Does the latest car bombing in the UK make you feel unsafe where you live? Or is this just London's problem?
Posted by Natalie Ahn on July 2, 2007 10:00 AM
Readers’ Responses to Our Question (55)
Ed :
As I read over all the comments it becomes clear we are forgetting world history. There have always been nations that push their influence over other nations, and radicalized peoples that use terrorism to achieve their aims. No country is innocent of this. This is not something new invented by Muslims nor is it limited to the Middle East. Every country and every continent has this experience in its past. All it takes is for a small group of people that want something, to find the catalyst that can be used to draw a large following to support the effort. Persians, Greeks, Romans, Huns, Vikings, French, Spanish, British, Americans, Russians, Chinese, Japanese, Germans, etc.
Usually race, religion, or ethnicity are used, but the methods are similiar in each.
Maybe someday we can all just say, you have the right to be different and have your own views. Can we not live together drawing on our similarities as the means for peace.
As I read over all the comments it becomes clear we are forgetting world history. There have always been nations that push their influence over other nations, and radicalized peoples that use terrorism to achieve their aims. No country is innocent of this. This is not something new invented by Muslims nor is it limited to the Middle East. Every country and every continent has this experience in its past. All it takes is for a small group of people that want something, to find the catalyst that can be used to draw a large following to support the effort. Persians, Greeks, Romans, Huns, Vikings, French, Spanish, British, Americans, Russians, Chinese, Japanese, Germans, etc.
Usually race, religion, or ethnicity are used, but the methods are similiar in each.
Maybe someday we can all just say, you have the right to be different and have your own views. Can we not live together drawing on our similarities as the means for peace.
The truth of the matter is this: there will always be people who are willing to go to extremes to prove a point. We cannot deter all of them, but the absolute worst thing that we can do is to stop living our lives. Yes, by all means remain vigilant--after all, the price of freedom is indeed eternal vigilance, but for us in Western society to give in to fear and mistrust of those who are different from us, instead of uniting and celebrating our diversity, is exactly what the haters want.
Understand, by "haters" I mean not only the terrorists, but the extreme elements within our own governments that use our fear for their own political and monetary gain. Just look at what the Bush Administration has been able to get away with because of America's collective fear of another 9/11 type attack. Until we as good people stop giving in to our fears of the "other", we will continue to make ourselves the victims. Remember, the display of courage is the desire to press on despite the presence of fear. Only through true displays of courage and a renewed committment to peace will we ever regain the cherished freedoms that we hold so dear.
The truth of the matter is this: there will always be people who are willing to go to extremes to prove a point. We cannot deter all of them, but the absolute worst thing that we can do is to stop living our lives. Yes, by all means remain vigilant--after all, the price of freedom is indeed eternal vigilance, but for us in Western society to give in to fear and mistrust of those who are different from us, instead of uniting and celebrating our diversity, is exactly what the haters want.
Understand, by "haters" I mean not only the terrorists, but the extreme elements within our own governments that use our fear for their own political and monetary gain. Just look at what the Bush Administration has been able to get away with because of America's collective fear of another 9/11 type attack. Until we as good people stop giving in to our fears of the "other", we will continue to make ourselves the victims. Remember, the display of courage is the desire to press on despite the presence of fear. Only through true displays of courage and a renewed committment to peace will we ever regain the cherished freedoms that we hold so dear.
SAM....3:03 p.m....thank you. You are thorough, articulate and right on.
And yesterday the israelis began their takeover of Gaza. With nary a word from our neocon infested White House.
Good God, we are what the rest of the world thinks we are.
SAM....3:03 p.m....thank you. You are thorough, articulate and right on.
And yesterday the israelis began their takeover of Gaza. With nary a word from Washington.
Good God, we are what the rest of the worod thinks we are.
No I don't feel less safe. In terms of personal risk I worry about car accidents, heart attacks slipping in the bath tub, lightning strikes and random gun shots more than terrorism.
It's an interesting question. Currently, I am in the UK (London at the moment) on a family vacation. There is a strong police presence everywhere (railroad stations, airports, government buildings etc.).
The most noticeable thing is that the different modes of travel are still packed with passengers. No one is even talking about the failed attacks (except one pissed off cab driver), but the newspapers and TV news are providing up to the minute details of the investigation of the terrorist and plot.
For me personally, I cannot help but think, on occasion, of the possibilities when I am traveling by train or subway.
Dave! Gosh, I didn't realize that we were talking about Palestine, or Darfur, or North Korea or all the other places you mentioned except what we were talking about. I thought we were talking about the almost car bombings in London almost hurting anybody but according to the cable news networks/tabloids is suppose to mean we all have to scream in panic. You are being played for a sucker DAVE!, you have a couple of governments who have found that they can pretty much get away with anything as long as whatever they do is done in the name of the terrorists. A building fell down in Denver today, which terrorist organization do you suppose did that? That bus that got buried in Mexico, fingerprints of Osama? Good God, man, we need to give the pres another trillion dollars and allow him to set aside the bill of rights, they're getting closer!!!
I notice you never really have much of an opinion yourself, but that you merely sit and wait to react to something someone else has to say. Why is that? DAVE! I am tired of having my pocket picked by a government that tells me it isn't really picking my pocket, but that it is actually saving my wallet from that other guy over there.
The whole world will never see peace as long as the crime of the 20th century is not handled adequately.The legitimate state of Palestine was removed from the world map to be replaced by the illegitimate state of Israel with new immigrants from all over the world.Palestinians,being moslems or christians,were kicked out into refugee camps to be replaced by jews from Europe,Russia,Ethiopia etc.
Repercussions of this heinous crime are behind all turmoil and bloodshed in the Middle East including Iraq,Lebanon,Palestinian occupied territories,Syria,Iran etc.
The unlimited support of US to Israel is encouraging the latter to reject all UN resolutions on the Palestinian Issue including Resolution 194 which calls for the return of all Palestinian refugees home.It is time for the US admin to wake up to the real cause of all problems in the area and to change its foreign policy categorically.
The whole world will never see peace as long as the crime of the 20th century is not handled adequately.The legitimate state of Palestine was removed from the world map to be replaced by the illegitimate state of Israel with new immigrants from all over the world.Palestinians,being moslems or christians,were kicked out into refugee camps to be replaced by jews from Europe,Russia,Ethiopia etc.
Repercussions of this heinous crime are behind all turmoil and bloodshed in the Middle East including Iraq,Lebanon,Palestinian occupied territories,Syria,Iran etc.
The unlimited support of US to Israel is encouraging the latter to reject all UN resolutions on the Palestinian Issue including Resolution 194 which calls for the return of all Palestinian refugees home.It is time for the US admin to wake up to the real cause of all problems in the area and to change its foreign policy categorically.
The idea that the recent car bombing attempts in the U.K. resulted from a revolt of the privileged, uprooted, and disconnected is not consistent with what Walid Phares, who authored the book, War of Ideas: Jihadism Against Democracy, deems as a committed effort to “play by the pragmatic norms of world politics” in order to defend the doctrinal basis of their fundamentalist religious zealotry.
Glad to know that you are a "liberal Muslim". This sounds counterintuitive, because traditional schools of Islamic scholarship unequivocally state that one needs to accept Islam wholly, and not inject one's own interpretations. The radical Muslims are simply literally interpreting the Islamic texts. For instance when these jihadis do support suicide bombings, they are literally interpreting the Quran (004:095), whose full text can be found at:
For some weird reasons, and maybe evidences can be found in other supporting Islamic texts, a Muslim who is interpreting the Quran literally can't be denied validity, and particularly when it comes to Jihad. The moderate/pacifist Muslims just keep quiet probably because they know that from historical reasons, they cannot prove a Jihadi wrong. The Jihadi has a lot of Muslim scholarship to back him up.
It is thus very difficult to see how this problem can be solved, other than to state that Quran can never be literally interpreted.
Secondly, I am at a loss to understand why Muslims living in western and secular countries by their own choice should start harming that very country. And this encompasses educated Muslims who should know the meaning of loyalty. It does appear that Muslims are obligated to have loyalty to Islam. Thus if, their host/adopted country (which by default is secular), formulates policies that are in conflict with Islamic values or traditions, then a "good" Muslim is obligated to rise up against such policies, because his religion comes first; and this is simply unacceptable behavior in a secular society.
The excuse for violence based on the Iraq war is a phoney baloney. This is a conniving ploy for Islamists to show their radical attitude. I have known no other religious group who would pre-emptively kill innocents based on religious motivations. The Buddhists in China are always receiving the short end of the stick. Yet, because USA and China are close buddies, Buddhists in India are not blowing up US Consulates. It is sad to acknolwedge that with Muslims such a possibility exists strongly.
My point is that Muslims living in the West, if they cannot accept the unwritten norms of secular values, and want to wave the green banner all the time, then they should that in Islamic Republics and not in secular countries. Secularism and permissiveness can be seen as an evil in the eyes of Islam. But, we non-Muslims living in the West have equal rights to reject and de-emphasize Islam and Islamic values.
If the preceding notion is unacceptable, then Muslims must rethink staying back in that country and get out voluntarily.
to anju chandela
Nice to read your comment.pacifist musim also working on the siding of violnce minded muslim around the world.but here are some points on which we need your enlightened opinion
1.when a policy regarding any state of muslim is finalysed in UNO ,Washington and London then at that time why not the opinion of liberal muslim taken into account?see the case of Iraq .when libral muslim opposed the invasion why not accepted by the west?In my opinion they want that libral muslim give them support at the time of thier interest meet othr wise not listen them when interest of west is there.
2.The west created many factions among the muslim countries to divide and rule and west always crushed the democarcy in muslim world see the case of pakistan,algeiria,palestine.at that time the voice of liberal completly ignored by the western leaders.why?
3.see the case of your country how many group came to save the communal party and demolition of babri masjid .and after that bringing that party in power of the nation.this situation we are also facing.when the popular outcry of mass politics side line the liberal forces of islamic world like yourr country secularr forces?can u blam the secular forces on your country on this front.
the violence of world is not problem of one nation of the world but humanity but let one thing be clear by the west that what they decid e must include th e opinion of the libral muslim if they cannot listen to us then how we can have a strong base in islamic society.
can u tell me that who trained these war monger terrorist ?liberal muslim or west in afghnaistan.who provided the safe heaven in iraq and somalia for them.is the liberal muslim?who gave the highest honur of muslim religion to these people in afghanistan?when they were killing russian you enjoyed and gave then title mujahid without thinking that they will creat problem in the world after afghanistan.were russian not people? but when these nepotist turned their gun towards you then you call them terrorist.who is responsible to establish them respectable in islamic socity?
so in my opinion without certain policy change by the west on world level the power of liberal muslim will be in effective.here the bombing in london is not a question of one nation but the world and decide a policy of intenatinal importance is not exclusive powe of west but the whole world.the joining of briton and austrralia,japan what shows in iraq?
thy ignore the liberal muslim so let them to understand the meaning of world citizn in place of west citizen.the soooner they understand the better would be the world.
oter hand tell me how we can work among muslim on poliitcal question keeping all these my questions in mind.
we strongly condemned the violence and donot want to see in any form.we were not in group to advice to destroy iraq and we are not in the group of supporter of bombr of london or madrid.yesterday we made mute spectator and tody a dumb people.
thank
'Terrorism is one of the "Problems without Passport".'
Today, terrorism has transcended territories. It doesn't show biases against anyone and can equally affect everyone, no matter which part of the world the person lives in - economically developed, economically developing or, for that matter, economically underdeveloped part.
Terrorism - in its new evolved global face - needs to be dealt with accordingly, with lots of maturity and wisdom: genuine inclusive diplomacy.
Because, as a matter of fact, fundamentalist Muslims are primarily the perpetrators of terror all across the globe, cutting across continents: from America to Africa to Australia to Asia. And, to tackle terrorism, the world will have to be tough with them.
In the process, many of the non-fundamentalist Muslims could also get mired in the global backlash against terrorists, which might make them feel as victims of racial discrimination and push them further towards the wall (isolation followed by path of terrorism for many due to falsely developed hatred for rest of humanity). And, this would be a very unfortunate situation. (In fact, this situation has already started to manifest itself in many parts of the world.)
But can anyone blame the rest of the global population for their so-called racial behavior? NO. Because, seeing the increasing trend of educated, well-to-do and seemingly harmless Muslims driving acts of terror everywhere, one can never be sure of anybody anymore.
Here, the voices of globally influential and respected non-fundamentalist Muslims would play a major part. They need to educate their fellow Muslim brothers and sisters to develop global citizens' character and accept their identities first as humans, then as citizens of whichever country they belong to, and then, most importantly, treat their religion as a matter of personal faith and not get carried away by the fundamentalists' propaganda.
And, not to forget the responsibility of the rest of the world to NOT act in haste and be accomodating in their approach as painting the entire community with the same brush would only divide the humanity further.
So, let each one of us - humans - follow the religion of humanity, or else, be prepared to be relegated into the pages of history forever, only to be resurrected by some Marsian Steven Spielberg a few thousand years later in his "Earth Park"!
Maybe Fareed Zakaria should revisit his own fanciful musings on Newsweek (particularly, June 11, 2007 issue).
The incidentg shows that radical Muslims are now coming from the educated stock. All of the suspects are educated (medical doctors), with three of them hailing from India. How could these be mentally deranged/socially isolated and feel rejected to join the jihadi bandwagon ?
Maybe it is time to look at the basics of Islam itself, because apparently these educated persons were brainwashed or inspired by the radical Islamic ideology. Maybe this blows a big hole in the theory of Zakaria that, by inviting Muslims from the corners of the world to the liberal, secular western society the incidence of Islamic radical onslaught would be diminished. But Zakaria would justify that the incidence in Iraq is the cause. Hey if that is true, then truly everyone else must submit before Islam. For whenever a section of Muslims feel something wrong is happening against Islam, they are willing to take up arms. This could be the nice Muslim, your next door neighbor. The way the recent incidents are shaping up, you cannot trust a Muslim anymore. You don't know when can s/he cross the line to become radicalized. And why should the West care so much about Muslims and their passions/aspirations anyway ? Why place Muslim interests higher than other people ?
ARTM,
Well, all those things you list certainly have killed a lot of people. More than the wars the world has had in that time. I guess we should quit trying to worry about peace and getting our panties in a bunch over trying to make the UN work. Why is everybody all hot and bothered over Iraq and Palestine? Darfur? Don't give it a second thought. Who cares if Iran or North Korea get nuclear weapons? Even if they were to be used, more folks would probably die in car crashes than from any attack. The point is that we worry about these things because its not just about sheer numbers.
EVIL, RELIGIONIST, CORPORATIST, GLOBAL DESECRATION OF THE HIGHEST DIVINE HUMAN RIGHTS!
GLOBAL NUCLEAR PERPLEXITY!
(In Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Most Patriotic Legacy!)
The Nucleus of Our Whole World ever-growing Suicidal Nuclear Crisis is created by none other than The Most False as Most Greedy Ultra-Conservative and/or Ultra-Libertine Politico-Religionism everywhere – Universally. The World has No True Religion Anywhere!
The only and Nuclear ambition for all this Universal “True Atheism” is none other than The Most Voracious Global Inhuman Corporative Economic Exploitation – all by extreme disregard of The Most Basic Universal Human Literacy and The Most Basic Universal Good Samaritan Health Insurance. These two together are Almighty God’s True Democracy’s vitally essential means for True Individual Equal Opportunity to reach HIS BEST Personal Human Gifts (RIGHTS).
All of Our Vast Perpetually Dehumanized Illiterate and Sickly Western World is so ever more and more so “CRUCIFIED” or threatened with impunity by The Religionist-Instilled Fear of “Going to Hell” – if they have no “Faith” or disobedient to their Politico-Religionist Leadership: “’Heaven’ is ‘Living’ in Satanic Exploitation”!
Our Thoroughly Politico-Religionist Western World has always even tried to expand our Most Voraciously Greedy Corporatism to Our Islamic Eastern World’s “Friendly” Governments, but I most strongly suspect that Islamic Religionism has an opposite but Equally Religionist Inhuman Self-Defense: when our Western Corporatistly Imposed Inhuman Intervention reach their Eastern Critical level – like in our Iraq’s Unending Perplexity – the Islamic Religionist “Inspiration” to go to Heaven is The Super-Terrorist “Salvific” Individual Self-Immolation. All of these are for sure the portending Symbolism of A Most Certain Nuclear Armageddon! NO WAY FOR NUCLEAR SALVATION!!!
MAY WE ALL TRULY PRAY THAT WE ALL TRUE SOLID AMERICANS REALLY ENABLE THE ALMIGHTY TO BLESS (SAVE) OUR MOST BELOVED TRUE AMERICA!!!
EVIL, RELIGIONIST, CORPORATIST, GLOBAL DESECRATION OF THE HIGHEST DIVINE HUMAN RIGHTS!
GLOBAL NUCLEAR PERPLEXITY!
(In Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Most Patriotic Legacy!)
The Nucleus of Our Whole World ever-growing Suicidal Nuclear Crisis is created by none other than The Most False as Most Greedy Ultra-Conservative and/or Ultra-Libertine Politico-Religionism everywhere – Universally. The World has No True Religion Anywhere!
The only and Nuclear ambition for all this Universal “True Atheism” is none other than The Most Voracious Global Inhuman Corporative Economic Exploitation – all by extreme disregard of The Most Basic Universal Human Literacy and The Most Basic Universal Good Samaritan Health Insurance. These two together are Almighty God’s True Democracy’s vitally essential means for True Individual Equal Opportunity to reach HIS BEST Personal Human Gifts (RIGHTS).
All of Our Vast Perpetually Dehumanized Illiterate and Sickly Western World is so ever more and more so “CRUCIFIED” or threatened with impunity by The Religionist-Instilled Fear of “Going to Hell” – if they have no “Faith” or disobedient to their Politico-Religionist Leadership: “’Heaven’ is ‘Living’ in Satanic Exploitation”!
Our Thoroughly Politico-Religionist Western World has always even tried to expand our Most Voraciously Greedy Corporatism to Our Islamic Eastern World’s “Friendly” Governments, but I most strongly suspect that Islamic Religionism has an opposite but Equally Religionist Inhuman Self-Defense: when our Western Corporatistly Imposed Inhuman Intervention reach their Eastern Critical level – like in our Iraq’s Unending Perplexity – the Islamic Religionist “Inspiration” to go to Heaven is The Super-Terrorist “Salvific” Individual Self-Immolation. All of these are for sure the portending Symbolism of A Most Certain Nuclear Armageddon! NO WAY FOR NUCLEAR SALVATION!!!
MAY WE ALL TRULY PRAY THAT WE ALL TRUE SOLID AMERICANS REALLY ENABLE THE ALMIGHTY TO BLESS (SAVE) OUR MOST BELOVED TRUE AMERICA!!!
Really disappointed by so many comments which seem to ignore the reality. Of course, there has been, and are, terrorists acts from the IRA, the Basque ETA and some other samall groups here and there, but there has never been terrorists which act globally in the name of Islam. Everyone may have reasons - acceptable or not - to justify violence or terrorist acts within the borders of their country, but radical islamists have been immigrating in non-moslem countries around the world, and decided - mostly because of brainwashing - to terrorize all the western countries. To justify such inadmissible actions because of Irak, Afghanistan or the Middle East, are just excuses which should be rejected energetically and publicly by all the moderate Moslems.
No, I don't feel any less safe from terrorist activity than I used to; however, my fright, concern, and horror from the knee-jerk monkeys so convinced that the sky is falling because of some idiot talking head on television is growing exponentially by the hour. Let's see, the total number of people having been killed from "terrorists" worldwide since 1960 is about what, 50,000? Now, how many fatalities from cancer, automobile accidents, starvation, malaria, street crime, illegal drugs, medical/surgical malpractice, genocide, tainted water, HIV, brain tumors, boredom, peanut butter allergies, heart disease, airline disasters, over eating, Flu, flesh eating bacteria, stories about Martians, Canadians in general, old age, and any other means, methods, or ministrations of death?
Folks, if you are going to soil your panty-hose over articles rife with "if" and "possibly" and "might have" and "could have" and "would have if only" then you deserve to huddle in your houses, whimpering every time the doorbell goes off. If you are going to moan and wring hands every time some yellow journalism cable news network tries to whip up fervor so they can make an extra few bucks, my sincere suggestion is to find a method of suicide most agreeable to yourself and do yourself in, because, and trust me on this children, something is going to get you sooner or later.
Here's a question to ask: How absolutely stupid do we look getting all hot and bothered over absolutely nothing?
BOBL-VA,
More people died on 911 than at Pearl Harbor. 911 was on US soil as opposed to Hawaii only being a US Territory at the time. Perhaps we were being to meddlesome and threatening to Japan by putting a huge military base way out in the Pacific like that. Maybe if we pursued a foreign policy of neutrality and passed neutrality laws designed to stop incidents like the sinking of American ships and support for one side in any war that might break out so that America would not be tempted to enter the war, things would work themselves out and not affect us. Oh wait, that neutrality thing didn't quite work out for us then. Naturally, we should try it again.
BobL-VA,
The US and Britain are hardly the only countries to "interfere" in the ME. The list is long and includes many, if not most, of the ME countries themselves. Iran and Syria are the two easiest to point to. Also, the US can be accused of "interfering" in many other parts of the world - South America for example or Eastern Europe. The difference is that the Colombians, at least up till now, have not shown that they want to kill thousands of Americans to somehow prove a point. The question i have is why do people in the ME feel it necessary to try to commit terrorist acts in western countries when most of the rest of the world doesn't? I don't buy that "it's our own fault because of our policies" line. If that were true, pretty much the rest of the world would be sending in terrorists. I think that the Mexicans have a much more realistic beef against the US than pretty much anyone in the ME. And yet, all they want to do is come here and work or live. I don't think that it is a coincidence the the ME is mostly Muslim and that most terrorists are Muslim.
Prior to 911, there was the mindset that terrorists could not reach the US, that the oceans protected us. We did not wake up to changing facts the first time they tried to bring down the WTC. Now it seems there is the mindset that 911 was a one time thing, something that we should not get too excited over and that we should not be devoting so many resources to prevention. Perhaps that will change when the next "one time attack" occurs, maybe a dirty bomb or contaminated water supply or a nuclear power plant explosion. If there is one thing that al-qaeda has shown that they do, it is think big. Underestimate them at your own risk.
I live 5 miles from the Pentagon and feel quite safe. I'm more worried about the bad driving on RT. 395 then I am of another attack on the Pentagon.
PG:
As long as countries like the US and Britian overtly interfere with the social, miliary, economical and political structures of Muslim countries they will be ripe for reprisals. We already know a significant number of Muslims don't believe they had anything to do with 9/11. This fact alone should be the most important factor in our decision making processes when approving visa's and/or immigration from Muslim countries. It's stupid, at best, to know 1 out of 10 or 1 out of 5 Muslims hates the West and at the same time admit thousands of muslims each year into our societies. Do the math. What's the likely number of people who would do us harm if the opportunity presented itself? We can't have it both ways. We can't interfere with their cultures, bring down their governments, support Israeli and Israeli aggression and occupy their countries without a signficant minority of them feeling under siege and threatened by the West. Of course a percentage of them will retaliate. Then we turn right around and admit thousands of them each year into our societies. It makes no sense.
We need to either clean up our act in the ME so they don't feel like their way of life is threatened by us (which I doubt we're smart enough to do) or we should place rigid limits on visa's and immigration from Muslim countries (which insults our sense of fairness).
Nope, we'll keep interfering and they'll keep retaliating and a limited number of people will die in the few successful attacks that take place. (I'm not trying to down play 9/11 and the 3,000 people who died, but that has been a one time attack. We've seen nothing that approaches that magnitude before or after)
The current state of affairs is quite humorous in a warped sort of way. We're spending 100's of billions of dollars each year to try and stop a group of people who are more likely to stop themselves then we are.
I find people who go on and on about how evil Islam is when they know absolutely nothing about Islam to be totally disgusting. They are the type of individual who allow authoritarian, Manichean tyrants like George Bush to florish. This means you, Frank. As for some of the posts, I had a difficult time deciding if they were talking about the right wing religious fundamentalists in the US or in the Middle East. The diatribes could have fit both sides. Talk about "psychopaths needing to be defeated," I have seen on more than one site how both Bush and Cheney fit the official diagnosis of psychopathology practically perfectly.
What is a terrorist? Obviously it is someone who is trying to make a particular targeted civilian population very afraid and terrorized. Who has been doing this? If you answered Cheney and Bush, you were right the first time. Loudly announcing red alerts and orange alerts based on intelligence over two years old is terrorism. Filling the evening news with baseless charges and constant reminders that the Pflugerville Creative Anachronism Fair could be a terrorist target is terrorism in itself. The question about whether we feel safe now is also terrorism by attempting to persuade us that somehow we are in terrible danger from terrorists, but not mentioning how many people got killed by drunk drivers or who died very painfully from air pollution related respiratory disease.
Want to know why we haven't had any terrorist attacks in the US since 9/11? It's because Bush has been keeping us terrorized himself. Al Qaeda doesn't have to waste time and effort doing the job. After the first attack on the WTC no one made a big deal about it, nor after the attack on the Federal Building in OK City. Now after 9/11, thanks to Bush & Co., everyone is terrorized so Osama can turn his mind to other things knowing full well that with George in charge, Americans will remain terrorized, and the Iraq war will serve as the best recruiting AND training program he could possibly ask for. And Bush doesn't even ask bin Laden to help foot the bill! Bush pays for al Qaeda training out of US taxpayer dollars! Whose side is Bush on?!
This doesn't affect me at all. What affects me more is the number of innocent people shot by police. In the last three years that number far exceeds the number of people killed by terrorists in the US. Something that affects me much more is the number of people killed by random jerks with guns that they had no trouble obtaining. That number is very, very high. The recent events in Virginia are only the part that the MSM lets the public see. The actual number killed in the rest of the US is much greater.
The main thing, however, that affects all of us is that the Cheney/Bush administration will use that event to further destroy the tattered Constitution that once defined a proud democracy. After all, they used 9/11 as an excuse to invade Iraq which had nothing at all to do with 9/11, to pass the "Patriot" Act which allowed all sorts of civil wrongs that previously were forbidden, to pass their "military" act which for the first time in over 800 years did away with habeus corpus. Now what will they do? Do away with jury trials?
Do I feel unsafe after these incidents in London and Glasgow? not really, the mathematical probability of dying on the road is a lot higher.
However, I am worried that this will be used as an excuse to further erode civil liberties (90 days detention without charge that GB wants to introduce and his proposed new 'anti terror law') and a good excuse for NOT ACCEPTING ANY IRAQI REFUGEES as people around the world are disgusted with the hypocrisy of the UK and US of mounting a 'humanitarian intervention' in Iraq, that has lead to a humanitarian disaster on a massive scale!
I think we should ask Iraqis if they feel threatened by the incidents in London!
Excuse me for sounding cynical but it is not exactly the first time Intelligence Services got it wrong! starting with Ricin over-hyped incident that turned out to be false to the Iraqi Kurds in Manchester, caught in possession of Manchester United soccer match tickets, to Jean Charles De Menezis shot dead in the underground train ...etc.
For me the whole think looks unreal, a bit like a drill.
Am I frightened? Not really , I am more frightened by the irrationality of war mongers.
This question is a replay of the endless "yellow alerts" perpetrated by Bush and co in the 2004 election cycle. It is utterly improper, in fact contrary to the well being of citizens, nations, religions etc to pose such a stupid question:
Facts: 1., no explosion
2., no injuries
3 scaremongering, and subsequent inhuman comments [lets nuke this or that country, town, religious icon, etc.]
Mr. Ignatius and Mr. Zakaria should be ashamed to allow such qustions to be posted, except IF IT IS IN THEIR "INTEREST" TO FORMENT RACIAL? and or RELIGIOUS CONFLICT. Having regard to Mr. Ignatius' lead up to the Iraq war, it is possible that his neo-con leaning morality/lack thereof lead him beyond the premissible within social content [though at law he can state anything he wishes].
As Shiveh inicated properly, there are lot more potential causes for harm of individual's life during everyday life compared to the probability of a terrorist plot. But since these are mundane and other is spectacular, it provides a lot of material for news hungry media and causes a lot of concern among ordinary citizens influenced by it. Indeed, such trend is somehow encouraged by the new world order and the advent of globalization, contributed substantially to movements of a lot of individuals from the poor countries to the prosperous ones, especially from the old colonies to the old coloniezers. Maybe in an attempt to maintain their influence in post-colonial era, some big euorpean contries allowed special treatment with regard to human movement and emigration in second half of the twenteeth century. However, due to the fundamental difference between european and asian cultures, particularly middle eastern regions and the areas influenced by it even before western colonization, the emigrant societies have largely failed to integrate to the receiving one, racial and religious differences contributing to this. On the other hand, every society posses some extremist minded individuals, eager to perform attrocious acts in ostentatious manner, thus media coverage somehow feeds and encourages to some degree would be perpetrators. Since people are inclined to make generalizations, the trend potentially could polarize society and increase the pressure on the minority emigrant groups, further increasing the difficulty of their integration. If economic prosperity of western societies begin to plunge as simple and natural historical process, then the increased pressure could reach to level incompatible with the contemporary human right standards and potentially reverse the emigration as a result, hopefully without the kind of mass attrocities perpetrated repeatedly in both far and near european history. .
Bout half an hour after the London attempts i turned on Hardball. There, already were two jewish neocons screaming that we must take action,....'that this is proof that we must take the war against terrorism to other countries..."
He was about to elaborate...bomb Iran, probably, when he was cut off. But who knoew...israel wants us to bomb Iran, Iraq, Syria...says russia and the saudis ater enemies.
And well before 9/11...the neocon Davd Frum wrote a speech for Bush saying we MUST to preemptive wars....regieme change here and there and everywhere.
Time and time again our friends in the ME and elsewhere have warned us of the rage about our policy regarding Israel. Osama, who ought to know, warned years ago.
Are we unsafe, more unsafe and most unsafe?
My God, yes. And while we threaten the rest of the world in their coutries...that we're coming to either take their land or oil and change them to be just like us, we'll be less safe.
NO?
''...An exceptionally incompetent group of troublemakers... had no actual explosives, and were apparently too lazy and ignorant to learn how to make them. Instead, they decided to load cars with petrol, domestic gas cylinders and "containers holding nails", and then set fire to them - either manually or using a cellphone-initiated remote rig of some kind.... [I]f this is all al-Qaeda have to offer, we should never have lost a moment's sleep over them.... If these guys at the weekend really were anything to do with al-Qaeda, all one can really say is that it looks as though the War on Terror is won....'' -- Lewis Page, former UK police bomb-disposal operator, writing in The Register.
The situation now is not about what do you believe in or where are you from is about who is going to dominate the natural assets and the middle east , starting with this point you can analize easily what is going on in the world , the russians , the chinese , the alqaeda , the iranians , the french , the israelis , the americans every one is jumping on the other s back nd say hold i'm centered as well .So let s stop talking about the religion , is just one of pictures one of the listed above use to be in the center .
Having been involved with the Iraqi issue for many years, I find it interesting how many people have jumped onto the band wagon over the past few years and use the situation inside of Iraq, to justify such acts as this terrorism.
With consideration towards the economic and political situation inside of Iraq, one would have thought that the cost of the two mercedes benz vehicles alone, could have gone allot further, had they been sold and the money given to organisations, who are working with traumatised children and their families.
In light of the qualifications, which the accussed appear to have, it is also questionable, as to why their "conscience" never thought about going over to a troubled country and using their skills productively, by training people up so that it could have helped to develop the infrastructure of an underdeveloped country.
Within the Middle East, there are many who have pointed out how the Iraq war and the Jordanian Bomb attacks have damaged investment opportunities, within some of the most deprived areas of the country and region, thus raising questions as to whose interests these terrorists are actually serving?
There are others who have recognised the fact, to prevent people from being caught up in the "terror trap", work has to start with the very young and there are projects currently in existence that do involve children and young people in various social activities but such projects are normally run on a voluntary basis, with a very limited budget.
I have often heard members of the Islamic community say, that aslong as the act or the intention is for the good of God, then that act or intention will be rewarded in the afterlife.
What I remember though, is that intentions are good when you do something to benefit others in a positive way, that seeks to enhance the quality of life for others.
But what is happening here, is that such intentions and crimes are not improving anybodies lives but are creating a terrible atmosphere, where the road to hell is being paved with nothing more than supposed "good intentions".
I'm sorry to say but why is it that everytime there are attacks ,questions of such nature pops up everywhere in the media?? Come to think of it...YES such incidents are appalling and remind us of the fact that wherever you are, whatever you do,there are chances that you could face such a threat.
The world has changed after 9/11..they say..maybe for the Americans..who refused to acknowledge that terrorism was wrecking havoc(in other parts of the world) until it came around in full circle.
But instead of constantly bickering on the issues of civilian safety and showing international solidarity and onness to fight against terrorism as most of our leaders do(real talented yappers), in innumerable summits, the matters of paramount importance are:
a) are our governments prepared enough to tackle such crisis ?? what is being done about it ?? Scotland Yard got lucky to foil the car bombs plot but couldn't save a fifth of the glasgow airport attack. How prepared the Intelligence and the police are? not just in london but this applies to other nations as well
We cannot turn our backs on globalisation and considering it has become easy to access information and travel the world, for say "globalised citizens"... and terrorists !!BUT one cannot just put a ban on them !! this again can be debated !!
b) Are we prepared for such disasters ? attacks can be of any nature..use of bio weaponry..9/11..bombs..even greater bombs that could perish the entire city..who knows..hypothetically what if, Iran secretly launches a nuclear attack on US, UK or any of their enemies..would CIA or other spy networks be tipped of such a warning..what if there's no warning??..the fact that the world seems to be getting polarised..before it was US and the soviet..now looks like US UK and their allies take on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, some other middle eastern nations, not to forget North Korea and what of one fine day China and Russia decide to back them ?? I know its a GREAT BIG imagination..but such imaginations don't take time to turn into reality.
times are capricious..unprecedented..you can't just be foiling terror plots all the time..its time to move ahead with stringer actions being taken..can't wait for the world to be divided into blocs again..cannot afford to..because if its the third world war..it's OVER !!
forget about safety..humanity will be swept away from this earth.
coming back to my point, there needs to be a major paradigmal change in the foreign policy of big daddies towards other nations such as Iraq..give it up folks..you can't nail the poor country...its already burning and angered and frustrated..Its a Vietnam !!stop playing superman! its a mistake and its done !! mind getting your troops back and doing something to better their lives.
Give them a future. Give their Children a Future.
otherwise be prepared to be backlashed in some form or the other.
we must also have noticed the change in perceptions of the people around the world..are we becoming increasingly intolerable as a society?, are we on the other hand really, embracing people of different ethnicities??..maybe their culture but what about "understanding" culture and traditions??
if Yes, them why do our perceptions wander when terror strikes...why do we paint the entire community in the same colour/ is it because we have no other option but to see what we see and pass judgements,not reason out what we see?
what if one community feels incredibly threatened by another community, what do you do..go ballistic eh??
But is that a responsible action?? No.
I could go on and on forever.
as for the question, YES WE ALL FEEL THREATENED. why wouldn't we? no one wants to die as a victim of a terrorist attack.Its not our fault that the world is suffering or is it??, then why should we bear the brunt?
Hope iv made some sense.
I'm sorry to say but why is it that everytime there are attacks ,questions of such nature pops up everywhere in the media?? Come to think of it...YES such incidents are appalling and remind us of the fact that wherever you are, whatever you do,there are chances that you could face such a threat.
The world has changed after 9/11..they say..maybe for the Americans..who refused to acknowledge that terrorism was wrecking havoc(in other parts of the world) until it came around in full circle.
But instead of constantly bickering on the issues of civilian safety and showing international solidarity and onness to fight against terrorism as most of our leaders do(real talented yappers), in innumerable summits, the matters of paramount importance are:
a) are our governments prepared enough to tackle such crisis ?? what is being done about it ?? Scotland Yard got lucky to foil the car bombs plot but couldn't save a fifth of the glasgow airport attack. How prepared the Intelligence and the police are? not just in london but this applies to other nations as well
We cannot turn our backs on globalisation and considering it has become easy to access information and travel the world, for say "globalised citizens"... and terrorists !!BUT one cannot just put a ban on them !! this again can be debated !!
b) Are we prepared for such disasters ? attacks can be of any nature..use of bio weaponry..9/11..bombs..even greater bombs that could perish the entire city..who knows..hypothetically what if, Iran secretly launches a nuclear attack on US, UK or any of their enemies..would CIA or other spy networks be tipped of such a warning..what if there's no warning??..the fact that the world seems to be getting polarised..before it was US and the soviet..now looks like US UK and their allies take on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, some other middle eastern nations, not to forget North Korea and what of one fine day China and Russia decide to back them ?? I know its a GREAT BIG imagination..but such imaginations don't take time to turn into reality.
times are capricious..unprecedented..you can't just be foiling terror plots all the time..its time to move ahead with stringer actions being taken..can't wait for the world to be divided into blocs again..cannot afford to..because if its the third world war..it's OVER !!
forget about safety..humanity will be swept away from this earth.
coming back to my point, there needs to be a major paradigmal change in the foreign policy of big daddies towards other nations such as Iraq..give it up folks..you can't nail the poor country...its already burning and angered and frustrated..Its a Vietnam !!stop playing superman! its a mistake and its done !! mind getting your troops back and doing something to better their lives.
Give them a future. Give their Children a Future.
otherwise be prepared to be backlashed in some form or the other.
we must also have noticed the change in perceptions of the people around the world..are we becoming increasingly intolerable as a society?, are we on the other hand really, embracing people of different ethnicities??..maybe their culture but what about "understanding" culture and traditions??
if Yes, them why do our perceptions wander when terror strikes...why do we paint the entire community in the same colour/ is it because we have no other option but to see what we see and pass judgements,not reason out what we see?
what if one community feels incredibly threatened by another community, what do you do..go ballistic eh??
But is that a responsible action?? No.
I could go on and on forever.
as for the question, YES WE ALL FEEL THREATENED. why wouldn't we? no one wants to die as a victim of a terrorist attack.Its not our fault that the world is suffering or is it??, then why should we bear the brunt?
Hope iv made some sense.
I'm sorry to say but why is it that everytime there are attacks ,questions of such nature pops up everywhere in the media?? Come to think of it...YES such incidents are appalling and remind us of the fact that wherever you are, whatever you do,there are chances that you could face such a threat.
The world has changed after 9/11..they say..maybe for the Americans..who refused to acknowledge that terrorism was wrecking havoc(in other parts of the world) until it came around in full circle.
But instead of constantly bickering on the issues of civilian safety and showing international solidarity and onness to fight against terrorism as most of our leaders do(real talented yappers), in innumerable summits, the matters of paramount importance are:
a) are our governments prepared enough to tackle such crisis ?? what is being done about it ?? Scotland Yard got lucky to foil the car bombs plot but couldn't save a fifth of the glasgow airport attack. How prepared the Intelligence and the police are? not just in london but this applies to other nations as well
We cannot turn our backs on globalisation and considering it has become easy to access information and travel the world, for say "globalised citizens"... and terrorists !!BUT one cannot just put a ban on them !! this again can be debated !!
b) Are we prepared for such disasters ? attacks can be of any nature..use of bio weaponry..9/11..bombs..even greater bombs that could perish the entire city..who knows..hypothetically what if, Iran secretly launches a nuclear attack on US, UK or any of their enemies..would CIA or other spy networks be tipped of such a warning..what if there's no warning??..the fact that the world seems to be getting polarised..before it was US and the soviet..now looks like US UK and their allies take on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, some other middle eastern nations, not to forget North Korea and what of one fine day China and Russia decide to back them ?? I know its a GREAT BIG imagination..but such imaginations don't take time to turn into reality.
times are capricious..unprecedented..you can't just be foiling terror plots all the time..its time to move ahead with stringer actions being taken..can't wait for the world to be divided into blocs again..cannot afford to..because if its the third world war..it's OVER !!
forget about safety..humanity will be swept away from this earth.
coming back to my point, there needs to be a major paradigmal change in the foreign policy of big daddies towards other nations such as Iraq..give it up folks..you can't nail the poor country...its already burning and angered and frustrated..Its a Vietnam !!stop playing superman! its a mistake and its done !! mind getting your troops back and doing something to better their lives.
Give them a future. Give their Children a Future.
otherwise be prepared to be backlashed in some form or the other.
we must also have noticed the change in perceptions of the people around the world..are we becoming increasingly intolerable as a society?, are we on the other hand really, embracing people of different ethnicities??..maybe their culture but what about "understanding" culture and traditions??
if Yes, them why do our perceptions wander when terror strikes...why do we paint the entire community in the same colour/ is it because we have no other option but to see what we see and pass judgements,not reason out what we see?
what if one community feels incredibly threatened by another community, what do you do..go ballistic eh??
But is that a responsible action?? No.
I could go on and on forever.
as for the question, YES WE ALL FEEL THREATENED. why wouldn't we? no one wants to die as a victim of a terrorist attack.Its not our fault that the world is suffering or is it??, then why should we bear the brunt?
Hope iv made some sense.
I'm sorry to say but why is it that everytime there are attacks ,questions of such nature pops up everywhere in the media?? Come to think of it...YES such incidents are appalling and remind us of the fact that wherever you are, whatever you do,there are chances that you could face such a threat.
The world has changed after 9/11..they say..maybe for the Americans..who refused to acknowledge that terrorism was wrecking havoc(in other parts of the world) until it came around in full circle.
But instead of constantly bickering on the issues of civilian safety and showing international solidarity and onness to fight against terrorism as most of our leaders do(real talented yappers), in innumerable summits, the matters of paramount importance are:
a) are our governments prepared enough to tackle such crisis ?? what is being done about it ?? Scotland Yard got lucky to foil the car bombs plot but couldn't save a fifth of the glasgow airport attack. How prepared the Intelligence and the police are? not just in london but this applies to other nations as well
We cannot turn our backs on globalisation and considering it has become easy to access information and travel the world, for say "globalised citizens"... and terrorists !!BUT one cannot just put a ban on them !! this again can be debated !!
b) Are we prepared for such disasters ? attacks can be of any nature..use of bio weaponry..9/11..bombs..even greater bombs that could perish the entire city..who knows..hypothetically what if, Iran secretly launches a nuclear attack on US, UK or any of their enemies..would CIA or other spy networks be tipped of such a warning..what if there's no warning??..the fact that the world seems to be getting polarised..before it was US and the soviet..now looks like US UK and their allies take on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, some other middle eastern nations, not to forget North Korea and what of one fine day China and Russia decide to back them ?? I know its a GREAT BIG imagination..but such imaginations don't take time to turn into reality.
times are capricious..unprecedented..you can't just be foiling terror plots all the time..its time to move ahead with stringer actions being taken..can't wait for the world to be divided into blocs again..cannot afford to..because if its the third world war..it's OVER !!
forget about safety..humanity will be swept away from this earth.
coming back to my point, there needs to be a major paradigmal change in the foreign policy of big daddies towards other nations such as Iraq..give it up folks..you can't nail the poor country...its already burning and angered and frustrated..Its a Vietnam !!stop playing superman! its a mistake and its done !! mind getting your troops back and doing something to better their lives.
Give them a future. Give their Children a Future.
otherwise be prepared to be backlashed in some form or the other.
we must also have noticed the change in perceptions of the people around the world..are we becoming increasingly intolerable as a society?, are we on the other hand really, embracing people of different ethnicities??..maybe their culture but what about "understanding" culture and traditions??
if Yes, them why do our perceptions wander when terror strikes...why do we paint the entire community in the same colour/ is it because we have no other option but to see what we see and pass judgements,not reason out what we see?
what if one community feels incredibly threatened by another community, what do you do..go ballistic eh??
But is that a responsible action?? No.
I could go on and on forever.
as for the question, YES WE ALL FEEL THREATENED. why wouldn't we? no one wants to die as a victim of a terrorist attack.Its not our fault that the world is suffering or is it??, then why should we bear the brunt?
Hope iv made some sense.
I'm sorry to say but why is it that everytime there are attacks ,questions of such nature pops up everywhere in the media?? Come to think of it...YES such incidents are appalling and remind us of the fact that wherever you are, whatever you do,there are chances that you could face such a threat.
The world has changed after 9/11..they say..maybe for the Americans..who refused to acknowledge that terrorism was wrecking havoc(in other parts of the world) until it came around in full circle.
But instead of constantly bickering on the issues of civilian safety and showing international solidarity and onness to fight against terrorism as most of our leaders do(real talented yappers), in innumerable summits, the matters of paramount importance are:
a) are our governments prepared enough to tackle such crisis ?? what is being done about it ?? Scotland Yard got lucky to foil the car bombs plot but couldn't save a fifth of the glasgow airport attack. How prepared the Intelligence and the police are? not just in london but this applies to other nations as well
We cannot turn our backs on globalisation and considering it has become easy to access information and travel the world, for say "globalised citizens"... and terrorists !!BUT one cannot just put a ban on them !! this again can be debated !!
b) Are we prepared for such disasters ? attacks can be of any nature..use of bio weaponry..9/11..bombs..even greater bombs that could perish the entire city..who knows..hypothetically what if, Iran secretly launches a nuclear attack on US, UK or any of their enemies..would CIA or other spy networks be tipped of such a warning..what if there's no warning??..the fact that the world seems to be getting polarised..before it was US and the soviet..now looks like US UK and their allies take on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, some other middle eastern nations, not to forget North Korea and what of one fine day China and Russia decide to back them ?? I know its a GREAT BIG imagination..but such imaginations don't take time to turn into reality.
times are capricious..unprecedented..you can't just be foiling terror plots all the time..its time to move ahead with stringer actions being taken..can't wait for the world to be divided into blocs again..cannot afford to..because if its the third world war..it's OVER !!
forget about safety..humanity will be swept away from this earth.
coming back to my point, there needs to be a major paradigmal change in the foreign policy of big daddies towards other nations such as Iraq..give it up folks..you can't nail the poor country...its already burning and angered and frustrated..Its a Vietnam !!stop playing superman! its a mistake and its done !! mind getting your troops back and doing something to better their lives.
Give them a future. Give their Children a Future.
otherwise be prepared to be backlashed in some form or the other.
we must also have noticed the change in perceptions of the people around the world..are we becoming increasingly intolerable as a society?, are we on the other hand really, embracing people of different ethnicities??..maybe their culture but what about "understanding" culture and traditions??
if Yes, them why do our perceptions wander when terror strikes...why do we paint the entire community in the same colour/ is it because we have no other option but to see what we see and pass judgements,not reason out what we see?
what if one community feels incredibly threatened by another community, what do you do..go ballistic eh??
But is that a responsible action?? No.
I could go on and on forever.
as for the question, YES WE ALL FEEL THREATENED. why wouldn't we? no one wants to die as a victim of a terrorist attack.Its not our fault that the world is suffering or is it??, then why should we bear the brunt?
Hope iv made some sense.
"Nobody is safe!" This is the message of all terrorists. And I presume that this is really the case. Everyone can become a victim.
But what is even more frightening is the fact that even educated people are susceptible to propaganda and indoctrination. Eight alleged perpetrators in connection with failed car bombings in the UK have links with the National Health System. Seven are to believed doctors, one is a medical student.
"As long as we think abstractly, as long as we find in patriotism and the exuberance of war our fulfillment, we will never understand those who do battle against us, or how we are perceived by them, or finally those wo do battle for us and how we should respond to it all. We will never discover who we are. We will fail to confront the capacity we all have for violence. And we will court our own extermination. By accepting the facile cliché that the battle under way against terrorism is a battle against evil, by easily branding those who fight us as the barbarians, we, like them, refuse to acknowledge our own culpability. We ignore real injustices that have led many of those arrayed against us to their rage and despair."
...
"Our cultivated conventions and little lies of civility lull us into a refined and idealistic view of ourselves. But modern industrial warfare may well be leading us, with each technological advance, a step closer to our own annihilation. We too are strapping explosives around our waists. Do we also have a suicide pact?"
Source: Chris Hedges, "War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning", p. 13, 180.
Did I miss something ? When was there a car bombing in the UK ? When did a car blow up in a deadly explosion ? There was no "car bombing" in the UK lately, only a burning car near an airport.
Do you really imagine a doctor driving with a fellow friend a suicide car ? 2 people for a suicide attack ? And into one of the world's biggest airports, without checking FIRST how it looks like, and whether their car fits through those protection bumps ?
Same as for those bombs supposedly made by mixing simply 2 liquids and ignited with an iPod: did YOU EVER see a demo of such a device ?
What you're talking about are hypothetical threats, made up by the same minds that saw WMD in Iraq everywhere, and who want to terrorise you and make you feel unsafe. Not a single piece of proof. What, only terrorists put petrol in their car ? Or nails ? Or gaz-bottles ?
But what is sure is that these lunatics where not the same Al-Quaeda that flew 2 planes into 2 skyscrapers.
ORL,
"I see no justification for such calls being posted..." The WaPo is located in the US. The US has this thing called the bill of rights that guarantees freedom of speech. The thing about freedom of speech is that you are allowed to post things that you or i might find offensive. The way to handle this is to not call for censorship but to post a counter argument.
I live several miles from the Pentagon. I have not felt safe since 2001. This is everybodies problem. Should we over-react? Why start now. Our reaction to previous attacks has been laughable at best. We've spent our time trying, like an abused child, to figure out what we did wrong to deserve it. Or trying to convince ourselves that if we just did what they want, all would be forgiven and they would stop killing. Or we have been arguing amongst ourselves about profiling of people most likely to be terrorists, wiretapping suspected communications, how to process caught terrorists and enemy combatants, or trying to debate the merits of securing our border. We are arguing amongst ourselves and our enemies are laughing at us. Terrorists and terror need to be fought and condemned by everybody in the civilized world. We need to be united in our monumental task of defeating the concept that you can argue your point and advance your position by terrorizing societies and killing innocent people. These psychopaths need to be defeated.
I am most surprised that the WP accept to post heinous "comments" that are nothing but calls for a nuclear attack on a country (Iran) or for the annihilation of a religion, religious group or nation (Islam). I see no justification for such calls being posted, as they only invite similar calls, equally unacceptable, for the destruction of other countries and for the annihilation of other religions, religious groups or nations.
Is this 1933, all over again, in our midst? I am not sure this is a very wise reenactment.
What happened in London and Glasgow could happen anywhere in any city of the developed and developing world. For the sake of simplicity, let’s call it a terrorist act. Then is my chance to be killed in such a terrorist act greater than the chance to be hit by a speeding car? Being killed by a terrorist act, of course, is outrageous; but it was outrageous because we want it to be so: a death is the end of life, no more, no less. So if I feel unsafe living in
Readers’ Responses to Our Question (55)
As I read over all the comments it becomes clear we are forgetting world history. There have always been nations that push their influence over other nations, and radicalized peoples that use terrorism to achieve their aims. No country is innocent of this. This is not something new invented by Muslims nor is it limited to the Middle East. Every country and every continent has this experience in its past. All it takes is for a small group of people that want something, to find the catalyst that can be used to draw a large following to support the effort. Persians, Greeks, Romans, Huns, Vikings, French, Spanish, British, Americans, Russians, Chinese, Japanese, Germans, etc.
Usually race, religion, or ethnicity are used, but the methods are similiar in each.
Maybe someday we can all just say, you have the right to be different and have your own views. Can we not live together drawing on our similarities as the means for peace.
July 6, 2007 3:41 PM | Report Offensive Comments
As I read over all the comments it becomes clear we are forgetting world history. There have always been nations that push their influence over other nations, and radicalized peoples that use terrorism to achieve their aims. No country is innocent of this. This is not something new invented by Muslims nor is it limited to the Middle East. Every country and every continent has this experience in its past. All it takes is for a small group of people that want something, to find the catalyst that can be used to draw a large following to support the effort. Persians, Greeks, Romans, Huns, Vikings, French, Spanish, British, Americans, Russians, Chinese, Japanese, Germans, etc.
Usually race, religion, or ethnicity are used, but the methods are similiar in each.
Maybe someday we can all just say, you have the right to be different and have your own views. Can we not live together drawing on our similarities as the means for peace.
July 6, 2007 3:40 PM | Report Offensive Comments
The truth of the matter is this: there will always be people who are willing to go to extremes to prove a point. We cannot deter all of them, but the absolute worst thing that we can do is to stop living our lives. Yes, by all means remain vigilant--after all, the price of freedom is indeed eternal vigilance, but for us in Western society to give in to fear and mistrust of those who are different from us, instead of uniting and celebrating our diversity, is exactly what the haters want.
Understand, by "haters" I mean not only the terrorists, but the extreme elements within our own governments that use our fear for their own political and monetary gain. Just look at what the Bush Administration has been able to get away with because of America's collective fear of another 9/11 type attack. Until we as good people stop giving in to our fears of the "other", we will continue to make ourselves the victims. Remember, the display of courage is the desire to press on despite the presence of fear. Only through true displays of courage and a renewed committment to peace will we ever regain the cherished freedoms that we hold so dear.
Haven, Los Angeles, CA
July 6, 2007 11:28 AM | Report Offensive Comments
The truth of the matter is this: there will always be people who are willing to go to extremes to prove a point. We cannot deter all of them, but the absolute worst thing that we can do is to stop living our lives. Yes, by all means remain vigilant--after all, the price of freedom is indeed eternal vigilance, but for us in Western society to give in to fear and mistrust of those who are different from us, instead of uniting and celebrating our diversity, is exactly what the haters want.
Understand, by "haters" I mean not only the terrorists, but the extreme elements within our own governments that use our fear for their own political and monetary gain. Just look at what the Bush Administration has been able to get away with because of America's collective fear of another 9/11 type attack. Until we as good people stop giving in to our fears of the "other", we will continue to make ourselves the victims. Remember, the display of courage is the desire to press on despite the presence of fear. Only through true displays of courage and a renewed committment to peace will we ever regain the cherished freedoms that we hold so dear.
Haven, Los Angeles, CA
July 6, 2007 11:26 AM | Report Offensive Comments
SAM....3:03 p.m....thank you. You are thorough, articulate and right on.
And yesterday the israelis began their takeover of Gaza. With nary a word from our neocon infested White House.
Good God, we are what the rest of the world thinks we are.
July 6, 2007 11:02 AM | Report Offensive Comments
SAM....3:03 p.m....thank you. You are thorough, articulate and right on.
And yesterday the israelis began their takeover of Gaza. With nary a word from Washington.
Good God, we are what the rest of the worod thinks we are.
July 6, 2007 10:59 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Sam,
Correct sentence should be as following,
The whole world will never see peace as long as the Cult of violence exists on the earth.
July 6, 2007 4:56 AM | Report Offensive Comments
stay calm...and carry on.
July 5, 2007 10:31 PM | Report Offensive Comments
No I don't feel less safe. In terms of personal risk I worry about car accidents, heart attacks slipping in the bath tub, lightning strikes and random gun shots more than terrorism.
July 5, 2007 4:36 PM | Report Offensive Comments
PG
It's an interesting question. Currently, I am in the UK (London at the moment) on a family vacation. There is a strong police presence everywhere (railroad stations, airports, government buildings etc.).
The most noticeable thing is that the different modes of travel are still packed with passengers. No one is even talking about the failed attacks (except one pissed off cab driver), but the newspapers and TV news are providing up to the minute details of the investigation of the terrorist and plot.
For me personally, I cannot help but think, on occasion, of the possibilities when I am traveling by train or subway.
At any rate, I have to go. See you in a few days.
Cheers,
Tom
July 5, 2007 3:59 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Dave! Gosh, I didn't realize that we were talking about Palestine, or Darfur, or North Korea or all the other places you mentioned except what we were talking about. I thought we were talking about the almost car bombings in London almost hurting anybody but according to the cable news networks/tabloids is suppose to mean we all have to scream in panic. You are being played for a sucker DAVE!, you have a couple of governments who have found that they can pretty much get away with anything as long as whatever they do is done in the name of the terrorists. A building fell down in Denver today, which terrorist organization do you suppose did that? That bus that got buried in Mexico, fingerprints of Osama? Good God, man, we need to give the pres another trillion dollars and allow him to set aside the bill of rights, they're getting closer!!!
I notice you never really have much of an opinion yourself, but that you merely sit and wait to react to something someone else has to say. Why is that? DAVE! I am tired of having my pocket picked by a government that tells me it isn't really picking my pocket, but that it is actually saving my wallet from that other guy over there.
July 5, 2007 3:44 PM | Report Offensive Comments
The whole world will never see peace as long as the crime of the 20th century is not handled adequately.The legitimate state of Palestine was removed from the world map to be replaced by the illegitimate state of Israel with new immigrants from all over the world.Palestinians,being moslems or christians,were kicked out into refugee camps to be replaced by jews from Europe,Russia,Ethiopia etc.
Repercussions of this heinous crime are behind all turmoil and bloodshed in the Middle East including Iraq,Lebanon,Palestinian occupied territories,Syria,Iran etc.
The unlimited support of US to Israel is encouraging the latter to reject all UN resolutions on the Palestinian Issue including Resolution 194 which calls for the return of all Palestinian refugees home.It is time for the US admin to wake up to the real cause of all problems in the area and to change its foreign policy categorically.
July 5, 2007 3:03 PM | Report Offensive Comments
The whole world will never see peace as long as the crime of the 20th century is not handled adequately.The legitimate state of Palestine was removed from the world map to be replaced by the illegitimate state of Israel with new immigrants from all over the world.Palestinians,being moslems or christians,were kicked out into refugee camps to be replaced by jews from Europe,Russia,Ethiopia etc.
Repercussions of this heinous crime are behind all turmoil and bloodshed in the Middle East including Iraq,Lebanon,Palestinian occupied territories,Syria,Iran etc.
The unlimited support of US to Israel is encouraging the latter to reject all UN resolutions on the Palestinian Issue including Resolution 194 which calls for the return of all Palestinian refugees home.It is time for the US admin to wake up to the real cause of all problems in the area and to change its foreign policy categorically.
July 5, 2007 3:00 PM | Report Offensive Comments
The idea that the recent car bombing attempts in the U.K. resulted from a revolt of the privileged, uprooted, and disconnected is not consistent with what Walid Phares, who authored the book, War of Ideas: Jihadism Against Democracy, deems as a committed effort to “play by the pragmatic norms of world politics” in order to defend the doctrinal basis of their fundamentalist religious zealotry.
July 5, 2007 2:02 PM | Report Offensive Comments
To Mohammad Allam:
Glad to know that you are a "liberal Muslim". This sounds counterintuitive, because traditional schools of Islamic scholarship unequivocally state that one needs to accept Islam wholly, and not inject one's own interpretations. The radical Muslims are simply literally interpreting the Islamic texts. For instance when these jihadis do support suicide bombings, they are literally interpreting the Quran (004:095), whose full text can be found at:
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/004.qmt.html
For some weird reasons, and maybe evidences can be found in other supporting Islamic texts, a Muslim who is interpreting the Quran literally can't be denied validity, and particularly when it comes to Jihad. The moderate/pacifist Muslims just keep quiet probably because they know that from historical reasons, they cannot prove a Jihadi wrong. The Jihadi has a lot of Muslim scholarship to back him up.
It is thus very difficult to see how this problem can be solved, other than to state that Quran can never be literally interpreted.
Secondly, I am at a loss to understand why Muslims living in western and secular countries by their own choice should start harming that very country. And this encompasses educated Muslims who should know the meaning of loyalty. It does appear that Muslims are obligated to have loyalty to Islam. Thus if, their host/adopted country (which by default is secular), formulates policies that are in conflict with Islamic values or traditions, then a "good" Muslim is obligated to rise up against such policies, because his religion comes first; and this is simply unacceptable behavior in a secular society.
The excuse for violence based on the Iraq war is a phoney baloney. This is a conniving ploy for Islamists to show their radical attitude. I have known no other religious group who would pre-emptively kill innocents based on religious motivations. The Buddhists in China are always receiving the short end of the stick. Yet, because USA and China are close buddies, Buddhists in India are not blowing up US Consulates. It is sad to acknolwedge that with Muslims such a possibility exists strongly.
My point is that Muslims living in the West, if they cannot accept the unwritten norms of secular values, and want to wave the green banner all the time, then they should that in Islamic Republics and not in secular countries. Secularism and permissiveness can be seen as an evil in the eyes of Islam. But, we non-Muslims living in the West have equal rights to reject and de-emphasize Islam and Islamic values.
If the preceding notion is unacceptable, then Muslims must rethink staying back in that country and get out voluntarily.
July 5, 2007 12:15 PM | Report Offensive Comments
to anju chandela
Nice to read your comment.pacifist musim also working on the siding of violnce minded muslim around the world.but here are some points on which we need your enlightened opinion
1.when a policy regarding any state of muslim is finalysed in UNO ,Washington and London then at that time why not the opinion of liberal muslim taken into account?see the case of Iraq .when libral muslim opposed the invasion why not accepted by the west?In my opinion they want that libral muslim give them support at the time of thier interest meet othr wise not listen them when interest of west is there.
2.The west created many factions among the muslim countries to divide and rule and west always crushed the democarcy in muslim world see the case of pakistan,algeiria,palestine.at that time the voice of liberal completly ignored by the western leaders.why?
3.see the case of your country how many group came to save the communal party and demolition of babri masjid .and after that bringing that party in power of the nation.this situation we are also facing.when the popular outcry of mass politics side line the liberal forces of islamic world like yourr country secularr forces?can u blam the secular forces on your country on this front.
the violence of world is not problem of one nation of the world but humanity but let one thing be clear by the west that what they decid e must include th e opinion of the libral muslim if they cannot listen to us then how we can have a strong base in islamic society.
can u tell me that who trained these war monger terrorist ?liberal muslim or west in afghnaistan.who provided the safe heaven in iraq and somalia for them.is the liberal muslim?who gave the highest honur of muslim religion to these people in afghanistan?when they were killing russian you enjoyed and gave then title mujahid without thinking that they will creat problem in the world after afghanistan.were russian not people? but when these nepotist turned their gun towards you then you call them terrorist.who is responsible to establish them respectable in islamic socity?
so in my opinion without certain policy change by the west on world level the power of liberal muslim will be in effective.here the bombing in london is not a question of one nation but the world and decide a policy of intenatinal importance is not exclusive powe of west but the whole world.the joining of briton and austrralia,japan what shows in iraq?
thy ignore the liberal muslim so let them to understand the meaning of world citizn in place of west citizen.the soooner they understand the better would be the world.
oter hand tell me how we can work among muslim on poliitcal question keeping all these my questions in mind.
we strongly condemned the violence and donot want to see in any form.we were not in group to advice to destroy iraq and we are not in the group of supporter of bombr of london or madrid.yesterday we made mute spectator and tody a dumb people.
thank
3
July 5, 2007 8:40 AM | Report Offensive Comments
To quote Shashi Tharoor:
'Terrorism is one of the "Problems without Passport".'
Today, terrorism has transcended territories. It doesn't show biases against anyone and can equally affect everyone, no matter which part of the world the person lives in - economically developed, economically developing or, for that matter, economically underdeveloped part.
Terrorism - in its new evolved global face - needs to be dealt with accordingly, with lots of maturity and wisdom: genuine inclusive diplomacy.
Because, as a matter of fact, fundamentalist Muslims are primarily the perpetrators of terror all across the globe, cutting across continents: from America to Africa to Australia to Asia. And, to tackle terrorism, the world will have to be tough with them.
In the process, many of the non-fundamentalist Muslims could also get mired in the global backlash against terrorists, which might make them feel as victims of racial discrimination and push them further towards the wall (isolation followed by path of terrorism for many due to falsely developed hatred for rest of humanity). And, this would be a very unfortunate situation. (In fact, this situation has already started to manifest itself in many parts of the world.)
But can anyone blame the rest of the global population for their so-called racial behavior? NO. Because, seeing the increasing trend of educated, well-to-do and seemingly harmless Muslims driving acts of terror everywhere, one can never be sure of anybody anymore.
Here, the voices of globally influential and respected non-fundamentalist Muslims would play a major part. They need to educate their fellow Muslim brothers and sisters to develop global citizens' character and accept their identities first as humans, then as citizens of whichever country they belong to, and then, most importantly, treat their religion as a matter of personal faith and not get carried away by the fundamentalists' propaganda.
And, not to forget the responsibility of the rest of the world to NOT act in haste and be accomodating in their approach as painting the entire community with the same brush would only divide the humanity further.
So, let each one of us - humans - follow the religion of humanity, or else, be prepared to be relegated into the pages of history forever, only to be resurrected by some Marsian Steven Spielberg a few thousand years later in his "Earth Park"!
July 5, 2007 3:35 AM | Report Offensive Comments
Maybe Fareed Zakaria should revisit his own fanciful musings on Newsweek (particularly, June 11, 2007 issue).
The incidentg shows that radical Muslims are now coming from the educated stock. All of the suspects are educated (medical doctors), with three of them hailing from India. How could these be mentally deranged/socially isolated and feel rejected to join the jihadi bandwagon ?
Maybe it is time to look at the basics of Islam itself, because apparently these educated persons were brainwashed or inspired by the radical Islamic ideology. Maybe this blows a big hole in the theory of Zakaria that, by inviting Muslims from the corners of the world to the liberal, secular western society the incidence of Islamic radical onslaught would be diminished. But Zakaria would justify that the incidence in Iraq is the cause. Hey if that is true, then truly everyone else must submit before Islam. For whenever a section of Muslims feel something wrong is happening against Islam, they are willing to take up arms. This could be the nice Muslim, your next door neighbor. The way the recent incidents are shaping up, you cannot trust a Muslim anymore. You don't know when can s/he cross the line to become radicalized. And why should the West care so much about Muslims and their passions/aspirations anyway ? Why place Muslim interests higher than other people ?
July 5, 2007 12:51 AM | Report Offensive Comments
ARTM,
Well, all those things you list certainly have killed a lot of people. More than the wars the world has had in that time. I guess we should quit trying to worry about peace and getting our panties in a bunch over trying to make the UN work. Why is everybody all hot and bothered over Iraq and Palestine? Darfur? Don't give it a second thought. Who cares if Iran or North Korea get nuclear weapons? Even if they were to be used, more folks would probably die in car crashes than from any attack. The point is that we worry about these things because its not just about sheer numbers.
July 5, 2007 12:42 AM | Report Offensive Comments
See what I mean.
July 4, 2007 11:52 PM | Report Offensive Comments
EVIL, RELIGIONIST, CORPORATIST, GLOBAL DESECRATION OF THE HIGHEST DIVINE HUMAN RIGHTS!
GLOBAL NUCLEAR PERPLEXITY!
(In Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Most Patriotic Legacy!)
The Nucleus of Our Whole World ever-growing Suicidal Nuclear Crisis is created by none other than The Most False as Most Greedy Ultra-Conservative and/or Ultra-Libertine Politico-Religionism everywhere – Universally. The World has No True Religion Anywhere!
The only and Nuclear ambition for all this Universal “True Atheism” is none other than The Most Voracious Global Inhuman Corporative Economic Exploitation – all by extreme disregard of The Most Basic Universal Human Literacy and The Most Basic Universal Good Samaritan Health Insurance. These two together are Almighty God’s True Democracy’s vitally essential means for True Individual Equal Opportunity to reach HIS BEST Personal Human Gifts (RIGHTS).
All of Our Vast Perpetually Dehumanized Illiterate and Sickly Western World is so ever more and more so “CRUCIFIED” or threatened with impunity by The Religionist-Instilled Fear of “Going to Hell” – if they have no “Faith” or disobedient to their Politico-Religionist Leadership: “’Heaven’ is ‘Living’ in Satanic Exploitation”!
Our Thoroughly Politico-Religionist Western World has always even tried to expand our Most Voraciously Greedy Corporatism to Our Islamic Eastern World’s “Friendly” Governments, but I most strongly suspect that Islamic Religionism has an opposite but Equally Religionist Inhuman Self-Defense: when our Western Corporatistly Imposed Inhuman Intervention reach their Eastern Critical level – like in our Iraq’s Unending Perplexity – the Islamic Religionist “Inspiration” to go to Heaven is The Super-Terrorist “Salvific” Individual Self-Immolation. All of these are for sure the portending Symbolism of A Most Certain Nuclear Armageddon! NO WAY FOR NUCLEAR SALVATION!!!
MAY WE ALL TRULY PRAY THAT WE ALL TRUE SOLID AMERICANS REALLY ENABLE THE ALMIGHTY TO BLESS (SAVE) OUR MOST BELOVED TRUE AMERICA!!!
July 4, 2007 8:15 PM | Report Offensive Comments
EVIL, RELIGIONIST, CORPORATIST, GLOBAL DESECRATION OF THE HIGHEST DIVINE HUMAN RIGHTS!
GLOBAL NUCLEAR PERPLEXITY!
(In Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Most Patriotic Legacy!)
The Nucleus of Our Whole World ever-growing Suicidal Nuclear Crisis is created by none other than The Most False as Most Greedy Ultra-Conservative and/or Ultra-Libertine Politico-Religionism everywhere – Universally. The World has No True Religion Anywhere!
The only and Nuclear ambition for all this Universal “True Atheism” is none other than The Most Voracious Global Inhuman Corporative Economic Exploitation – all by extreme disregard of The Most Basic Universal Human Literacy and The Most Basic Universal Good Samaritan Health Insurance. These two together are Almighty God’s True Democracy’s vitally essential means for True Individual Equal Opportunity to reach HIS BEST Personal Human Gifts (RIGHTS).
All of Our Vast Perpetually Dehumanized Illiterate and Sickly Western World is so ever more and more so “CRUCIFIED” or threatened with impunity by The Religionist-Instilled Fear of “Going to Hell” – if they have no “Faith” or disobedient to their Politico-Religionist Leadership: “’Heaven’ is ‘Living’ in Satanic Exploitation”!
Our Thoroughly Politico-Religionist Western World has always even tried to expand our Most Voraciously Greedy Corporatism to Our Islamic Eastern World’s “Friendly” Governments, but I most strongly suspect that Islamic Religionism has an opposite but Equally Religionist Inhuman Self-Defense: when our Western Corporatistly Imposed Inhuman Intervention reach their Eastern Critical level – like in our Iraq’s Unending Perplexity – the Islamic Religionist “Inspiration” to go to Heaven is The Super-Terrorist “Salvific” Individual Self-Immolation. All of these are for sure the portending Symbolism of A Most Certain Nuclear Armageddon! NO WAY FOR NUCLEAR SALVATION!!!
MAY WE ALL TRULY PRAY THAT WE ALL TRUE SOLID AMERICANS REALLY ENABLE THE ALMIGHTY TO BLESS (SAVE) OUR MOST BELOVED TRUE AMERICA!!!
July 4, 2007 8:13 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Really disappointed by so many comments which seem to ignore the reality. Of course, there has been, and are, terrorists acts from the IRA, the Basque ETA and some other samall groups here and there, but there has never been terrorists which act globally in the name of Islam. Everyone may have reasons - acceptable or not - to justify violence or terrorist acts within the borders of their country, but radical islamists have been immigrating in non-moslem countries around the world, and decided - mostly because of brainwashing - to terrorize all the western countries. To justify such inadmissible actions because of Irak, Afghanistan or the Middle East, are just excuses which should be rejected energetically and publicly by all the moderate Moslems.
July 4, 2007 1:20 PM | Report Offensive Comments
No, I don't feel any less safe from terrorist activity than I used to; however, my fright, concern, and horror from the knee-jerk monkeys so convinced that the sky is falling because of some idiot talking head on television is growing exponentially by the hour. Let's see, the total number of people having been killed from "terrorists" worldwide since 1960 is about what, 50,000? Now, how many fatalities from cancer, automobile accidents, starvation, malaria, street crime, illegal drugs, medical/surgical malpractice, genocide, tainted water, HIV, brain tumors, boredom, peanut butter allergies, heart disease, airline disasters, over eating, Flu, flesh eating bacteria, stories about Martians, Canadians in general, old age, and any other means, methods, or ministrations of death?
Folks, if you are going to soil your panty-hose over articles rife with "if" and "possibly" and "might have" and "could have" and "would have if only" then you deserve to huddle in your houses, whimpering every time the doorbell goes off. If you are going to moan and wring hands every time some yellow journalism cable news network tries to whip up fervor so they can make an extra few bucks, my sincere suggestion is to find a method of suicide most agreeable to yourself and do yourself in, because, and trust me on this children, something is going to get you sooner or later.
Here's a question to ask: How absolutely stupid do we look getting all hot and bothered over absolutely nothing?
July 4, 2007 12:36 PM | Report Offensive Comments
BOBL-VA,
More people died on 911 than at Pearl Harbor. 911 was on US soil as opposed to Hawaii only being a US Territory at the time. Perhaps we were being to meddlesome and threatening to Japan by putting a huge military base way out in the Pacific like that. Maybe if we pursued a foreign policy of neutrality and passed neutrality laws designed to stop incidents like the sinking of American ships and support for one side in any war that might break out so that America would not be tempted to enter the war, things would work themselves out and not affect us. Oh wait, that neutrality thing didn't quite work out for us then. Naturally, we should try it again.
July 4, 2007 12:25 PM | Report Offensive Comments
BobL-VA,
The US and Britain are hardly the only countries to "interfere" in the ME. The list is long and includes many, if not most, of the ME countries themselves. Iran and Syria are the two easiest to point to. Also, the US can be accused of "interfering" in many other parts of the world - South America for example or Eastern Europe. The difference is that the Colombians, at least up till now, have not shown that they want to kill thousands of Americans to somehow prove a point. The question i have is why do people in the ME feel it necessary to try to commit terrorist acts in western countries when most of the rest of the world doesn't? I don't buy that "it's our own fault because of our policies" line. If that were true, pretty much the rest of the world would be sending in terrorists. I think that the Mexicans have a much more realistic beef against the US than pretty much anyone in the ME. And yet, all they want to do is come here and work or live. I don't think that it is a coincidence the the ME is mostly Muslim and that most terrorists are Muslim.
Prior to 911, there was the mindset that terrorists could not reach the US, that the oceans protected us. We did not wake up to changing facts the first time they tried to bring down the WTC. Now it seems there is the mindset that 911 was a one time thing, something that we should not get too excited over and that we should not be devoting so many resources to prevention. Perhaps that will change when the next "one time attack" occurs, maybe a dirty bomb or contaminated water supply or a nuclear power plant explosion. If there is one thing that al-qaeda has shown that they do, it is think big. Underestimate them at your own risk.
July 4, 2007 12:06 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Dave,
I live 5 miles from the Pentagon and feel quite safe. I'm more worried about the bad driving on RT. 395 then I am of another attack on the Pentagon.
PG:
As long as countries like the US and Britian overtly interfere with the social, miliary, economical and political structures of Muslim countries they will be ripe for reprisals. We already know a significant number of Muslims don't believe they had anything to do with 9/11. This fact alone should be the most important factor in our decision making processes when approving visa's and/or immigration from Muslim countries. It's stupid, at best, to know 1 out of 10 or 1 out of 5 Muslims hates the West and at the same time admit thousands of muslims each year into our societies. Do the math. What's the likely number of people who would do us harm if the opportunity presented itself? We can't have it both ways. We can't interfere with their cultures, bring down their governments, support Israeli and Israeli aggression and occupy their countries without a signficant minority of them feeling under siege and threatened by the West. Of course a percentage of them will retaliate. Then we turn right around and admit thousands of them each year into our societies. It makes no sense.
We need to either clean up our act in the ME so they don't feel like their way of life is threatened by us (which I doubt we're smart enough to do) or we should place rigid limits on visa's and immigration from Muslim countries (which insults our sense of fairness).
Nope, we'll keep interfering and they'll keep retaliating and a limited number of people will die in the few successful attacks that take place. (I'm not trying to down play 9/11 and the 3,000 people who died, but that has been a one time attack. We've seen nothing that approaches that magnitude before or after)
The current state of affairs is quite humorous in a warped sort of way. We're spending 100's of billions of dollars each year to try and stop a group of people who are more likely to stop themselves then we are.
July 4, 2007 8:34 AM | Report Offensive Comments
It's a London problem in that bombing East Grinstead would not have quite the same cachet.
(Note: US readers can substitute Peoria for East Grinstead.)
July 4, 2007 4:47 AM | Report Offensive Comments
I find people who go on and on about how evil Islam is when they know absolutely nothing about Islam to be totally disgusting. They are the type of individual who allow authoritarian, Manichean tyrants like George Bush to florish. This means you, Frank. As for some of the posts, I had a difficult time deciding if they were talking about the right wing religious fundamentalists in the US or in the Middle East. The diatribes could have fit both sides. Talk about "psychopaths needing to be defeated," I have seen on more than one site how both Bush and Cheney fit the official diagnosis of psychopathology practically perfectly.
What is a terrorist? Obviously it is someone who is trying to make a particular targeted civilian population very afraid and terrorized. Who has been doing this? If you answered Cheney and Bush, you were right the first time. Loudly announcing red alerts and orange alerts based on intelligence over two years old is terrorism. Filling the evening news with baseless charges and constant reminders that the Pflugerville Creative Anachronism Fair could be a terrorist target is terrorism in itself. The question about whether we feel safe now is also terrorism by attempting to persuade us that somehow we are in terrible danger from terrorists, but not mentioning how many people got killed by drunk drivers or who died very painfully from air pollution related respiratory disease.
Want to know why we haven't had any terrorist attacks in the US since 9/11? It's because Bush has been keeping us terrorized himself. Al Qaeda doesn't have to waste time and effort doing the job. After the first attack on the WTC no one made a big deal about it, nor after the attack on the Federal Building in OK City. Now after 9/11, thanks to Bush & Co., everyone is terrorized so Osama can turn his mind to other things knowing full well that with George in charge, Americans will remain terrorized, and the Iraq war will serve as the best recruiting AND training program he could possibly ask for. And Bush doesn't even ask bin Laden to help foot the bill! Bush pays for al Qaeda training out of US taxpayer dollars! Whose side is Bush on?!
July 3, 2007 9:14 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Albert Wittine : "... what is even more frightening is the fact that even educated people are susceptible to propaganda and indoctrination."
How in the world do you know they ever were or that they are? Could it be that your hypothesis only serves one purpose: making you feel better?
July 3, 2007 8:42 PM | Report Offensive Comments
This doesn't affect me at all. What affects me more is the number of innocent people shot by police. In the last three years that number far exceeds the number of people killed by terrorists in the US. Something that affects me much more is the number of people killed by random jerks with guns that they had no trouble obtaining. That number is very, very high. The recent events in Virginia are only the part that the MSM lets the public see. The actual number killed in the rest of the US is much greater.
The main thing, however, that affects all of us is that the Cheney/Bush administration will use that event to further destroy the tattered Constitution that once defined a proud democracy. After all, they used 9/11 as an excuse to invade Iraq which had nothing at all to do with 9/11, to pass the "Patriot" Act which allowed all sorts of civil wrongs that previously were forbidden, to pass their "military" act which for the first time in over 800 years did away with habeus corpus. Now what will they do? Do away with jury trials?
July 3, 2007 8:31 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Do I feel unsafe after these incidents in London and Glasgow? not really, the mathematical probability of dying on the road is a lot higher.
However, I am worried that this will be used as an excuse to further erode civil liberties (90 days detention without charge that GB wants to introduce and his proposed new 'anti terror law') and a good excuse for NOT ACCEPTING ANY IRAQI REFUGEES as people around the world are disgusted with the hypocrisy of the UK and US of mounting a 'humanitarian intervention' in Iraq, that has lead to a humanitarian disaster on a massive scale!
I think we should ask Iraqis if they feel threatened by the incidents in London!
Excuse me for sounding cynical but it is not exactly the first time Intelligence Services got it wrong! starting with Ricin over-hyped incident that turned out to be false to the Iraqi Kurds in Manchester, caught in possession of Manchester United soccer match tickets, to Jean Charles De Menezis shot dead in the underground train ...etc.
For me the whole think looks unreal, a bit like a drill.
Am I frightened? Not really , I am more frightened by the irrationality of war mongers.
July 3, 2007 6:33 PM | Report Offensive Comments
This question is a replay of the endless "yellow alerts" perpetrated by Bush and co in the 2004 election cycle. It is utterly improper, in fact contrary to the well being of citizens, nations, religions etc to pose such a stupid question:
Facts: 1., no explosion
2., no injuries
3 scaremongering, and subsequent inhuman comments [lets nuke this or that country, town, religious icon, etc.]
Mr. Ignatius and Mr. Zakaria should be ashamed to allow such qustions to be posted, except IF IT IS IN THEIR "INTEREST" TO FORMENT RACIAL? and or RELIGIOUS CONFLICT. Having regard to Mr. Ignatius' lead up to the Iraq war, it is possible that his neo-con leaning morality/lack thereof lead him beyond the premissible within social content [though at law he can state anything he wishes].
July 3, 2007 6:24 PM | Report Offensive Comments
As Shiveh inicated properly, there are lot more potential causes for harm of individual's life during everyday life compared to the probability of a terrorist plot. But since these are mundane and other is spectacular, it provides a lot of material for news hungry media and causes a lot of concern among ordinary citizens influenced by it. Indeed, such trend is somehow encouraged by the new world order and the advent of globalization, contributed substantially to movements of a lot of individuals from the poor countries to the prosperous ones, especially from the old colonies to the old coloniezers. Maybe in an attempt to maintain their influence in post-colonial era, some big euorpean contries allowed special treatment with regard to human movement and emigration in second half of the twenteeth century. However, due to the fundamental difference between european and asian cultures, particularly middle eastern regions and the areas influenced by it even before western colonization, the emigrant societies have largely failed to integrate to the receiving one, racial and religious differences contributing to this. On the other hand, every society posses some extremist minded individuals, eager to perform attrocious acts in ostentatious manner, thus media coverage somehow feeds and encourages to some degree would be perpetrators. Since people are inclined to make generalizations, the trend potentially could polarize society and increase the pressure on the minority emigrant groups, further increasing the difficulty of their integration. If economic prosperity of western societies begin to plunge as simple and natural historical process, then the increased pressure could reach to level incompatible with the contemporary human right standards and potentially reverse the emigration as a result, hopefully without the kind of mass attrocities perpetrated repeatedly in both far and near european history. .
July 3, 2007 6:01 PM | Report Offensive Comments
No. I don't believe the British feels unsafe either. I'm sorry if I disappoint the Bush administration.
July 3, 2007 5:23 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Bout half an hour after the London attempts i turned on Hardball. There, already were two jewish neocons screaming that we must take action,....'that this is proof that we must take the war against terrorism to other countries..."
He was about to elaborate...bomb Iran, probably, when he was cut off. But who knoew...israel wants us to bomb Iran, Iraq, Syria...says russia and the saudis ater enemies.
And well before 9/11...the neocon Davd Frum wrote a speech for Bush saying we MUST to preemptive wars....regieme change here and there and everywhere.
Time and time again our friends in the ME and elsewhere have warned us of the rage about our policy regarding Israel. Osama, who ought to know, warned years ago.
Are we unsafe, more unsafe and most unsafe?
My God, yes. And while we threaten the rest of the world in their coutries...that we're coming to either take their land or oil and change them to be just like us, we'll be less safe.
NO?
July 3, 2007 4:56 PM | Report Offensive Comments
''...An exceptionally incompetent group of troublemakers... had no actual explosives, and were apparently too lazy and ignorant to learn how to make them. Instead, they decided to load cars with petrol, domestic gas cylinders and "containers holding nails", and then set fire to them - either manually or using a cellphone-initiated remote rig of some kind.... [I]f this is all al-Qaeda have to offer, we should never have lost a moment's sleep over them.... If these guys at the weekend really were anything to do with al-Qaeda, all one can really say is that it looks as though the War on Terror is won....'' -- Lewis Page, former UK police bomb-disposal operator, writing in The Register.
July 3, 2007 4:47 PM | Report Offensive Comments
The situation now is not about what do you believe in or where are you from is about who is going to dominate the natural assets and the middle east , starting with this point you can analize easily what is going on in the world , the russians , the chinese , the alqaeda , the iranians , the french , the israelis , the americans every one is jumping on the other s back nd say hold i'm centered as well .So let s stop talking about the religion , is just one of pictures one of the listed above use to be in the center .
July 3, 2007 4:25 PM | Report Offensive Comments
Having been involved with the Iraqi issue for many years, I find it interesting how many people have jumped onto the band wagon over the past few years and use the situation inside of Iraq, to justify such acts as this terrorism.
With consideration towards the economic and political situation inside of Iraq, one would have thought that the cost of the two mercedes benz vehicles alone, could have gone allot further, had they been sold and the money given to organisations, who are working with traumatised children and their families.
In light of the qualifications, which the accussed appear to have, it is also questionable, as to why their "conscience" never thought about going over to a troubled country and using their skills productively, by training people up so that it could have helped to develop the infrastructure of an underdeveloped country.
Within the Middle East, there are many who have pointed out how the Iraq war and the Jordanian Bomb attacks have damaged investment opportunities, within some of the most deprived areas of the country and region, thus raising questions as to whose interests these terrorists are actually serving?
There are others who have recognised the fact, to prevent people from being caught up in the "terror trap", work has to start with the very young and there are projects currently in existence that do involve children and young people in various social activities but such projects are normally run on a voluntary basis, with a very limited budget.
I have often heard members of the Islamic community say, that aslong as the act or the intention is for the good of God, then that act or intention will be rewarded in the afterlife.
What I remember though, is that intentions are good when you do something to benefit others in a positive way, that seeks to enhance the quality of life for others.
But what is happening here, is that such intentions and crimes are not improving anybodies lives but are creating a terrible atmosphere, where the road to hell is being paved with nothing more than supposed "good intentions".
July 3, 2007 12:45 PM | Report Offensive Comments
I think this question has long become outdated.
I'm sorry to say but why is it that everytime there are attacks ,questions of such nature pops up everywhere in the media?? Come to think of it...YES such incidents are appalling and remind us of the fact that wherever you are, whatever you do,there are chances that you could face such a threat.
The world has changed after 9/11..they say..maybe for the Americans..who refused to acknowledge that terrorism was wrecking havoc(in other parts of the world) until it came around in full circle.
But instead of constantly bickering on the issues of civilian safety and showing international solidarity and onness to fight against terrorism as most of our leaders do(real talented yappers), in innumerable summits, the matters of paramount importance are:
a) are our governments prepared enough to tackle such crisis ?? what is being done about it ?? Scotland Yard got lucky to foil the car bombs plot but couldn't save a fifth of the glasgow airport attack. How prepared the Intelligence and the police are? not just in london but this applies to other nations as well
We cannot turn our backs on globalisation and considering it has become easy to access information and travel the world, for say "globalised citizens"... and terrorists !!BUT one cannot just put a ban on them !! this again can be debated !!
b) Are we prepared for such disasters ? attacks can be of any nature..use of bio weaponry..9/11..bombs..even greater bombs that could perish the entire city..who knows..hypothetically what if, Iran secretly launches a nuclear attack on US, UK or any of their enemies..would CIA or other spy networks be tipped of such a warning..what if there's no warning??..the fact that the world seems to be getting polarised..before it was US and the soviet..now looks like US UK and their allies take on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, some other middle eastern nations, not to forget North Korea and what of one fine day China and Russia decide to back them ?? I know its a GREAT BIG imagination..but such imaginations don't take time to turn into reality.
times are capricious..unprecedented..you can't just be foiling terror plots all the time..its time to move ahead with stringer actions being taken..can't wait for the world to be divided into blocs again..cannot afford to..because if its the third world war..it's OVER !!
forget about safety..humanity will be swept away from this earth.
coming back to my point, there needs to be a major paradigmal change in the foreign policy of big daddies towards other nations such as Iraq..give it up folks..you can't nail the poor country...its already burning and angered and frustrated..Its a Vietnam !!stop playing superman! its a mistake and its done !! mind getting your troops back and doing something to better their lives.
Give them a future. Give their Children a Future.
otherwise be prepared to be backlashed in some form or the other.
we must also have noticed the change in perceptions of the people around the world..are we becoming increasingly intolerable as a society?, are we on the other hand really, embracing people of different ethnicities??..maybe their culture but what about "understanding" culture and traditions??
if Yes, them why do our perceptions wander when terror strikes...why do we paint the entire community in the same colour/ is it because we have no other option but to see what we see and pass judgements,not reason out what we see?
what if one community feels incredibly threatened by another community, what do you do..go ballistic eh??
But is that a responsible action?? No.
I could go on and on forever.
as for the question, YES WE ALL FEEL THREATENED. why wouldn't we? no one wants to die as a victim of a terrorist attack.Its not our fault that the world is suffering or is it??, then why should we bear the brunt?
Hope iv made some sense.
July 3, 2007 12:08 PM | Report Offensive Comments
I think this question has long become outdated.
I'm sorry to say but why is it that everytime there are attacks ,questions of such nature pops up everywhere in the media?? Come to think of it...YES such incidents are appalling and remind us of the fact that wherever you are, whatever you do,there are chances that you could face such a threat.
The world has changed after 9/11..they say..maybe for the Americans..who refused to acknowledge that terrorism was wrecking havoc(in other parts of the world) until it came around in full circle.
But instead of constantly bickering on the issues of civilian safety and showing international solidarity and onness to fight against terrorism as most of our leaders do(real talented yappers), in innumerable summits, the matters of paramount importance are:
a) are our governments prepared enough to tackle such crisis ?? what is being done about it ?? Scotland Yard got lucky to foil the car bombs plot but couldn't save a fifth of the glasgow airport attack. How prepared the Intelligence and the police are? not just in london but this applies to other nations as well
We cannot turn our backs on globalisation and considering it has become easy to access information and travel the world, for say "globalised citizens"... and terrorists !!BUT one cannot just put a ban on them !! this again can be debated !!
b) Are we prepared for such disasters ? attacks can be of any nature..use of bio weaponry..9/11..bombs..even greater bombs that could perish the entire city..who knows..hypothetically what if, Iran secretly launches a nuclear attack on US, UK or any of their enemies..would CIA or other spy networks be tipped of such a warning..what if there's no warning??..the fact that the world seems to be getting polarised..before it was US and the soviet..now looks like US UK and their allies take on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, some other middle eastern nations, not to forget North Korea and what of one fine day China and Russia decide to back them ?? I know its a GREAT BIG imagination..but such imaginations don't take time to turn into reality.
times are capricious..unprecedented..you can't just be foiling terror plots all the time..its time to move ahead with stringer actions being taken..can't wait for the world to be divided into blocs again..cannot afford to..because if its the third world war..it's OVER !!
forget about safety..humanity will be swept away from this earth.
coming back to my point, there needs to be a major paradigmal change in the foreign policy of big daddies towards other nations such as Iraq..give it up folks..you can't nail the poor country...its already burning and angered and frustrated..Its a Vietnam !!stop playing superman! its a mistake and its done !! mind getting your troops back and doing something to better their lives.
Give them a future. Give their Children a Future.
otherwise be prepared to be backlashed in some form or the other.
we must also have noticed the change in perceptions of the people around the world..are we becoming increasingly intolerable as a society?, are we on the other hand really, embracing people of different ethnicities??..maybe their culture but what about "understanding" culture and traditions??
if Yes, them why do our perceptions wander when terror strikes...why do we paint the entire community in the same colour/ is it because we have no other option but to see what we see and pass judgements,not reason out what we see?
what if one community feels incredibly threatened by another community, what do you do..go ballistic eh??
But is that a responsible action?? No.
I could go on and on forever.
as for the question, YES WE ALL FEEL THREATENED. why wouldn't we? no one wants to die as a victim of a terrorist attack.Its not our fault that the world is suffering or is it??, then why should we bear the brunt?
Hope iv made some sense.
July 3, 2007 12:08 PM | Report Offensive Comments
I think this question has long become outdated.
I'm sorry to say but why is it that everytime there are attacks ,questions of such nature pops up everywhere in the media?? Come to think of it...YES such incidents are appalling and remind us of the fact that wherever you are, whatever you do,there are chances that you could face such a threat.
The world has changed after 9/11..they say..maybe for the Americans..who refused to acknowledge that terrorism was wrecking havoc(in other parts of the world) until it came around in full circle.
But instead of constantly bickering on the issues of civilian safety and showing international solidarity and onness to fight against terrorism as most of our leaders do(real talented yappers), in innumerable summits, the matters of paramount importance are:
a) are our governments prepared enough to tackle such crisis ?? what is being done about it ?? Scotland Yard got lucky to foil the car bombs plot but couldn't save a fifth of the glasgow airport attack. How prepared the Intelligence and the police are? not just in london but this applies to other nations as well
We cannot turn our backs on globalisation and considering it has become easy to access information and travel the world, for say "globalised citizens"... and terrorists !!BUT one cannot just put a ban on them !! this again can be debated !!
b) Are we prepared for such disasters ? attacks can be of any nature..use of bio weaponry..9/11..bombs..even greater bombs that could perish the entire city..who knows..hypothetically what if, Iran secretly launches a nuclear attack on US, UK or any of their enemies..would CIA or other spy networks be tipped of such a warning..what if there's no warning??..the fact that the world seems to be getting polarised..before it was US and the soviet..now looks like US UK and their allies take on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, some other middle eastern nations, not to forget North Korea and what of one fine day China and Russia decide to back them ?? I know its a GREAT BIG imagination..but such imaginations don't take time to turn into reality.
times are capricious..unprecedented..you can't just be foiling terror plots all the time..its time to move ahead with stringer actions being taken..can't wait for the world to be divided into blocs again..cannot afford to..because if its the third world war..it's OVER !!
forget about safety..humanity will be swept away from this earth.
coming back to my point, there needs to be a major paradigmal change in the foreign policy of big daddies towards other nations such as Iraq..give it up folks..you can't nail the poor country...its already burning and angered and frustrated..Its a Vietnam !!stop playing superman! its a mistake and its done !! mind getting your troops back and doing something to better their lives.
Give them a future. Give their Children a Future.
otherwise be prepared to be backlashed in some form or the other.
we must also have noticed the change in perceptions of the people around the world..are we becoming increasingly intolerable as a society?, are we on the other hand really, embracing people of different ethnicities??..maybe their culture but what about "understanding" culture and traditions??
if Yes, them why do our perceptions wander when terror strikes...why do we paint the entire community in the same colour/ is it because we have no other option but to see what we see and pass judgements,not reason out what we see?
what if one community feels incredibly threatened by another community, what do you do..go ballistic eh??
But is that a responsible action?? No.
I could go on and on forever.
as for the question, YES WE ALL FEEL THREATENED. why wouldn't we? no one wants to die as a victim of a terrorist attack.Its not our fault that the world is suffering or is it??, then why should we bear the brunt?
Hope iv made some sense.
July 3, 2007 11:00 AM | Report Offensive Comments
I think this question has long become outdated.
I'm sorry to say but why is it that everytime there are attacks ,questions of such nature pops up everywhere in the media?? Come to think of it...YES such incidents are appalling and remind us of the fact that wherever you are, whatever you do,there are chances that you could face such a threat.
The world has changed after 9/11..they say..maybe for the Americans..who refused to acknowledge that terrorism was wrecking havoc(in other parts of the world) until it came around in full circle.
But instead of constantly bickering on the issues of civilian safety and showing international solidarity and onness to fight against terrorism as most of our leaders do(real talented yappers), in innumerable summits, the matters of paramount importance are:
a) are our governments prepared enough to tackle such crisis ?? what is being done about it ?? Scotland Yard got lucky to foil the car bombs plot but couldn't save a fifth of the glasgow airport attack. How prepared the Intelligence and the police are? not just in london but this applies to other nations as well
We cannot turn our backs on globalisation and considering it has become easy to access information and travel the world, for say "globalised citizens"... and terrorists !!BUT one cannot just put a ban on them !! this again can be debated !!
b) Are we prepared for such disasters ? attacks can be of any nature..use of bio weaponry..9/11..bombs..even greater bombs that could perish the entire city..who knows..hypothetically what if, Iran secretly launches a nuclear attack on US, UK or any of their enemies..would CIA or other spy networks be tipped of such a warning..what if there's no warning??..the fact that the world seems to be getting polarised..before it was US and the soviet..now looks like US UK and their allies take on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, some other middle eastern nations, not to forget North Korea and what of one fine day China and Russia decide to back them ?? I know its a GREAT BIG imagination..but such imaginations don't take time to turn into reality.
times are capricious..unprecedented..you can't just be foiling terror plots all the time..its time to move ahead with stringer actions being taken..can't wait for the world to be divided into blocs again..cannot afford to..because if its the third world war..it's OVER !!
forget about safety..humanity will be swept away from this earth.
coming back to my point, there needs to be a major paradigmal change in the foreign policy of big daddies towards other nations such as Iraq..give it up folks..you can't nail the poor country...its already burning and angered and frustrated..Its a Vietnam !!stop playing superman! its a mistake and its done !! mind getting your troops back and doing something to better their lives.
Give them a future. Give their Children a Future.
otherwise be prepared to be backlashed in some form or the other.
we must also have noticed the change in perceptions of the people around the world..are we becoming increasingly intolerable as a society?, are we on the other hand really, embracing people of different ethnicities??..maybe their culture but what about "understanding" culture and traditions??
if Yes, them why do our perceptions wander when terror strikes...why do we paint the entire community in the same colour/ is it because we have no other option but to see what we see and pass judgements,not reason out what we see?
what if one community feels incredibly threatened by another community, what do you do..go ballistic eh??
But is that a responsible action?? No.
I could go on and on forever.
as for the question, YES WE ALL FEEL THREATENED. why wouldn't we? no one wants to die as a victim of a terrorist attack.Its not our fault that the world is suffering or is it??, then why should we bear the brunt?
Hope iv made some sense.
July 3, 2007 10:49 AM | Report Offensive Comments
I think this question has long become outdated.
I'm sorry to say but why is it that everytime there are attacks ,questions of such nature pops up everywhere in the media?? Come to think of it...YES such incidents are appalling and remind us of the fact that wherever you are, whatever you do,there are chances that you could face such a threat.
The world has changed after 9/11..they say..maybe for the Americans..who refused to acknowledge that terrorism was wrecking havoc(in other parts of the world) until it came around in full circle.
But instead of constantly bickering on the issues of civilian safety and showing international solidarity and onness to fight against terrorism as most of our leaders do(real talented yappers), in innumerable summits, the matters of paramount importance are:
a) are our governments prepared enough to tackle such crisis ?? what is being done about it ?? Scotland Yard got lucky to foil the car bombs plot but couldn't save a fifth of the glasgow airport attack. How prepared the Intelligence and the police are? not just in london but this applies to other nations as well
We cannot turn our backs on globalisation and considering it has become easy to access information and travel the world, for say "globalised citizens"... and terrorists !!BUT one cannot just put a ban on them !! this again can be debated !!
b) Are we prepared for such disasters ? attacks can be of any nature..use of bio weaponry..9/11..bombs..even greater bombs that could perish the entire city..who knows..hypothetically what if, Iran secretly launches a nuclear attack on US, UK or any of their enemies..would CIA or other spy networks be tipped of such a warning..what if there's no warning??..the fact that the world seems to be getting polarised..before it was US and the soviet..now looks like US UK and their allies take on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, some other middle eastern nations, not to forget North Korea and what of one fine day China and Russia decide to back them ?? I know its a GREAT BIG imagination..but such imaginations don't take time to turn into reality.
times are capricious..unprecedented..you can't just be foiling terror plots all the time..its time to move ahead with stringer actions being taken..can't wait for the world to be divided into blocs again..cannot afford to..because if its the third world war..it's OVER !!
forget about safety..humanity will be swept away from this earth.
coming back to my point, there needs to be a major paradigmal change in the foreign policy of big daddies towards other nations such as Iraq..give it up folks..you can't nail the poor country...its already burning and angered and frustrated..Its a Vietnam !!stop playing superman! its a mistake and its done !! mind getting your troops back and doing something to better their lives.
Give them a future. Give their Children a Future.
otherwise be prepared to be backlashed in some form or the other.
we must also have noticed the change in perceptions of the people around the world..are we becoming increasingly intolerable as a society?, are we on the other hand really, embracing people of different ethnicities??..maybe their culture but what about "understanding" culture and traditions??
if Yes, them why do our perceptions wander when terror strikes...why do we paint the entire community in the same colour/ is it because we have no other option but to see what we see and pass judgements,not reason out what we see?
what if one community feels incredibly threatened by another community, what do you do..go ballistic eh??
But is that a responsible action?? No.
I could go on and on forever.
as for the question, YES WE ALL FEEL THREATENED. why wouldn't we? no one wants to die as a victim of a terrorist attack.Its not our fault that the world is suffering or is it??, then why should we bear the brunt?
Hope iv made some sense.
July 3, 2007 10:41 AM | Report Offensive Comments
"Nobody is safe!" This is the message of all terrorists. And I presume that this is really the case. Everyone can become a victim.
But what is even more frightening is the fact that even educated people are susceptible to propaganda and indoctrination. Eight alleged perpetrators in connection with failed car bombings in the UK have links with the National Health System. Seven are to believed doctors, one is a medical student.
July 3, 2007 10:27 AM | Report Offensive Comments
For the record:
"As long as we think abstractly, as long as we find in patriotism and the exuberance of war our fulfillment, we will never understand those who do battle against us, or how we are perceived by them, or finally those wo do battle for us and how we should respond to it all. We will never discover who we are. We will fail to confront the capacity we all have for violence. And we will court our own extermination. By accepting the facile cliché that the battle under way against terrorism is a battle against evil, by easily branding those who fight us as the barbarians, we, like them, refuse to acknowledge our own culpability. We ignore real injustices that have led many of those arrayed against us to their rage and despair."
...
"Our cultivated conventions and little lies of civility lull us into a refined and idealistic view of ourselves. But modern industrial warfare may well be leading us, with each technological advance, a step closer to our own annihilation. We too are strapping explosives around our waists. Do we also have a suicide pact?"
Source: Chris Hedges, "War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning", p. 13, 180.
July 3, 2007 9:08 AM | Report Offensive Comments
"latest car bombing in the UK"
Did I miss something ? When was there a car bombing in the UK ? When did a car blow up in a deadly explosion ? There was no "car bombing" in the UK lately, only a burning car near an airport.
Do you really imagine a doctor driving with a fellow friend a suicide car ? 2 people for a suicide attack ? And into one of the world's biggest airports, without checking FIRST how it looks like, and whether their car fits through those protection bumps ?
Same as for those bombs supposedly made by mixing simply 2 liquids and ignited with an iPod: did YOU EVER see a demo of such a device ?
What you're talking about are hypothetical threats, made up by the same minds that saw WMD in Iraq everywhere, and who want to terrorise you and make you feel unsafe. Not a single piece of proof. What, only terrorists put petrol in their car ? Or nails ? Or gaz-bottles ?
But what is sure is that these lunatics where not the same Al-Quaeda that flew 2 planes into 2 skyscrapers.
July 3, 2007 6:40 AM | Report Offensive Comments
ORL,
"I see no justification for such calls being posted..." The WaPo is located in the US. The US has this thing called the bill of rights that guarantees freedom of speech. The thing about freedom of speech is that you are allowed to post things that you or i might find offensive. The way to handle this is to not call for censorship but to post a counter argument.
July 2, 2007 10:27 PM | Report Offensive Comments
I live several miles from the Pentagon. I have not felt safe since 2001. This is everybodies problem. Should we over-react? Why start now. Our reaction to previous attacks has been laughable at best. We've spent our time trying, like an abused child, to figure out what we did wrong to deserve it. Or trying to convince ourselves that if we just did what they want, all would be forgiven and they would stop killing. Or we have been arguing amongst ourselves about profiling of people most likely to be terrorists, wiretapping suspected communications, how to process caught terrorists and enemy combatants, or trying to debate the merits of securing our border. We are arguing amongst ourselves and our enemies are laughing at us. Terrorists and terror need to be fought and condemned by everybody in the civilized world. We need to be united in our monumental task of defeating the concept that you can argue your point and advance your position by terrorizing societies and killing innocent people. These psychopaths need to be defeated.
July 2, 2007 10:13 PM | Report Offensive Comments
I am most surprised that the WP accept to post heinous "comments" that are nothing but calls for a nuclear attack on a country (Iran) or for the annihilation of a religion, religious group or nation (Islam). I see no justification for such calls being posted, as they only invite similar calls, equally unacceptable, for the destruction of other countries and for the annihilation of other religions, religious groups or nations.
Is this 1933, all over again, in our midst? I am not sure this is a very wise reenactment.
July 2, 2007 9:26 PM | Report Offensive Comments
The controllers of the USA&UK has privatized war making industry and outsource their reason to foreign lands.
Incurable cancer. UK bombings, 7/7 9/11 are just symptom of that disease.
July 2, 2007 8:44 PM | Report Offensive Comments
What happened in London and Glasgow could happen anywhere in any city of the developed and developing world. For the sake of simplicity, let’s call it a terrorist act. Then is my chance to be killed in such a terrorist act greater than the chance to be hit by a speeding car? Being killed by a terrorist act, of course, is outrageous; but it was outrageous because we want it to be so: a death is the end of life, no more, no less. So if I feel unsafe living in