7 - 7: The London Bombings: What Went Wrong? - Softcover

Black, Crispin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1903933714 ISBN 13: 9781903933718

Publisher: Gibson Square Books Ltd, 2006

Synopsis

How could a moment of triumph about the Olympic Bid turn into a catastrophe? These terrible events follow on the continuing revelations that the intelligence reports that were the government's basis for the invasion of Iraq were deeply flawed and the recent admission by the Ministry of Defence that it failed to foresee the size and ferocity of the Iraq insurgency. Something is very wrong in how Britain collects and analyses intelligence. In "7-7: What Went Wrong?", Crispin Black shows that fundamental flaws in our current approach to calibrating and understanding the terrorist threat - an unwillingness for instance to take on board the effects of our foreign policy on loyalty at home and a generally slack approach to border security have produced a toxic threat to national security. Taken all together there is the uncomfortable suspicion that instead of gathering intelligence, their aim is to please their masters. In his compelling and authoritative analysis, Black shows the cumulative threats that have amassed over the years through the slow reactions of our intelligence and security services - despite for instance the repeated warnings of the French and more recent warnings from the Middle East and the United States. He makes suggestions for reform.

About this title

About the Author

Lt. Col. Crispin Black MBE worked as an intelligence expert for the Ministry of Defence and the Cabinet Office until 2002. His responsibilities included briefing No 10, work for COBRA, the government's emergency committee, and long-term strategic analysis for the Joint Intelligence Committee. He currently works for a private intelligence company. He appears frequently on television for the UK, US and Australian networks including the BBC, ITN, Channel 4, Sky, CBS, ABC, CNN, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He has appeared on the Today Programme, Newsnight and has worked with Greg Dyke, Trevor McDonald and Jonathan Dimbleby and been a subject for the BBC's Hardtalk Programme. He appeared extensively as an expert to comment on the London Bombings and writes for newspapers such as the Guardian. He served as officer with the Welsh Guards in the Falklands War, was an intelligence officer in West Belfast eventually specialising in intelligence during the Balkan crisis in the 1990s. He was educated at Cambridge University and lives in London.

Edition details

• Publisher: Gibson Square Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1903933714
• ISBN 13: 9781903933718
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 96