Melanie Phillips thinks Britain has had it, and she makes a good case.

Because British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been such a staunch friend to the United States, Americans assume that — unlike Europe — Britain generally is on side. They could not be more wrong. The dismaying truth is that Blair is an aberration in his own country. Instead of fighting radical Islamism, virtually the entire British political, intellectual and security establishment can't even bring themselves to name the threat. [....]

London was dubbed "Londonistan" because, during the 1990s, Britain allowed its capital to be turned into the principal hub of Islamist radicalism and terrorism outside of Saudi Arabia. But Londonistan is more than the physical presence of Islamist extremists: It is also a state of mind. A systematic, decades—long assault on Britain's values from within has created a cultural vacuum that Islamist extremism has exploited from without. [....]

At the same time, British culture was steadily disintegrating. Read the whole thing. It's a wake—up call for the civilized world.

James Lewis   6 4 06