This is terrorism? Really?

 So, a couple of weeks ago a protest group called 'Palestine Action' broke into RAF Brize Norton.  That in itself was surprizing enough; the RAF security on that base must have been rubbish.  I would love to read their explanation of how someone managed to get through their fence, ride a scooter up to parked planes, spray paint them, and then escape again without anyone noticing!

What I do find amazing has been the government's reaction to this incident.  There is a case to be made that the perpetrators of this action should have been thanked.  After all, had this been done by actual terrorists it is likely that the planes would have been destroyed, with perhaps RAF personnel killed, of even weapons stolen, fuel ignited etc.  OK, Palestine Action have admitted to using crowbars to, in their words, "decommission" the planes, but the actions of real terrorists would have been much, much worse than what actually happened.  Embarrassing as the incident was for the RAF, their security sucks, and the damage done, in my humble opinion, lies squarely at their door.  At least they now have proof positive of the issue, and should take action to resolve it.

Instead the government has branded the perpetrators as terrorists, and seems to be coming at them with a rather heavy hand.  I have no idea what proof the group had of RAF involvement in the Israeli campaign against Gaza and the West Bank, and I agree that we should not be involved in that conflict.  Quite the reverse, we should be decrying the actions of the Israeli's (and it is by no means anti- Semitic to say that!) armed forces and it's government, and should not be either supplying Israel with weapons, or any other type of support.  We stood up to Apartheid, so why not stand against this genocide?  Israel had a perfectly good cease fire with Hamas.  It 's hostages were being released under that agreement.  Israel broke that cease fire, not Hamas (terrorists that they are).  If our government wants an example of a REAL terrorist organisation, they need look no further than Hamas!

By all means, prosecute the vandals at Brize Norton under existing legislation.  They trespassed on armed forces property, and did cause damage.  Surely there must be a better way to demonstrate than that?  Freedom of speech does not include the right to destroy anything you happen to dislike.  Despite this, the group does make a lot of sense.  

A spokesperson for Palestine Action said: "When our government fails to uphold their moral and legal obligations, it is the responsibility of ordinary citizens to take direct action".  I agree with this statement.  When our government talks with two tongues on this or any other issue, (as they have done), we the people have the right to call them to account on it.  That is what is called democracy.  But are the members of Palestine Action Terrorists?  On currently available information, I think not. Unless the government can prove some wider malicious intent on the part of Palestine Action, I think we should be calling them out on that too.