Winning the war on terror...
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posted by mochi at 7:33 PM
Thursday, July 07, 2005
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7 Comments:
Does it mean anything that there has not been an attack on U.S. soil since 9/11?
Jack, no, it doesn't. This attack was obviously implemented to take advantage of the timing of the G8 summit. Terrorists could do the same sort of thing anytime they wanted to in the US. They're letting people know that - to terrorize the population.
Why have they waited so long, then, Shea? This thing has been happening in Iraq and in Palestine almost daily...
July 8, 2005 -- IT was inevitable. Terrorists struck again. In one of the West's great capitals. Killing innocent civilians. Winning the day but losing the greater struggle.
Yesterday, during the morning rush, Islamist terrorists triggered bombs on three of London's Underground trains and a signature double-decker bus. They killed 37 people and severely wounded approximately 100, injuring as many as 1,000. They brought the city to a halt, interrupted the start of the G-8 summit and dominated the headlines once again.
And they damaged their own cause far more than the magnificent city they bombed.
At present, the footage of bloodied victims obscures valuable lessons. About how little the terrorists have learned and how limited their resources have become. About how much progress Western governments have made in coping with attacks. And about our enemies' hunger for publicity.
Once again, the terrorists demonstrated tactical skill, the ability to coordinate attacks against a carefully chosen series of targets. Reasoning correctly that Britain's security apparatus would focus on the G-8 summit in Scotland, they saw a window of opportunity.
They also grasped that London's restrictions on private vehicles in the city center made the public transportation system an especially lucrative target. And while the attacks were planned to interrupt the G-8 meeting, Wednesday's announcement that London would host the 2012 Olympics may have moved up the date of the strikes. The terrorists upstaged two big events at once.
So far so good for al Qaeda's European tentacles. Now consider how counterproductive their attack was:
* Instead of intimidating the the heads of state at Gleneagles — from South Africa's Thabo Mbeki to Mexico's Vicente Fox — the terrorists reminded them all of the need for unity. If you catch a rerun of Tony Blair reading their joint statement, study the worried face of Jacques Chirac. He knows it could have been Paris.
* The terrorists expect a repeat of Madrid, with British support for free Iraq collapsing. But Londoners aren't madrileños. During the Blitz, they withstood massive Nazi terror attacks night after night. They've endured decades of IRA bombings. The English intelligentsia will find a way to blame America, but the British people will not yield to terror.
* They've spoiled the party for all those sympathizers in the West who had turned their attention away from Abu Ghraib for five minutes to demand more aid for Africa. As President Bush pointed out, the terrorists disrupted a summit focused on poverty. Africans watching events unfold will realize that their continent stands to lose far more than London did. Even a rock star or two might figure this one out.
* Despite the drama of the attacks, it's revealing that the terrorists couldn't do more. 7/7 wasn't 9/11. It wasn't even Madrid. Not every attack can be prevented, but Britain's tough anti-terror efforts clearly limited what the terrorists could achieve.
The terrorists did all they could to maximize damage, detonating their bombs in confined spaces where blast effects are enhanced. Yet the terror cells in Spain assembled much greater quantities of explosives than the terrorists in Britain were able to do. And they couldn't construct dirty bombs employing radioactive material or biological weapons. The terrorists weren't nearly as potent as they would have liked to be.
The world also witnessed a superb British performance. The planning and drills worked. The initial press conference held by London's emergency-response authorities was orderly, sober — and inspiring. It was a classic illustration of the British lion's coolness under fire.
The battlefield always looks messy but this time the headquarters swiftly gained control. London's response to the attack appears to have been a model of how to do it right. Buses were running last night, and the Underground planned to resume operation today.
* Even before the London bombings, terrorist leaders had begun to reveal a great potential weakness: They've become addicted to celebrity. From Osama bin Laden to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, they've manipulated the global media with finesse and even brilliance in the past, but now they appear to be trapped in celebrity culture.
They can't stand to lose the spotlight for 15 minutes. With the headlines shifting to Africa's needs and global warming, the London attacks were as much a tantrum as Tom Cruise jumping around on Oprah's sofa.
The terrorists understand that the global media are their sole remaining hope to turn the tide. 9/11 rebounded terribly on them, bringing an angry America into their refuges — and they can't dislodge us. The beheading videos backfired, too, once the novelty wore off and Muslims grew embarrassed. 7/7 will be another strategic reverse, confounding their hopes to divide the civilized world and reviving our unity instead.
The terrorists need to stay in the news to stay in the game, to keep the recruits and money flowing. Above all, the London bombings were a publicity stunt. Voices on the left will soon tell us that the War on Terror has failed, citing yesterday's attacks, but the terrorists know just how well our efforts are working.
London will return to business as usual. But Iraq and Afghanistan won't. We're not going to back down. Terrorists will draw blood for years to come, but they will never rule another state.
It's going to take time, but in the end their fellow Muslims will destroy the terrorists — if the casualty count in London were broken down by religion, dozens of Muslims would be on the roll of victims.
Islamist terror isn't a sign of a great religious revival. It's a cult in love with death, not with any god. In the end, it's terror for terror's sake. Since 9/11, more Muslims have been its victims than Christians or Jews.
Americans — especially New Yorkers — feel a solidarity beyond words with our British cousins. But the best thing we can do isn't to offer pity but to renew our own determination to combat terror for "as long as it takes."
Don't mourn. Fight back.
Ralph Peters agrees with Samuel Johnson: "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life."
"Above all, the London bombings were a publicity stunt."
I am rendered speechless by this ridiculous load of horseshit statement.
Jack, it's not so much that they were waiting, it's that they appear to use their "resources" in ways which give their "statements" the most impact. So, they took the opportunity to make a statement during the summit.
Its funny how little impact this attack really had though, isn't it?
"There is nothing to fear but fear itself"
-Jack
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