British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has branded Jeremy Corbyn “naive and dangerous” for suggesting that the Daesh* late leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who blew himself up with a suicide vest during a US military raid last month, should have been arrested instead.
Speaking to LBC this week, the Labour leader said that al-Baghdadi’s removal was “a very good thing” but also added that the terrorist leader’s arrest would have been “the right thing to do”.
“If it would have been possible to arrest him, I don't know the details of the circumstances at the time”, Corbyn said. “I have only seen various statements put out by the US about it...surely that would have been the right thing to do. If we want to live in a world of peace and justice we should practice it as well”.
Corbyn, who earlier argued that the assassination of al-Qaeda* leader Osama bin Laden by the US rather than his detention was a “tragedy”, also added it remained his principle that criminals should be arrested in order to be put on trial to face international law.
“If it's possible to arrest somebody and put them on trial, then that is what should have been done and that is what I said about the death [of Bin Laden] in 2011 and it would continue to be my principle”, the Labour leader said yesterday.
“If we believe, as we do, in international law and justice and the power of the International Court of Justice, then we should everything we can to bring people, where they deserve to go trial, to be put on trial as was [Slobodan] Milosevic and others”, he added.
The comments sparked outrage among British politicians and public figures alike, with a minister from Scotstoun Parish Church of Scotland Richard Cameron even branding the Labour chief “a terrorist sympathiser” for his attitude.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also harshly reacted to the comments, by saying that his political rival’s approach was “naïve to the point of being dangerous”.
“Let’s make no bones about it, al-Baghdadi was absolutely a diabolical foe of this country and of our liberal values and was responsible for untold murders”, Johnson said during a press conference on 13 November.
“I don’t think it’s realistic that he could be just apprehended by the police in the circumstances he was finally run to ground”, the prime minister added.
“I think his approach is naïve”, Johnson noted, referring to Corbyn, adding “and naïve to the point of being dangerous.”
Conservative politician Michael Fabricant was also outraged by the Labour leader’s stance, inquiring about the “planet” Jeremy Corbyn was living on.
“So easy. ‘Well, Mr al-Baghdadi, we understand you are the military leader of ISIS*. Please accompany me to the nearest police station’”. Fabricant said, while mocking Corbyn’s statement. “What planet is Jeremy Corbyn on?”
The comments come less than a month before snap general elections in Britain on 12 December. While the outcome of the vote is being regarded as the most unpredictable in the history of modern Britain, several reports have recently indicated that Britain’s intelligence services and the Foreign Office are worried about Jeremy Corbyn potentially winning the election, as his anti-Americanism and poor attitude towards NATO and British military operations could potentially jeopardise the country’s national security.
US President Donald Trump confirmed the death of Daesh leader al-Baghdadi on 27 October, stating that he killed himself alongside thee of his kids during the US military raid in Syria after detonating a suicide vest. POTUS claimed that the remaining parts of his body were later identified via a DNA test on the spot.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) and al-Qaeda are terrorist groups banned in Russia and many other states.
