EDITORIAL The Ratchet is Turning: The rise of the security state *wiltermath of the first London bombings, the Labour government her main political parties, and their tame media. engaged in a con- *el of lies about the political causes. They attempted to persuade us • mombings had nothing to do with Iraq and Afghanistan, or the threats ::ar against Iran and Syria. nothing to do with the Zionist oppression the Palestinian people. nothing to do with British foreign policy. but ¡ere the sole responsibility of evil Muslim fundamentalists. allowed thrive within the Muslim community in Britain. who wish to destroy • was of life. inly George Galloway among MPs. together with a tew journalists. stood in against this consensus. However. despile the tri-partisan propaganda tensive. further aided by the police management of the investigations. "en days atter the bombings the untenable consensus collaried intortunately for mainstream politicians and most pulted editors the ›tor! on the street was far more realistic. While evertone condemned the Bombings. the first major ICM poll in the Charco 19.07.051 shoued that a majorty did see a direct link. 63 percent believing Blair had a It or 'a little responsibility because of the Iraq war. and 75 percent helieving we would be attacked again. The facile and incoherent official propaganda failed to convince the British people: moreover, the percent- age who thought that the Iraq war and occupation was the main issue continued to increase. The anti-war movement and recent electoral successes of Respect were important factors in this breakdown of the official consensus. There are also divisions within the ruling class. with some opposition to the Iraq invasion in the Foreign Office. Here. some believed the war was an ad- venture. that it would fail and damage British interests in the Middle East. These divisions resurfaced with the timely Chatham House Report, describing Blair riding pillion' with Bush on foreign policy. The second lie The second lie was that international terrorism' and the carnage in London. 'will not change our was of life. They will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear said Blair. Other transparent homi- lies have been pumped out by politicians and the media. pointing to a ›pecial British resilience and stoicism'. But the notion of 'stoicism' 1 a media construction. As well as further obscuring any connection with Iraq. this rhetoric pro- vides a smokescreen for a concerted. long-term attack on our civil liber- ties. Our way of life is being changed. and it is not just about the tech- nicalities of policing. Several commentators have warned that the first change is to the balance between freedom and authority: The ratchet will move further in the direction of control at the expense of liberty. Freedom of speech is threatened by new laws that would sweep into the net newspapers, bookshops and websites, which foment violence. and ..uld include expressions of solidarity with liberation movements. Al- ready two Muslim organisations are to be banned. Freedom of speech is "ding curtailed in legislation against religious abuse or hatred. reminiscent i reactionary blasphemy laws. Some proposals such as charging people with treason are not intended to be put into practice, but are thrown in so that what is tinally passed seems mild by comparison. Whether special udge-only courts. for pre-trial secret hearings. are in this category we will have to wait and see. Muslims under attack The main group to be hit by these attacks on civil rights will be the Mus- lim community. and especiall! young men. Government statements and initiatives have fuelled racist and Islamophobic attitudes. Immediately after July 7 the number of attacks on Muslims and on mosques increased dramatically, but it was also accompanied hy a generalised increase of racist attacks on all minorities. Muslim and other students will come under scrutiny: A new study on stu- dent activists and surveillance is shortly to be published. Drawn up by the Brunel University's Centre for Intelligence and Securit: it will state that university authorities underestimate the estremism that exists on their campuses: not just Islamist groups trying to recruit disallected Muslim students. but other groups as well. They propose that universities should monitor all students. keep records of society memberships, that in some cases universities should sanction covert action and surveillance on campuses. This summer Universities UK will issue advice to the Vice-Chancellors on how to combat extrem- Isin on campuses. in line with a renewed state interest in students. From ASBOs to ID cards. from curtailment of the right to demonstrate in parts of London to continual surveillance. from the normalisation of an armed police force to stop and search and shoot-to-kill (secretly intro- duced in 20021. the attacks are broad and sustained - genuine democrats and the working class morement ignore them at their peril. There is a growth estate security, the pace of which will now be accelerated. If you challenge Blair s attempt to decouple the bombing and the mars. you are accused of giving succour to the terrorists. Many of these attacks are claimed to he a rational response 1o terrorism and as such they have been supported by many people. but their roots can be traced back long before 9 11. Over recent vears our civil liberties have been steadily eroded using the excuse of drunken youth on the streets. animal liberationists, internet pornography, anti-road activists, militant environmentalists. Social problems created by the system itself have been transformed into "moral panics' by the media. These periodically orchestrated events have wider implications for the liberties of all of us than is at first apparent. Attacks on Democratic Rights and the Deepening Crisis of US Power Laws undermining our rights are being carried out in the name of the *war on terrorism', but there are long term strategic as well as immediate reasons for this drive. closely linked to what David Harvey has called "The deepening crisis of US world hegemony'. The economic. political and environmental challenges that face the dominant imperialisms in the twenty-first century will inevitably lead to increased social instability. The crisis of US supremacy is especially acute in the spheres of manufac- turing and more recently finance and is increasingly propelling the US to use its final card - overwhelming military power - more aggressively. To ensure its continued dominance in competition with China, South East Asia, India and Russia, the US, as the leading imperialism, requires controi of the world's natural resources such as oil and gas, not only for its own consumption, but also as part of a policy of economic leverage. military containment and the encirclement of its potential enemies. As part of the necessary restructuring of the world economy: which lies at the heart of globalisation, the imperialist bourgeoisie needs to drive down working class living standards to deal with the new challenges - wages, social welfare and protection - at home. This is what Tons Blair means when he demands that European politicians face up the realities of the twenty-first century" Neo-liberalism, globalisation and the new realities are the terms used to obscure the cutting edge of these anti-working class policies. A sustained aftack on civil liberties is part and parcel of this war without end and the social instability it will bring. We must stop them.