Bombs strike terror in London

[lliam]

12.01PM, Thu Jul 7 2005
------------------------

London Underground and buses have been hit by explosions in what appears to be a co-ordinated terrorist attack.

A Government spokesman has talked of 20 people dead in the incidents.

Blasts have been reported on the Tube at Edgware Road and Aldgate stations, and a bus in Tavistock Square in central London has had its roof blasted off.

A City of London Police spokeswoman confirmed there have been two deaths at Aldgate. Police sources there also spoke of nine serious casualties. A passenger on the train which exploded at Edgware Road said he saw several bodies in the wreckage.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said there have been at least six explosions, but said the picture is still "very confused". He added there is evidence of explosives at least one of the explosion sites.

All bus services in central London have been suspended, said Transport for London.

[RC]

Yes Lliam, I'm following on TV.
Stay safe.

[Trumpetmaster]

Lliam,
Heard the news early this morning.
Glad you are safe. My brother-in-law's nephew
drives a bus in England. Not sure what town.
This is terrible and I hope they get whoever is
behind this horrific attack.
Be Safe!
TM

[mmichaelson]

Holy geez - I was at three of those stations just two weeks ago.

I am so saddened by this. The people of the UK, our 'cousins', our wonderful people. London is one of my favorite cities in the world, and it hurts my heart that this happened at all, especially to them.

My husband and I are keeping the UK and its people in our thoughts and prayers.

Glad you are safe, Lliam!

[lliam]

Thanks RC, TM, I don't know why these terrorists keep trying to impose their will on Democratic countries, we never have, nor ever will cede to terrorism. Democracy will always win Victoriously.

[Schmeelkie]

yikes - heard on the radio this morning. They said one hospital was reporting 90 injured! Also heard that Washington, DC is on high alert - all mass transit has beefed up security.

What I don't understand is what the terrorists hope to accomplish. Doing these things just piss us off, not make us sympathetic to their cause. I know some people after 9/11 said that it was our (the US's) fault for bad foreign policy in the mideast. My response to that is - you don't respond to a government's actions by killing civilians - even a democratic government where we pick our government. Fight our army, or, what a novel idea!, talk to us about it! Don't want to get into a huge political discussion, but I think everyone can agree that killing civilians to make a point is just wrong.

[Shapley]

Lliam,

Our prayers are with the people of London today!

V/R
Shapley

[OperaTenor]

I'm so sorry to hear about this attack, Lliam. As Shap said, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, and that justice will prevail over these vile perpetrators.

[Angie Parkes]

Lliam, I thought about you this morning, of course, and was glad to hear that you weren't in London for some reason today. I was also very glad that my dad and sister flew out of Manchester yesterday, as I would imagine that all the airports are experiencing considerable delays.

If terrorists thought they could intimidate Britons in general, and Londoners in particular, by these actions (Blair was absolutely correct when he called them 'barbaric') they've seriously miscalculated. This is the same people that went through WWII with their morale and belief in the ideals of western civilization unscathed (so many of which had their flowering in Britain), though their citizens were dying and their cities lay in ruins.

I second Shap and OT's comments.

[DavidS]

Just spoke to my brother-in-law, who told me he missed the bomb near King's Cross by about 1/2 an hour. Nasty!
This is no comfort to those killed and maimed and their families, but please! please!, all people in the civilised world, let us all understand that this terror is a threat to the whole of humanity and concert our efforts to put a halt to it, as was done with many other fatal diseases!

[kbarcus@bart.gov]

Healing and peace to those wounded and their families. Grace to the bereft. The savageries of warfare against Israeli civilians that we have thought so distant have made their ways to our commercial centers, our public transportation systems, our front doors. Aside from their embracing of Jesus as Lord and Saviour, only death will deter the perpetrators of this viciousness.

[DavidS]

I hope the identity of those responsible for these outrages will soon be unequivocally established, and they will be dealt with as they deserve.
One problem is that death itself does not deter the extreme lunatic elements who are brainwashed into carrying out suicide attacks.
Apart from the need to physically crush such nut cases and their organisations, a significant battle is for the MINDS of people all over the world...

[shostakovich]

These terrorists are miserable people who are pissed off that others are not miserable. They want to spread misery, and it's easy enough to do with innocent civilians as their targets. Outside of that simple-minded goal there seems to be no purpose. They feel they are doing SOMETHING to make themselves relatively better by making others relatively worse.

It's just another situation of "haves vs. have-nots", only the have-nots have weapons. Just my take without benefit of any psychological training.
Shos (well, I did pass Psych 101)

[Shapley]

Shos,

I think the 9/11 attacks pretty much quashed the have/have-not theory. All of the terrorists involved in those attacks were pretty well healed, as, of course, was their financier.

I suppose it could be argued that they fought on behalf of the have-nots, but I think that is doubtful. Rather, I think it is rabid fanaticism, pure and simple, whether it is religious or political. The interesting part is the suicide bombers themselves, who have no opportunity to see whether or not their terrorism achieves the desired results, unless they believe in immediate afterlife or reincarnation. I cannot understand the motivation behind such actions. Most religions forbid killing innocents, and committing suicide, so the religious aspect seems lost on me. Similarly, if the goal is worldly, then removing oneself from the world seems contraproductive to the purpose of effecting change.

Martyrdom is recognized in many religions as a high ideal, but that applies to martyrdom at the hands of others, not by your own. To "lay down one's life for others" is similarly a high calling, but is generally applies to exchanging ones death for the death of another, not killing oneself in the process of killing innocents who pose no immediate threat to your own or anyone elses life.

I'm at a loss to explain it.

V/R
Shapley

[OperaTenor]

Originally posted by Shapley:
All of the terrorists involved in those attacks were pretty well healed, as, of course, was their financier.

Really? I didn't know they were sick.........




(Couldn't help it.)

[DavidS]

Oh, they're sick all right - deathly contagious

[dai bread]

My sympathy goes to the victims of this nasty business.

We were getting live coverage from CNN & the BBC within an hour of the first explosion. Some British spin doctor tried to pass it off as a "power surge" in the Tube system, but nobody believed that for a second.

I am sure this crop of terrorists, like the IRA before them, has nothing to do with religion, or even politics, and everything to do with personal power and self-aggrandisement.

Luckily, thanks to the IRA, the British have plenty of experience in dealing with terrorism. I wonder if the IRA realised what wonderful training they were providing?

[lliam]

Right on DB.

This morning the second city, Birmingham where on alert, a bus was evacuated because someone spotted a bag that had been left on the bus, fortunately it was a false alarm. The problem now is, the backlash against innocent Muslims.

[lliam]

Done in the name of Allah
=============================

An Islamic terror group has yesterday afternoon claimed responsibility for the outrages that have brought chaos to central London. Devices were used on three different underground trains and one on a London transport bus and have led to at least 33 people being killed and hundreds injured.

Blood trail
-------------

The adherents of Islam claim that it is a religion of peace. The small extremist minority that can out such murderous attacks upon our people show quite the opposite. This alien creed breeds disaffection, hatred and violence. Almost every global conflict taking place today is where this "peaceful" religion is trying to assume or maintain influence and power. From Nigeria through to Chad and Sudan and northwards through the Middle East and into the Caucasus, lie battle zones where Islamics are fighting non-believers.

Yesterday as a consequence of the horrific murders of commuters and holidaymakers in our national capital to that blood stained green crescent of death can be added London's name.

Murder gang's message
----------------------

The text of the proclamation from the Secret Organisation Group of al-Qaeda of Jihad Organisation in Europe reads as follows:

In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate, may peace be upon the cheerful one and undaunted fighter, Prophet Muhammad, God's peace be upon him.

Nation of Islam and Arab nation: Rejoice for it is time to take revenge against the British Zionist Crusader government in retaliation for the massacres Britain is committing in Iraq and Afghanistan. The heroic mujahideen have carried out a blessed raid in London. Britain is now burning with fear, terror and panic in its northern, southern, eastern, and western quarters.

We have repeatedly warned the British Government and people. We have fulfilled our promise and carried out our blessed military raid in Britain after our mujahideen exerted strenuous efforts over a long period of time to ensure the success of the raid.

We continue to warn the governments of Denmark and Italy and all the Crusader governments that they will be punished in the same way if they do not withdraw their troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. He who warns is excused.

God says: "You who believe: If ye will aid (the cause of) Allah, He will aid you, and plant your feet firmly."

<small>[ 07-08-2005, 07:35 AM: Message edited by: lliam ]</small>

[barfle]

I have to admit that I do not understand the mindset of one who could worship a god that rewards cruelty and mass murder. I also do not understand the mindset of a leader of a group that would not immediately and loudly denounce the actions of a faction that committed mass murder (or even a single victimizing act) in the name of my cause.

I just don't get it.