For a while now, we at the British Gazette has had a bad feeling about the forthcoming Olympics. We know this is heretical and readers will demand the Editor is sent to the Tower immediately, but it would have been better had the French had succeeded in getting Paris as the venue for the 2012 games. However, what is done is done and the games are due to start very shortly.
What is absolutely clear – even to Theresa May our hapless Home Secretary – is that London 2012 is a prime target for the world’s terrorists. It is of course too much to hope that the followers of the late and unlamented Osama Bin Laden will have come to the conclusion that following their observations of the problems on Britain’s roads (the M4), the complete absence of check in staff at many terminals at Heathrow and the chaotic farce that is G4S – sometime providers of security to London 2012, that the British are perfectly capable of making a complete hash of the games themselves and that their malevolent attentions can be focused elsewhere.
The news that G4S will NOT face a penalty charge for the shambles that has led to troops being rushed into guard duty (many of whom have been issued with redundancy notices) serves to rub salt into the wound.
The British Gazette is certain that all British military personnel will do an absolutely fantastic job as guards and that their colleagues who are performing guard duties of a more martial nature are as prepared as they possibly can be.
The problem of course is with the blinkered stupidity possessed by such as the Home Secretary who are possessed of the delusion that proper professional anti-terrorist security can be done on the cheap with a private outfit recruiting unskilled people with no experience, a shambles of a training course and whose current manpower status is best described as “hoping for the best and keeping one’s fingers (and toes) crossed” has given those malevolent persons who would wish to disrupt or even worse cause carnage at the forthcoming games a huge “not to be missed” opportunity.
Of course, the British Gazette knows full well that the extremely competent and professional people at GCHQ, MI5, Special Branch and the Metropolitan Police anti terrorist units will have been concentrating all possible resources on countering the threats that the country faces. Let us hope that their efforts – which cannot of course be made public – have been successful. We can but hope for the best.
If however the worst happens, it is hoped that at least the Home Secretary will have the good grace to do the traditional thing and to resign without prompting immediately.
Speaking the Truth unto the Nation
Perhaps the Editor is right that the Olympics would be better held elsewhere, but with his security considerations I’d dare to disagree. Let me explain:
London, just as my home city of Moscow is and will always be a target for all sort of attacks just because of being a world-wide-significant country capital. I remember that when I was a little kid, we’ve had more police “Anti-terror” (an actual code name) operations than appearances of police officials and policemen on-screen. There indeed were countless “Arsenal” and “Whirlwind”-type operations but they were not quite as apparent to an ordinary citizen.
Our Army was actively involved in military operations as well, and, in time of need, they came to the rescue as ready as one could be, together with police and Ministry of Emergencies forces; so it was back then.
Now it’s another story as way too many recent events show, for officials are too busy getting that “new forces” thing around and don’t care how qualified the troops are for major action.
What I am trying to say is this: were the upcoming Olympics to become a failure sports-wise, a total loss for the budget and whatnot, for the Forces it would indeed be a success, no matter what.
Why no penalty clause, its mandatory for Government contracts?