Why London is a target?

It goes right back to the 1970's; due to present and past British governments' support for American wars and Margaret Thatcher's agreement to allow them controlled cruise missiles to deployed on American bases in Britain. She built a relationship based upon uncritical support for then president Reagan which successive British leaders have continued, to the detriment of the safety of Londoners and millions of other people around the world. Prime Minister John Major allowed Britain to be used as an aircraft carrier for US bombers raiding Libya. He was then instrumental in building an alliance for the first Gulf war, and Prime Minister Tony Blair continued the tradition by serving up Britain as America's closest ally in the Afghanistan, the second Gulf war and the continued occupation of Iraq.

The mass media will now have a field day. Prime Minister Blair and President Bush will use this atrocity to try to justify their policy in Iraq and at home. But when people begin to reflect calmly on these events they will draw very different conclusions. The war on terror has not been won. The invasion of Iraq has destabilized the whole Middle East and made many new recruits for terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda. And the world is a far more dangerous place than it was before the invasion of Iraq. And it is always the ordinary people who pay the price.

No one can condone acts of violence aimed at working people going about our daily lives. The innocent victims have not been a party to, nor are they responsible for, the decisions of their government. The loss of innocent lives, whether in this country or Iraq, is precisely the result of a world that has become a less safe and peaceful place in recent years.

It was argued by many that the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq would increase the threat of terrorist attack in Britain. This was well known to ordinary people, and to the security services but tragically, Londoners have now paid the price of the government ignoring such warnings.

The terrorists responsible for these attacks are clearly not only a bunch of murdering bastards; they are a bunch of murdering bastards who don't know their history. London made it through the blitz and through years of IRA bombings. Londoners react to explosions not with fear and terror but with resolution and bravery.

The eyes of the world are on London today. The world will see a display of stiff upper lips and unity. If there's one thing that Londoners can do well, it's this: they cope.

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