Yemeni man walks by painting of US drone on the wall in Sanaa, Yemen,shortly after 25 civilians were killed in latest US counter-terror raid, January, 2017. Xinhua/Press Association. All rights reserved. Five terror attacks in the UK made 2017 an annus horribilis for those defending the nation against terror. The UK government is about to publish an update to its counter-terror strategy, CONTEST.
At the recent Westminster counter-terrorism conference, a top security official affirmed that the heightened terror threat in the UK is strongly connected to conflicts overseas – especially the situation in Syria and Iraq and those inspired by Islamic State (ISIS).
The new strategy needs to ensure coherent UK support for peace overseas if it is to reduce the threat at home. The 2011 version of CONTEST, however, placed no emphasis on bringing conflicts overseas to a lasting end. The new strategy must instead strongly promote effective UK engagement in peacebuilding, and break with policies that have been proving highly counter-productive.
