Post From a Friend In London

Yesterday was a hard day for a lot of people, and my pains are small in comparison to some, but not insignificant to me. I got that September 11th feeling yesterday knowing that one of my closest brothers was out in the middle of that. I get to work and find an email that he was ok, and a sigh of relief followed. Then, I just got plain mad all over again.

Anyway, my friend left a great comment in the previous post, and I thought I would post it on the main site. Him and I have debated ad infinitum about global politics and I've yet to meet anyone on any political spectrum that has challeged me the way he has.

Mate, thanks for your support at this terrible time. Things are already getting back to normal here, so whatever the pondlife that did this is trying to achieve, they've failed.

Current reports suggest that it may not be the work of suicide bombers; there are witness reports of a man leaving a bag on the bus. If that's true, and he didn't even have the guts to take himself out, my outrage is quadrupled.

As we've previously discussed, one of the most frustrating things for me about attacks by Al-Qaeda supporters is the lack of a clear aim, agenda or manifesto.

At least with the IRA, we knew the motives behind the bombings - an Ireland entirely independent of British control. With these guys (and it's a struggle to use that word, with its implication of a level of humanity), there's no such clarity.

If the net-posted claim of responsibility is to be believed, the attack purports to be in revenge for the British presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, whilst I strongly disagreed with the 2003 invasion, the only reason we're still there is to protect the fledgling administration. We can't get out quick enough. And when we do, what do they think will happen?
Whatever political parties these people (same caveat) support, the coalition forces are not keeping them out of power - Iraq is a democracy now. If the Iraqi people don't want to be ruled by the politicians that the insurgents support, then it won't happen - end of story. Forcing out the coalition troops now, as opposed to when the Iraqi administration asks us to leave, won't help their political aims at all if these aims are not supported by the Iraqis.

My suspicion is that the motives of the bombers are more amorphous (e.g. anti-Western, anti-capitalist), and this makes me madder still. They probably couldn't compile a rational list of aims if you gave them paper, a pen, and a week to think about it. How dare you execute these outrages when you don't even know what you're trying to achieve. You make the IRA look positively intellectual. Either urinate or get off the political pot.

Or is it that, by publishing a manifesto, they risk finding out that 99.9% of Muslims don't agree with a word of it?

Keep up the good work TF6S. We're not always of the same political viewpoint, but on this there can be no polarity. Nothing justifies the carnage we saw here yesterday.

Posted by Jon Bartley at July 8, 2005 06:20 AM

I'll try to post a response later today, or this weekend, as I think these are good points to carry this conversation on.

Also, just so you know, I'm definitely planning a London trip now. Do you guys have an El Squid Roe?