Conventional wisdom says it was – if only we hadn’t invaded, everything would be ok.
Yet, the Intelligence and Security Committee published their review into the intelligence about 7/7 yesterday which revealed a startling picture on p. 87:
Mohammed Siddique Khan, ringleader of 7/7 attacks
Why is that significant? The Spectator reports:
Shiraz Maher, a senior research fellow at Policy Exchange, points out, the date [of the picture] is hugely significant. Mohammed Siddique Khan was under surveillance in January 2001, nine months before 9/11 and several years before the Iraq war. So, the idea that he was radicalised by Afghanistan or Iraq just doesn’t fit with the facts. We should face up to the reality that what motivated Mohammed Sidddique Khan to below himself up in an effort to kill as many civilians as possible was far more fundamental than the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Quite.