London outrage
Perhaps the mindset of the terrorists who set off explosives in London yesterday is best revealed by their timing. The Group of Eight summit began on the same day. The two main items on the agenda are protection of the global environment and help for Africa. The attack on London, the world’s most cosmopolitan city, was partly intended to overshadow these G8 talks. This is because the terrorists, who may be from an al-Qaeda cell, are persons who are concerned only with their narrow self-interests and who, if they could, would destroy the world to achieve their goals. No doubt the attack was also retaliation for British prime minister Tony Blair’s role in the American occupation of Iraq. Yet, even if Mr Blair had stood aside on that matter, London would probably still have been targetted. The terrorists’ hatred is aimed at anything which embodies the advancement, the freedom, and the tolerance which they so singularly lack. And, whatever views one might hold about Mr Blair’s politics, his reaction to the attacks revealed him to be a worthy leader. He was clearly shaken, not in the political sense, but as a man who loves his country and his reaction, while firm, betrayed no rancour. His was the shock of a civilised sensibility confronted by mindless barbarism. Would that our own post-1990 Prime Ministers had acquitted themselves half so well. Indeed, the attacks on London must serve to focus our attention on the terrorists still walking free in our midst. Attorney General John Jeremie only weeks ago stated that this country was definitely at risk for terrorist activity. And a recent call for an investigation into the 1990 coup attempt has received significant support. Yet other voices continue to exculpate Abu Bakr, pushing the paranoid conspiracy theory that the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen was merely the agents of bigger fish. And, while it may be true that politicians and businessmen have flirted with the Jamaat, that only underscores the need to be more alert to terrorist threats here. But meeting force with force is not the ultimate answer. This is the error US president George Bush made and continues to make. If the Jamaat here has been able to attract young men willing to their ranks, it is because specific social conditions give these youths no other avenue to turn to. In the global order, the same rule holds. Young men willing to kill others and themselves for their "cause" are persons who have no other avenues to make their way in the world. In the long run, it is only by changing those conditions that terrorism can be eliminated. This is no easy task, not a short-term one. Moreover, it cannot be accomplished by the Western powers. They may help but, in the final analysis, stamping out Islamic terrorism is a task for Muslims. The terrorists’ tactics have made moderate Muslims, who before 9/11 had been silent or even shared the more extreme views of fundamentalists, speak out in defence of Islam. Only when those moderate voices become an overwhelming chorus in Middle East affairs will the terrorists be unable to continue their fruitless campaign.
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"London outrage"