Jul 11, 2005
Why Did Terrorists Attack London?
Ivan Eland says it's because of Britain's cooperation with U.S. foreign policy:
The question remains as to how the British will react in response. On the immediate response, Eric Margolis had this to say (along with other interesting insights in the same article):
The Spanish pulled out of Iraq. Will the British? It appears not for now. For now, the British State is at least copying the American State in a few key ways, such as in Blair's rejection of an inquiry into the bombing, requested by the Conservative opposition party.
More than likely, the real underlying purpose of the London attacks was similar to that of the Spanish train bombings in March 2004 on the eve of the Spanish elections. Al Qaeda took advantage of the Spanish government’s support of the U.S.-led Iraq invasion and the Spanish public’s intense dislike of that policy to drive home the high costs of being a Bush administration ally. The Spanish public realized that the Spanish government, in the name of national defense, was actually endangering the security of the Spanish people in order to score points with the United States. They promptly voted that government out of office and installed a replacement that withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq.
Al Qaeda is likely looking for a similar outcome in Britain, a country much more vital to the Bush administration’s war effort in Iraq than Spain. In contrast to Spain’s primarily symbolic importance for the U.S. war and occupation, the British have about 8,500 capable troops in Iraq. Britain is the only nation in the world to provide more than symbolic support for the globally unpopular U.S. military adventure in Iraq.
The question remains as to how the British will react in response. On the immediate response, Eric Margolis had this to say (along with other interesting insights in the same article):
London's emergency service functioned brilliantly. There was none of the chaos or jingoism we saw after 9/11 in New York. Britons uniformly exhibited stiff upper lips, coolness, and manners for which they are deservedly respected. I was very proud of them.
The bombings paralyzed London during morning rush hour, but by afternoon the city's trademark red buses were again careening around corners and even subway service partly resumed.
There were no witch hunts against London's Muslims, 10% of that great city's population.
A senior British police official declared there is no reason why the words"Islamic" and"terrorist" should go together, even though Blair had just used them.
The cop is right. The terrorists who struck London on 7/7 may have been Mideast Muslims, but their primary goal was political, not religious.
The Spanish pulled out of Iraq. Will the British? It appears not for now. For now, the British State is at least copying the American State in a few key ways, such as in Blair's rejection of an inquiry into the bombing, requested by the Conservative opposition party.