister of Britain is coming to grips with the world we live in now:
Tough anti-terror measures, including detaining suspects without charge beyond 28 days and the use of phone-tap evidence in court, are being considered by Gordon Brown following the London and Glasgow attacks.
The Prime Minister yesterday compared the lengthy struggle against terrorism to the 40 years of the Cold War, saying it would involve a battle for the hearts and minds of young Muslims as well as new security measures.
The Conservatives promised to co-operate with Mr Brown and indicated that they may be willing to drop their opposition to the extension of the 28-day detention period, provided it was shown that the police need the extra time.
[…]He has cited the need for the police and security services to trawl through computer records, emails and the use of multiple identities and addresses by terrorists as reasons why a longer detention period may be necessary.
Interviewed on BBC television’s Sunday AM programme, Mr Brown stressed that any new detention measures would include safeguards to protect civil liberties, including enhanced judicial and parliamentary oversight.
The terrorists were making a long term and sustained attack on Western values and it would have to be countered by not just military and security means, Mr Brown said.
"It’s also about hearts and minds. If in the long term we cannot separate the moderates from the extremists and the extremists prey on young lives both in this country and in other parts of the world, then we will see culturally a distancing of people with extreme views from the rest of the community.
I’m not sure a comparison to the cold war is apt here. While Russia did confront us many many times rarely was there violence. Here we face an enemy who will kill indiscriminately to ensure fanatical Islam rules the world. There will be no peace agreements with this enemy. The only way to fight them is to find and destroy them, along with another method which you can most certainly compare to the cold war period. Bringing Democracy and hope to those who don’t have it.

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