Hi Everyone,
As you probably have heard by now, there has been a significant terrorist attack on the London mass transit system. Four bombs hit three subway trains and a double decker bus. You can find detailed reports just about everywhere so I won't repeat them here.
What does this mean? To me this shows that even in London, a city blanketed with security cameras in a country where there are far fewer restrictions on police powers than the US Constitution allows, terrorism can strike. To me, this attack shows that the Republican approach of trying to sacrifice liberty to gain security doesn't work. Britain has been sacrificing liberty for security for hundreds of years (that's what our Revolution was about after all). Since the IRA era in the 70s and 80s the British police have had powers in exess of those provided to the FBI in the Patriot Act. And yet...
Comments? Discussion?
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Terror Attack In London
Posted by Raised By Republicans at 7:18 AM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Is this IRA? I don't see any motives here. What a tragedy for a city that was so happy yesterday.
// posted by Bell Curve
Actually, this was probably Al Qaeda. They are mad at the UK because of their deployment of troops in Iraq.
The IRA usually informed the police a bit before the bombs went off and told them to evacuate the target building. Some IRA factions stopped trying to avoid civilian casualties but the oldest IRA factions at least made token efforts to avoid casualties.
// posted by Raised By Republicans
RBR, you and I are thinking alike. I thought the same thing about the UK this morning . . . that despite all their hidden cameras and such, they were still hit and they don't know by what exactly.
I offer to explanations: the G8 summit in Scotland and the announcement that London will host the 2012 Olympic Games. The terrorists, whoever they are, want to show that they can strike when and where they want.
This is not an IRA event. RBR is correct that the IRA gave advance warnings.
One of my British friends, who is quite angry over this, has written to tell me that maybe it is about time that we start sitting down with some of this people and figuring out what it is that they want. I am not sure that is possible. But is an idea worth discussing.
The IRA had a clear agenda. It wanted an Independent Ireland. It had clear leaders and a solid organization. The current crop of terrorists is 1: Al Qaeda copy cats 2: Al Qaeda sympathizers 3: Solid Al Qaeda terrorists 4: rogue fundamentalists or some combination thereof. But since we don't really know what Al Qaeda is or who controls it, we are hard pressed to talk to "them". And what they want I think depends on who they are.
Do they really want to destroy the Western World? Do they really want to convert all of us? I am not convinced of that. Do they want troops out of the Middle East? Well they aren't helping their cause by launching attacks. It is all very unclear.
If you have a goal, then come out into the open and talk about it rather than hiding in caves and launching random attacks like a vicious vandal.
// posted by USWest
I wouldn't rule out the IRA for any of the reasons given above. Any faction of the IRA that is sufficiently opposed to the peace process to engage in terrorism is probably extreme enough to try a new tactic: mass bombings without warning.
By the way, the IRA has not sought "an independent Ireland" for 80 years. It got one. What it sought was to forcibly put largely Protestant Northern Ireland under Catholic rule over their objections and without democratic processes. The Good Friday accord acknowledges that the future of Northern Ireland will be decided through democratic processes. Also, Catholic Ireland is no longer a poor church-dominated backwater that forbids divorce, abortion, and locks up unwed mothers in Magadalene laundries (for life). It's not even that Catholic anymore. Frankly, Ireland is now a thoroughly modern European country, and Irish Protestants are starting to wonder what the big deal is who represents them in Brussels.
// posted by LTG
I think it is safe to say at this point that these murders were carried out by Al Qaeda or Al Qaeda inspired terrorists.
Oh, LTG, your orange slip is showing. ;-)
// posted by Raised By Republicans
Turns out the murders were by homegrown Brits. By treating it as a criminal investigation, the UK is doing a much better job than just jumping to militarize everything. Crime is handled within a framework of law and order; military action is, like terrorism itself, outside of it.
// posted by LTG
Post a Comment