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Terrorist Attack on London


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BBC Report:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4659093.stm

Large numbers of casualties have been reported after at least six explosions on the Underground network and a double-decker bus in London.

Scotland Yard confirmed one of several reports of explosions on buses in the city - in Tavistock Place - but said the cause was not yet known.

UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke said several explosions in central London had caused "terrible injuries".

All Tube services and bus services in central London have been suspended.

"The health services are in support to deal with the terrible injuries that there have been," Clarke told reporters outside Downing Street.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said there had been at least six explosions, but said the picture was still "very confused".

Scotland Yard said explosions have been reported at Edgware Road, King's Cross, Liverpool Street, Russell Square, Aldgate East and Moorgate.

Number 10 said it was "still unsure" whether the explosions were a terrorist attack and although casualties were reported, no further details were yet available.

Prime Minister Tony Blair is to make a live televised statement on the explosions in London at 1200 BST, Downing Street added.

All London Underground services have been suspended indefinitely and bus services in central London (Zone One) have been halted.

A spokesman for Vodafone said emergency services were being given priority access to the mobile phone network which was causing problems for other users.

One caller to BBC Five said his friend had seen "the bus ripped open like a can of sardines and bodies everywhere".

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An Islamist website has posted a statement - purportedly from al-Qaeda - claiming it was behind the attacks. It says that it is a revenge attack on Britain for having troops in Iraq. The statement went on the warn the governments of Denmark and Italy that they would face "the same punishment" if they fail to withdraw their troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Guest Stephen Turner

Mike, Chris Thanks for your thoughts at this time. lets hope its not as bad as it currently sounds.

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The terrorists who caused such destruction so near to my doorstep in London today clearly have no respect for life or decency... I condemn them utterly.

However it is very clear that it is those countries foolish enough to support Bush's imbecile foreign policy that have been targeted by terrorists in the last few years.

So far Australia, Spain and Britain have been hit - all active allies in America's insupportable and monstrous foreign adventures.

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The terrorists who caused such destruction so near to my doorstep in London today clearly have no respect for life or decency... I condemn them utterly.

However it is very clear that it is those countries foolish enough to support Bush's imbecile foreign policy that have been targeted by terrorists in the last few years.

So far Australia, Spain and Britain have been hit - all active allies in America's insupportable and monstrous foreign adventures.

I completely agree with this statement. When Bush and Blair first proposed this illegal invasion, I and others argued that this action would make us a target of terrorism. The major surprise is that they have taken so long to start their campaign. As pointed out by many, it will be very difficult to prevent these attacks. It is impossible to stop terrorists leaving a bomb on a train during rush hour or in a cinema at a time when it will kill a large number of people.

As we know, they even have people willing to be suicide bombers. There attitudes towards life is very different from previous terrorists. In the past, left-wing terrorists have been fighting for a world that they wanted to experience. Although they were willing to take risks they did what they could to stay alive. These terrorists were also concerned with public opinion. For example, the IRA knew they could not go too far with their acts of terrorism because they needed to hold onto the support of large numbers of Catholics in their community. This is not true of Muslim terrorists. Their only objective is to create terror. That is fairly easy to do if you are willing to die in order to obtain your objectives.

Here is a passage of Tony Blair’s statement that he issued yesterday.

I think we all know what they are trying to do - they are trying to use the slaughter of innocent people to cow us and frighten us out of the things that we want to do, of trying to stop us going about our business as normal as we are entitled to do.

They must not and should not succeed. When they try to intimidate us, we will not be intimidated.

When they seek to change out country or our way of life by these methods we will not be changed.

When they try to divide our people, or weaken our resolve we will not be divided, and our resolve will hold firm.

We will hold by our spirit and dignity and by a quiet and true strength that is in the British people that our values will long outlast theirs.

The purpose of terrorism is just that - it is to terrorise people and we will not be terrorised.

This is an attempt to mislead the British public. It is preposterous to suggest that this is an attack on our way of life. These terrorists could not care less about the way we live. What they are concerned about is that we have troops in Iraq. We have become a target of terrorists because of the misguided foreign policies of Tony Blair. He is of course well protected from terrorist bombers. He does not use public transport. The people of Britain are frightened. They have every right to be. Can you imagine what it will be like for them travelling on the London Underground in the future? In time they will become very angry. They will realise why they are targets (these bombs will not be going off in France, Germany, etc.). They will also note what happened after the Madrid bombing took place.

Blair is completely wrong to say the terrorists will lose. In fact, they rarely do. Their acts usually persuade politicians to change their policies. Just ask Nelson Mandela or Gerry Adams. In time the British army will leave Iraq. It is just a question of how many innocent civilians have to die in the meantime.

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According to Al Jazeera "It's been reported that Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided not to attend an economic conference in London after the Israeli embassy received a pre-attack warning."

"A top Israel foreign ministry official said that the British police informed the Israeli embassy in London of possible attacks minutes before Thursday's attacks. "

This is too close to the false rumour that all Israelis had been warned to stay away from the twin towers on 9/11 to be comfortable but the original source seems to be the Israeli embassy itself.

-----

I received an email from Bernard Regan confirming that none of the NUT Headquarters staff had been injured by the bombs and confirming the safety of various other NUT members, it continued as follows:

"For many of us in London this has come as a shock but not a surprise - as

someone who regularly travels through Liverpool Street, Edgeware Road and

Kings Cross I am acutely conscious of what has happened. It is vital to

be clear however that these events are a direct consequence of actions such

as the war on Iraq - the murdering of innocent people is no more excusable

because those who deliver the bombs do so from planes rather than

detonating them in public places.

The likelihood is that Blair and Bush who are the principal terrorists in

the world will seek to use this situation to strengthen their attacks

abroad and also to launch attacks on civil liberties at home - stepping up the

drive for identity cards and other such measures. We, in the trade union

movement must recognise that these kinds of attacks invariably are used to

attack our liberties and have little or no affect on those they claim to

target.

The climate of reaction stoked up by this government on issues

like ASBOs and anti-terrorism measures could breed a real carnival of

reaction. It is worth recalling that when the Prevention of Terrorism Act

(PTA) was introduced allegedly to prevent IRA activity - thousands of

Irish were hounded but next to no one got prosecuted.

It is also possible that we will see a racist anti-muslim response from

some - once again it is vital that we respond and challenge any such

responses - wherever they come from. At a time when Blair and Bush will evoke a

nationalistic siege mentality response what is needed on the contrary is a

more internationalist, more anti-racist response. Immediately ending the

occupation of Iraq will do more to stop acts of terrorism than any

so-called security measures that are likely to be put forward.

There is a need for socialists to be prepared to respond. In particular

we must not retreat on the demand for the immediate withdrawal of troops

from Iraq.

On a personal note it is telling that one of the first inquiries about

peoples' well being came from Palestinian friends.

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Hi all

I agree that the British and American forces in Iraq are only provoking the situation and creating more Jihadists.

I made the point to my friend Jay here at work to whom I talk about the International Situation that what the U.S. and U.K. is really caught up in is a Moslem civil war, and if you really look at it the Moslems are killing each other at a much more astounding rate than Moslems killing Westerners. It is Sunnis versus Shiites or jihadists versus the westernized Moslems. Perhaps the unfortunate killing of the Egyptian envoy in Iraq will persuade the governments of Egypt and other Arab countries that they will have to set their own house in order. That might be one way ahead out the the spiral of evil the world is in.

All my best

Chris

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... what the U.S. and U.K. is really caught up in is a Moslem civil war...

This is muddled thinking.

The situation the USA and UK find themselves in is in fact entirely the making of their own feeble minded governments.

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... what the U.S. and U.K. is really caught up in is a Moslem civil war...

This is muddled thinking.

The situation the USA and UK find themselves in is in fact entirely the making of their own feeble minded governments.

Thanks, Andy. See this article that I am going to partly quote--

"A cold-war tool for the terror era"

By John Hughes

Christian Science Monitor

May 5, 2004

SALT LAKE CITY- Some people argue that the war on terrorism is a war between Islam and Christianity. But actually, the war that will do much to determine the future of terrorism is the war between Islamic extremists and Islamic moderates.

This is a war of worldwide scope, played out not only in the Middle East but in lands from Indonesia to Pakistan, and such European countries as Spain and France and Germany, where sizable Muslim communities are beset by rising Islamic radicalism.

The United States, primary target of Islamic terrorism, has a major stake in the outcome of this war. If moderation is the victor, political and economic freedom will flourish and extremism will wither. If moderation does not prevail, terrorism will become emboldened and even more dangerous.

The US cannot stand aloof from this civil war between Muslims. One of its principal weapons in aiding the moderate cause is public diplomacy, our bureaucratic term for better explaining US motives, policies, and democratic ideals to an often skeptical audience.

From International Education Matters

Edited by Christopher T. George
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... what the U.S. and U.K. is really caught up in is a Moslem civil war...

This is muddled thinking.

The situation the USA and UK find themselves in is in fact entirely the making of their own feeble minded governments.

Thanks, Andy. See this article that I am going to partly quote--

"A cold-war tool for the terror era"

By John Hughes

Christian Science Monitor

May 5, 2004

SALT LAKE CITY- Some people argue that the war on terrorism is a war between Islam and Christianity. But actually, the war that will do much to determine the future of terrorism is the war between Islamic extremists and Islamic moderates.

This is a war of worldwide scope, played out not only in the Middle East but in lands from Indonesia to Pakistan, and such European countries as Spain and France and Germany, where sizable Muslim communities are beset by rising Islamic radicalism.

The United States, primary target of Islamic terrorism, has a major stake in the outcome of this war. If moderation is the victor, political and economic freedom will flourish and extremism will wither. If moderation does not prevail, terrorism will become emboldened and even more dangerous.

The US cannot stand aloof from this civil war between Muslims. One of its principal weapons in aiding the moderate cause is public diplomacy, our bureaucratic term for better explaining US motives, policies, and democratic ideals to an often skeptical audience.

From International Education Matters

Forgive me for being abrupt but all you quote is surely nothing more than predictable nonsense (but nonsense and propaganda all the same) from the Christian Science Monitor!

Terrorism geared against America, Spain and Britain owes its origin to the aggressive economic, political and military offensives waged against a significant number of Islamic countries by the very wealthy western countries in recent years.

It would be easy and hopelessly misguided to say all this is a "religious" issue.

Such a view would vitiate any hope of an intelligent resolution.

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... what the U.S. and U.K. is really caught up in is a Moslem civil war...

This is muddled thinking.

The situation the USA and UK find themselves in is in fact entirely the making of their own feeble minded governments.

Thanks, Andy. See this article that I am going to partly quote--

"A cold-war tool for the terror era"

By John Hughes

Christian Science Monitor

May 5, 2004

SALT LAKE CITY- Some people argue that the war on terrorism is a war between Islam and Christianity. But actually, the war that will do much to determine the future of terrorism is the war between Islamic extremists and Islamic moderates.

This is a war of worldwide scope, played out not only in the Middle East but in lands from Indonesia to Pakistan, and such European countries as Spain and France and Germany, where sizable Muslim communities are beset by rising Islamic radicalism.

The United States, primary target of Islamic terrorism, has a major stake in the outcome of this war. If moderation is the victor, political and economic freedom will flourish and extremism will wither. If moderation does not prevail, terrorism will become emboldened and even more dangerous.

The US cannot stand aloof from this civil war between Muslims. One of its principal weapons in aiding the moderate cause is public diplomacy, our bureaucratic term for better explaining US motives, policies, and democratic ideals to an often skeptical audience.

From International Education Matters

Forgive me for being abrupt but all you quote is surely nothing more than predictable nonsense (but nonsense and propaganda all the same) from the Christian Science Monitor!

Terrorism geared against America, Spain and Britain owes its origin to the aggressive economic, political and military offensives waged against a significant number of Islamic countries by the very wealthy western countries in recent years.

It would be easy and hopelessly misguided to say all this is a "religious" issue.

Such a view would vitiate any hope of an intelligent resolution.

Hi Andy

I am sorry but it is you who is being short sighted. In essence the ultimate aim of Bin Laden and other fundamentalists is to unseat the governments of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and what is happening between the West and Bin Laden, Zaquari and other terrorists is an outgrowth of the struggle in the Middle East. It is the fault of the western governments to think that the ire of the terrorists is mainly directed at them. It is not although I will agree that western intervention in the Middle East is firing the Jihad movement at this time.

Chris

Edited by Christopher T. George
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