Britain’s new anti-terrorism tool

Britain’s new security chief warned Sunday that the domestic battle against Islamic militancy could take up to 15 years, and said Britons must start sharing information about neighbors they suspect of involvement in terrorism.

Adm. Alan West, the former navy chief whom Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently named security minister, said a new approach was critical.

“Britishness does not normally involve snitching or talking about someone,” he told the Sunday Telegraph. “I’m afraid, in this situation, anyone who’s got any information should say something because the people we are talking about are trying to destroy our entire way of life.”

He said preventing the radicalization of young British Muslims was his top priority.

“I believe it will take 10 to 15 years,” he said. “But I think it can be done as long as we as a nation apply ourselves to it and it’s done across the board.”