Hold your horses
Is it me or is there a hell of a lot of jumping the gun going on over who was responsible for the London bombings?
Nobody has yet said that Al-Qaeda definitely did it but already we’re up to our necks in those on the hard right (mostly, I’m sorry to say from the US) making the most inflammatory and bigoted generalisations about Islam and those of the hard left using the bombings as a stick to beat Blair with over Iraq.
What happens if this turns out to be the work of people like the piece of shit that planted bombs in Brixton, Brick Lane and Soho a few years ago. He was a white, racist, homophobic dick. Or an Irish paramilitary splinter?
I’m don’t want to pass comment until we’re as sure as we can be as to who did this. And I’m not interested in Chicken Yoghurt being a forum for this kind of debate yet - there are plenty of other places for that if you want to indulge in clairvoyancy.
Posted on July 9th, 2005 at 8:17 am
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Ah, yes; you are referring to the lunatic known as David Copeland and his nailbomb campaign, culminating in the three deaths at the Admiral Duncan pub.
I would suggest, given the timings involved, that it is unlikely that it was just one person. Although, of course, the area in which the bombs went off might back up a racist attack.
It is possible, I suppose, that it was an IRA splinter group, although we don’t seem to have heard much from them in recent years. The IRA aren’t terribly interested in Nationalism anymore; Eire is pretty well-off and they’re unwilling to share the booty with the Northerners. As an Irish friend of mine put it recently, “the paramilitaries are only interested in gun-running and drug-dealing”. Plus, they would probably have claimed responsibility by now.
You’re right to say that we should hold our horses, but I think that the chances are pretty high that it was Radical Islamists who were responsible.
CY’s views on this are similar to my own. In saying that I came across this earlier today via Brenda Stardom:-
“UK Spy (Glen Jenvey) Identifies Groups and People Behind London Bombings…(more).“
I have no idea how kosher this item is so a degree of constructive skepticism may be useful.
The same thing had occured to me - but wouldn’t you expect whoever it was to claim responsibility for it? As yet, as far as I’m aware, the only people do have done so are AQ-related
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I was living in London when David Copeland was answering to his higher calling and I remember all kinds of theories circulating before the lone psycho was caught.
My point is that you don’t have to be a Gerry Conlon or a Richard Jewell to know that we’ve got this kind of thing wrong before.
I agree that all the signs point to an al-Qaeda-related attack but I just think we should wait until the results come in before rounding up the posse.
“but I think that the chances are pretty high that it was Radical Islamists who were responsible.”
Would that be the Radical Islamists of Foggy Bottom, Langley or Vauxhall, London ?
Al Qaeda took public credit right after the bombing in a public statement!
Hello. Madrid train bombing. London train bombing. Same MO. Only a cretin is still speculating on who did it.
It sure wasn’t the Samoan Liberation Front.
Anonymous, have the police confirmed it was Al Qaeda? Two groups have claimed responsibility - was it both groups? There are a number of groups who have form for claiming bombings when they had nothing to do with them. As for the Madrid MO - there are a number stark differences. This is all speculation by the media who have very few facts to go on but many, many newspapers to sell.
Also, Anonymous have the balls to use your real name before calling people cretins. Dickhead.
PostmansKnock said…
“but I think that the chances are pretty high that it was Radical Islamists who were responsible.”
Would that be the Radical Islamists of Foggy Bottom, Langley or Vauxhall, London ?
What point are you trying to make?
Go and read my link to Harry’s Place, then come back with an intelligent–and intelligible–comment.
London’s streets are, as we see from the Edinburgh exodus every year, still paved with gold; ergo London is the first place that anyone goes to. The fact that they were plotting to bomb the place should not surprise us.
There are so many people calling in sites, statements and opinions around this interweb, that I can’t believe that you don’t know these things. Read my link, understand it, and think about it. Or go read my blog.
P.S. Justin, could you posta link to the second group to claim responsibility, please? I haven’t seen it. Are they both Islamist, by the way?
DK: It’s now three groups apparently:
Three groups invoking al-Qaeda’s name have claimed responsibility for the attacks, though analysts are sceptical. The third claim appeared on a website yesterday, signed by the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, named after an aide of bin Laden who was killed in a US air strike in Afghanistan in November 2001.
More here:
1) The Secret Organisation of al-Qaida in Europe
2) Jihad in the Arabian Peninsula
3) Abu Hafs al-Masri brigades
Justin, thanks for those.
BTW, apologies if my comments were slightly belligerent last night: I was somewhat the worse for drink.
Also, thank you for linking to me: my first link-in gave a stupid amount of pleasure (especially as it was from a writer that I respect)!
BTW, apologies if my comments were slightly belligerent last night: I was somewhat the worse for drink.
Think nothing of it - I couldn’t tell.
I had to make my first personal rule of blogging “no commenting after booze” - it was a lesson learned the hard way.