Deployment of troops following Manchester bombing

Cocksure

I think we all know that this won't be the last atrocity and they will become more frequent.
The security services should not be blamed every time the terrorist is successful without knowing how many have been prevented. The level is now critical so troops are deployed- probably procedure nothing else.

But all of the above is firefighting.
We need to take measures. Some of these won't sit well in the pages of the Gaurdian but too bad.
For instance, this guy travelled frequently to Libya. We knew he was a radical Jihadi. We need to put unstable countries where IS reside on a travel ban. If you are a British citizen and want to travel to Libya or Syria etc you cannot, without a special pass after your case is looked at.
If you go against this you will not be permitted back into Britain.
I have seen this condition in other parts of the world and it should be introduced here. It is very effective.

Pacifico

Beggers belief why we don't have something like this in place already?

Is it a Human Rights issue?.  An EU issue?  Or just soft touch Britain not wanting to offend anyone issue

Goooner

I don't think anyone is blaming the security services.

As to troops on the street, it could well be as you say @Cliff, it was certainly a dangerous move regardless of people's views on it. The British public has a long history of not liking troops on the streets, which should be remembered.

As to banning/putting restrictions on going to or from certain countries, the risk of that is further home grown extremist

Sonic67

Its an incredibly dumb article - must be an election on.

Jenkins notes that the purpose of the Army deployment is to release Police from guard duties, then asks 'to do what' - Well to do exactly what Policemen have always done. The Guardian constantly complains about reductions in Police funding and manpower reductions and then publishes an article complaining when May has overnight increased Police numbers by a 1000.

Its purely election politics.

IronGiant

Frees up more time to go after people that say nasty things on Twitter, shops that sell gollywogs, kids that pick flowers from roadsides and motorists

Sonic67

Yeah there was horror when G4S couldn't provide security for the Olympics and troops had to do it. Or in 1940 when the UK was going to be invaded, or when troops were stepping in as the fire brigade demanded more pay again, or when troops were busy filling sandbags due to flooding, or burning sheep and cattle.

Sorry but what are you talking about? I've been in uniform a few times and if anything tended to have people come up and chat. Are you saying British troops can't be used to protect Britain? It's their first duty.

What about armed forces day? Uniform to work day? Open days? Remembrance weekend?

Troops On The Streets: A History
Heathrow Airport
The only other recent major deployment of troops to the streets in response to a terror threat came in 2003. Tony Blair sent tanks and 450 personnel to Heathrow airport (pictured above) and other London locations after warnings of a plot to bring down an airliner with a surface-to-air missile.The then-Prime Minister was strongly criticised for risking undue panic. Less Recent Times
The last time troops were officially widely deployed on the British mainland was during the police strikes of 1919. They're also known to have escorted food lorries during the General Strike of 1926.Other Domestic Deployments
The Armed Forces made up 50% of the security manpower at the London 2012 Olympic Games, with 18,200 troops deployed to provide security.The government was forced to involve more soldiers than previously planned at the last minute, amid fears that private security firm G4S could not deliver the number of staff it promised.An additional 1,000-strong unarmed contingency force was arranged in the event of an "Olympics-related civil emergency".Emergency Response (Non-Terror Related)
Other UK operations involving the Armed Forces have ranged from reacting to fire strikes and floods, to one-off emergencies like the 'big freeze' in 2010 and 2001's Foot and Mouth outbreak, to the regular safe disposal of historic explosive devices upon discovery.Remember the Green Goddess? It was the fire engine used by the military when they had to step in for the fire service. It was most notably used in 1977 and 2002-2003.In 1977, 20,750 servicemen manned more than 1,000 Green Goddess engines as firefighters went on strike.Between 2002 and 2003, the armed forces provided emergency fire service cover in Operation Fresco. They once again used the vintage Green Goddess, alongside the modern red fire engines.Do people still even remember 1919?

The Dude

Hypothetical risks Vs Actual threats, where should our attention be focused?

A 22 year old loser with a short temper and extremist religious beliefs went to Libya as a 22 year old loser with a short temper and extremist religious beliefs, but he came back as a suicide bomber.

domtheone

Absolutely.

So some peeps might get a tad annoyed if they're banned from going to certain countries (or won't be welcome back if they do go).

Boo hoo.  My heart bleeds for them.

Cocksure

I'm not saying that the British public doesn't respect or like the army, only that during times of peace they dislike the army taking over the roles of the police.

North Ireland had 30 years of the army doing that, it was accept and the need for it was recognised, but both sides wanted the army gone as soon as possible when peace was struck.

This very thread is proof of the uneasy people feel about using the army for police rolls. May would have known that when she deployed them and yet still did. One thing to have them on standby, another having them walk armed along your local city centre.

Even in ww2 the troops didn't take on police roles were ever possible and limited the areas that troops were armed.

That's what I meant and in no way was having a go at the army, if anything it's making a case that the troops weren't deployed for political reasons

Cliff

With so many dead and injured, I think we need to look at whether we are in times of peace or not.