Political Analysis and Global Affairs

  According to a government report, MI5 is aware of more than 43,000 people who pose a potential terrorist threat to the UK, which is almost twice the number of terror suspects previously disclosed 3 .  However, it is not specified if all of these individuals are Muslims. According to a Daily Mail article, 90% of the 43,000 extremists on MI5's watchlist are Islamist terror suspects 4 .  The UK's counter-terrorism strategy, called CONTEST, has four strands: prevent, pursue, protect, and prepare. The aim of CONTEST is to reduce the risk to the UK and its citizens and interests overseas from terrorism, so that people can go about their lives freely and with confidence 2 .  The UK government has proscribed 78 terrorist groups or organizations under UK law 5 .  The UK police forces work with the UK intelligence community to help protect the public and national security by preventing, deterring, and investigating terrorist activity 6 . To control these extremists, the...

  Yes, the UK army was involved in military operations in Afghanistan and Libya as part of NATO. Here are some examples of the UK's involvement in these operations: Operation Ellamy : In 2011, the UK participated in Operation Ellamy, which was the codename for the UK's participation in the military intervention in Libya 3 .  The operation was designated by NATO as Operation Unified Protector and involved air strikes against Libyan government forces 3 .  The UK was one of several countries involved in the operation, which was aimed at protecting civilians and enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya 1 . Afghanistan : The UK was involved in the military intervention in Afghanistan, which began in 2001 as part of a coalition tasked with finding the leaders of al-Qaeda after the 9/11 terrorist attacks 5 .  In 2006, British troops were sent to the southern province of Helmand as part of a reorganization of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was under NATO...