"He who warns is excused."
The BBC reports that it "has located an Islamist website that has published a 200-word statement issued by an organisation saying it carried out the London bombings." Obviously, nobody currently knows the validity of the claim. The BBC notes that "The website has previously carried statements purporting to be from al-Qaeda."
The statement by the otherwise unknown Secret Organization Group of al-Qaeda says, "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."
The statement also claims that "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."
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Sadness for those who gleefully proclaim that their vision for current US iraq policy is “correct” and has been “proven” by this claim.
drf–??? What does your comment pertain too??? Innocents are dead and injured. Who is responsible?? Themselves??
huh?
Mean Gene?? Man, you lost me – reading some other posts (both here and elsewhere), there are posters who smugly proclaim that this “proves” our iraqi policy is “correct”.
I have no idea what else you’re trying to say.
If there is one lesson to be gained from the 20th century, it would be that bombing London isn’t going to achieve a damn thing. It’s just going to make them mad.
Gene: The Republican Party is responsible, because they trained these assholes to do THE EXACT SAME THING to the soviets in Afghanistan.
Heh joe, I was pretty much thinking the same thing…
The apparent lack of intended irony in the opening paragraph is stunning.
drf–a terrorist bombing has nothing to do with involvement in Irag. If not Irag it would have been something else that caused these guys to do this thing. Nuts always find “justification”
Tros – blow it out your ear. Nobody is saying anything like that at all. But the “see – this attack is Al Kaida run. It’s connected to Iraq. Ergo, there was a connection. The war was justified” is a plain old poopie argument.
Minimizing this tragedy to further that agenda makes me sick. And deflecting the issue like that is silly. You’ve been targeted. The Python Knight With the Rubber Chicken will bonk you on the head for that!
Joe-I agree. England is “burning with fear and panic?” I think not; they never have before.
I apologize. Go ahead and piss and bitch about how many people died, then have your two minutes hate, and see who gives a fuck. We killed more innocents in Afghanistan, but they were just sand people, right?
Gene – no kidding. And my post was throwing a shovelfull of shit towards those who have tried to make it that way. Yes, had it not been this, it would have been that. But I was not approaching it from that angle. And besides obviously missing what I had meant my first post (apologies for sounding GG-esque), I find that deflecting the argument away from those who ARE using this to “prove iraq” is akin to tacitly supporting that POV.
We’re all trying to figure out how to deal with this type of threat. Self righteous proclamations that this proves a suggested approach is obviously wrong or obviously right are ignorant on top of obnoxious.
No one knows how to deal with this. It is not clear to me at all what the right approach might be, and it is not clear to anyone else who leaves their preferred echo chamber either. Application of force and against whom is a legitimate question, but so is the eyebrow raising notion that if we take force off of the table we will be safer.
So it’s about numbers, tros?
What are you talking about Tros?
Do you feel that this somehow post hoc justifies Iraq? Do you share that view?
signed,
Lost in Chicago
Newsmedia should hang their heads in shame for treating terrorism as a means to politically destroy George Bush.
Terrorist bombers don’t care whether you are democrat or Repbulican, Left or Right all they want to do is destroy the United States and it’s efforts to fight terrorism.
We are at war with terrorists no matter who they are and anyone who is naive enough to believe otherwise better wake up.
How nice, tros. The world must be very simple for you to navigate, with the single variable problems you see and all.
tros,
Obviously “The Republican Party is responsible”, not the murderers. Way to be a libertarain and completely decry individual responsibility. Maybe it’s the bombs’ fault too? Let’s sue.
I’m not absolving past and present adminstrations of blame here, but I think rational and constructive criticisms would be better than pointing fingers.
I agree with drf, you’re minimizing the tragedy to further the agenda.
Would that be the newsmedia that have spend the last four and a half years using terrorism as a means to politically adulate George Bush?
You know what, don’t bother. If the pattern holds, your touching with for unity won’t even last until the bodies are buried, and you’ll be back to calling Democrats traitors and cowards again.
Republican foreign policy creates terrorism like prohibition creates black markets. My previous comments did not make sense. I’m sorry for not being clear enough.
Wasn’t it something like 80% of the British people that opposed the war?
Why am I trying to find the logic in this situation?
Terrorist bombers don’t care whether you are democrat or Repbulican, Left or Right all they want to do is destroy the United States and it’s efforts to fight terrorism.
Right, especially since this happened in England. Last I heard the DNC and RNC don’t maintain offices there. Could it be that terrorists are focused on more than just the US?
Also, the arugment that the presence of evil people in the world requires uncritical support of everything W. does is just plain stupid. I know you didn’t say that directly, but you seem to be headed in that direction. Take a breath, calm down, and think.
Why am I trying to find the logic in this situation?
Britain is easier, and they don’t care.
I mean they terrorists don’t care that the Brits didn’t want the war. Sorry.
How about this: this is an upsetting event. I was shaken to hear Mike Greenberg give the news at 5:05 am (CST) this morning. It is upsetting.
May the planners rot in hell. May those who executed the attack rot in hell. May we somehow get some sort of Liberal Peace in the world.
There is my polyanna for the day. But yes. I am frightened by this. Yes, I want those responsible to get theirs. Do I know how to do that? no.
Republican foreign policy creates terrorism like prohibition creates black markets.
That would explain the decades of terrorism in Republican-ruled Israel, then.
That would also explain the terrorism, not to mention the planning and preparation for terrorism, that occurred during Clinton’s administration.
Back to DU, tros.
If the goal is to get the public to pressure the government to pull out of Iraq, an attack in a country that is strongly opposed to the war would be more likely to achieve that result than an attack on a country whose populace strongle supports the war.
Not that there are any of those anymore.
I apologize. I should have said American foreign policy. I hate America. Boo.
“May the planners rot in hell.”
Hey! What’d I do?
Brits are a bit more used to the whole bomb thing than those in the sheltered US. The brits had to deal with the IRA, they’ve been through this before – I doubt they will have the same reactions that Americans do to it.
Joe – I think you know.
RC – excellent point. Clinton was accused of wagging the dog when he responded. Now Bush is accused of being “hitler”.
This whole mess is confusing!
cheers,
drf
I am guessing that the Al Queda nitwits were not paying attention the fact this is a week of rememberance about the sacrifice of the British people during WWII. Perfect timing to stiffen British resolve. Those fools have just kicked a resting Bulldog…and its woken up.
BTW: I live in London, knows lots of people in the City and am live-blogging this.
Tros why don’t you come spew your crap in the London street right now in the East End?
Respect MP George Galloway says: ?We argued, as did the security services in this country, that the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq would increase the threat of terrorist attack in Britain. Tragically Londoners have now paid the price of the Government ignoring such warnings.?
Hrm, he really does not know when to keep his tanned gob shut does he?
ah yes, the ole sheltered US comment. whatever makes you feel better I guess. no big deal to the brits, they’ve been dealing with the mighty IRA for years, so can we stop all coverage of this non-event to Brits now?
I really hope you guys are correct in that Britain will toughen up after the mass murder, unlike Spain.
Spain stopped pursuing terrorists? Oh, wait, no they didn’t. They stopped engaging in a wholly-unrelated war.
If the British really toughen up from this, they’ll redouble their efforts to defeat Al Qaeda, even if it means putting less effort into sucking up to their “ally,” the United States, and carrying our water in the Great Crusade.
“If there is one lesson to be gained from the 20th century, it would be that bombing London isn’t going to achieve a damn thing. It’s just going to make them mad.”
Joe, sometimes I think you’re full of it, but most times I think you’re ok. Today, you’re brilliant. Thanks.
There is no way to stop maniacs with pipe bombs. Sorry. And people claiming that their heightened sensibilities can discern a set of activities that creates a balance of geopolitical forces where this kind of thing doesn’t happen just look like asses.
Nice scare quotes joe.
What they probably need to do is clean out the Islamic extremists who are apparently flourishing in England. I’m sure they’re up to the task; only a fool underestimates the British.
joe:
The terrorists attacked Spain with a specific political goal, and they succeeded. The Spaniards elected a pacifist and pulled out of Iraq with their tails between their legs.
Yes, you and I can argue to death about the merits and flaws of the Iraq war (and I would probably agree with you on some points), but the fact is, Spain ended up appearing weak. There can never be any weakness or equivocation in the face of terrorism.
And do you have any evidence that Spain is aggressively and proactively pursuing terrorism? My guess is that they?re perfectly happy letting us be the tough guys and pissing on us at the same time.
Actually, I’m intriqued by the quote which references the Nation of Islam. I’m not sure if they mean the black American fascist organization per se, or if that’s the English language translation of some Arab phrase which means “peoples of this religion”.
It’ll be interesting to see what develops. Hopefully, black supremacist and anti-semitic terrorist supporting Louis Farrakhan will finally get what he deserves, which is jail-time.
The only reason I can think that this hate group has escaped scrutiny is because of the moral support it received from Israel-hating white, religious right-wingers such as Robert Novak and others.
Three cheers for London Transport. St. Pancras is reopened, so is Victoria, and the rest will follow shortly.
MNG, would those be the “pacifists” who maintained the Spanish presence in Afghanistan, and who continue to work closely with the US on actual anti-terror missions?
You know, the ones who were winning the election before the bombing? They showed no equivocation in the face of terrorism. They concentrated their efforts, removing forces from a pointless mission that had nothing to do with terrorism, and re-assigning them to missions that involved actually fighting terrorists.
And your typically bigotted smear against Europeans isn’t worthy of a retort.
Iconoclast,
If Al Qaeda slaughters Shiites for being infidels, there’s no way they’re going to get down with the American NOI.
ba ico-to-the-clasto: you must be kidding. the NoI is hilarious. they never, ever give me pamphlets. i used to ride the a train with the guy who smoked crack for 20 years before he found jesus and started selling peanuts – literally – to finance his anti-drug program, and the NoI guys would never give me a copy of the final call. i’d keep asking and they’d look at me like i was some kind of asshole.
i mean, i understand jailing the unpopular, the verbally vicious, and the incoherent…don’t get me wrong. we are, after all, ‘mericans. (the a was moved to an undisclosed location for safekeeping)
Get your shit together Mr. Nice Guy.
“And do you have any evidence that Spain is aggressively and proactively pursuing terrorism?”
June 16, 2005 Thursday
Spain grabs 11 linked to Iraq attacks;
Militants allegedly in network recruiting suicide bombers
By Daniel Woolls, Associated Press.
DATELINE: MADRID
Spanish police arrested 11 men Wednesday on charges of belonging to a Syrian-based network that recruited suicide bombers to attack U.S. troops in Iraq, officials said Wednesday in revealing a new facet of Spain’s role as an Al Qaeda staging ground., etc.
dhex
I looked at other news sites, and apparently, the phrase was a translation of something to the effect of “peoples of this religion”, as other news feeds say “Islamic nation” not “Nation of Islam”. So, I was wrong in my translation analysis.
At times, the NOI may seem like a nutty harmless cult of the “Mind Head” variety (think Eddie Murphy in “Bowfinger”), but considering that one of their members was responsible for mass murder in the D.C area a few years ago, in addition to the fact that one of their members just shot and killed a youth at the annual Chicago “Taste” event, I think they are a dangerous group that needs to be monitored by the FBI, just like any other domestic terrorist organiztion.
The fact that Farrakhan has openly cavorted with known Arab terrorists, with the blessings off politicians such as Clinton and Bush (who advocated giving money to this domestic terrorist organization on Fox News in 2000), makes him always a suspect in situations like this.
we are, after all, ‘mericans. (the a was moved to an undisclosed location for safekeeping)
cute.
ah yes, the ole sheltered US comment. whatever makes you feel better I guess. no big deal to the brits, they’ve been dealing with the mighty IRA for years, so can we stop all coverage of this non-event to Brits now?
Comment by: hm at July 7, 2005 11:06 AM
My mom was living in england when the IRA was running rampant there. She had migrated there from ireland because her dad had run afoul of the IRA. My comments were based on having spoken with her about it this morning. Her words as well as I can recall – “I don’t think we’ll end up going berzerk like the americans did.”
So yeah, you can stop the coverage if it helps you to keep misrepresenting my position.
As usual at reason it’s everybody’s fault but the actual perpetrators of the crime.
My shit is keeping together okay. But thanks anyhow.
Any two-faced bastage can make symbolic arrests, like our “friends” the Saudis. But are they really doing anything besides appearing to “do something”? And arrests are peachy, but what about convictions/punishments?
I’m talking about balls-out aggression here. Are the Spaniards crushing their enemies, have them driven before them, and hearing the lamentations of the women? I think not.
The Brits need to find out who is responsible, take them to the Tower of London, and give them a little dose of old-school.
and joe:
Since I’m a total whitebread Euro-American, I think I have perfect cover to be, as you desribe, a bigot. Perhaps I’m self-hating.
Freak’n cracker-ass euro-honky cork soakers..
…because bigotry only expresses itself racially, and certainly not through nationalism. That’s why the French and American media always depict each others’ populations and governments in such a complimentary murder.
My God, I’m afflicted with idiots today.
joe:
..okay.. I was making some half-assed jokes here. Are you being serious? And are you calling me an “idiot”?
“At times, the NOI may seem like a nutty harmless cult of the “Mind Head” variety (think Eddie Murphy in “Bowfinger”), but considering that one of their members was responsible for mass murder in the D.C area a few years ago, in addition to the fact that one of their members just shot and killed a youth at the annual Chicago “Taste” event, I think they are a dangerous group that needs to be monitored by the FBI, just like any other domestic terrorist organiztion.”
by and large, considering their rhetorical content, they are surprisingly harmless. unless you care to conflate the behavior of members with the status of a group as a whole, in which case every protestant and catholic denomination in the united states is a terrorist group.
What the fuck is wrong with you people?
Tim, Nick, Julian – can you start a debate in a new post about the greatest rock band ever so that it can devolve into a pissing match between republicans and democrats and the war on iraq?
As usual at reason it’s everybody’s fault but the actual perpetrators of the crime.
No one said that, and you know it, rst.
Let’s just say, I’m calling the following arguments idiotic:
“Since Spain didn’t mount a military operation against somebody after 3/11, and instead concentrated on capturing terrorists and defeating their organizations, they’re capitulating to terror.”
“Since the party that was going to win the election before the attacks implemented the policy it ran on before the attacks, their implementation of that policy upon their election was a capitulation to the terrorists who carried them out.”
“I can’t be bigotted towards Europeans, because I’m white.”
You’re not exactly going to get your own PBS show for putting forth those arguments.
Number 6,
England has burned in fear and panic a number of times; take the invasion by Wales in the 14th century for example. You should probably stop confusing the speeches of Churchill with all of English history.
metalgird,
Well, IRA attacks were never generally this large or deadly. Indeed, that is what generally differentiates today’s terrorism from that practiced before the 1990s.
joe,
Certain individuals confuse lack of support for the war in Iraq with support over quelling terrorism. One is of course is not a proxy for the other.
Mr. Nice Guy,
The U.S. looks incredibly weak right now in light of the insurgency’s continued life. Indeed, the longer the “Iraqi ulcer” drags out, the weaker we look. The ironic part of course is that the war was supposed to make us look strong and resolute.
And do you have any evidence that Spain is aggressively and proactively pursuing terrorism?
If you paid attention to the news you’d note that Spaniards arrest suspected terrorists all the time.
Mr. Nice Guy,
Indeed, if you paid attention to the news, read some of the security news publications, etc. you’d note that the CIA, etc. take advantage of the anti-terrorism laws in France and Spain to hold individuals indefinately. Take what happened to Christian Ganczarski as a good example.
Hakluyt-The fourteenth century was a long time ago. Contemporary history indicates that the English handle attacks just fine, thank you. And that is based on the actions of citizens in the Battle of Britain and during the IRA bombing campaign, not on Churchill’s speeches. Thank you for the condescention, though.
Eh, I don’t expect the Brits to quake in fear over this. Even the sheltered US hardly quaked in fear after 9/11. I was back at work in NYC in a day. As noted by other posters, many of the Brits walked to work today.
In order for terrorism to be effective it needs to cause actual terror. A hardening of national pride and righteous hatred is ultimately counter-productive for the terrorists. Sadly, one of the effects of the war on terror is that it makes the terrorists feel more important than they really are.
Britain is now burning with fear, terror and panic Watching the news reports, I could see how they might get that impression, but it’s not really accurate.
joe:
I’m very much aware that bigotry extends beyond simple skin color. I was making a joke.
Calling someone an idiot and even stating that someone’s viewpoints are idiotic during a debate is highly questionable, to say the least. You’ve acted like this before, so I suppose this isn’t much of a surprise.
I’m done with you. I will never comment on anything you say under any name, and I won’t participate in any discussions in which you are a primary. I would appreciate it if you did the same.
Number 6,
Well, you never made such a qualified claim, did you? You made (to my eyes at least) a blanket statement about the entire history of England.
In WWI German Zepplins sent Londoners into a panic, though they were really ineffective weapons of war. They feared this new, and frightening technology and had little knowledge as to its efficacy.
I don’t see much point in commenting on London beyond to say that it’s horrible and I feel sorry for the victims and their loved ones, and that I hope the bastards responsible for this get what’s coming to them.
Beyond that, well, everybody gets to use this to argue in favor of their pre-determined stances on Iraq. I mean, it’s obvious that this shows we must take the fight to the enemy, or that this shows that Iraq was a distraction. Whatever you thought before today, today’s events just reinforce that, right?
I will, however, observe that in the midst of this carnage I detect signs that a former poster was resurrected.
Or maybe I’m wrong.
“I will, however, observe that in the midst of this carnage I detect signs that a former poster was resurrected.
Or maybe I’m wrong.”
prob’ly are correct. the handle (“nick”) in question fits the pattern…
drf-
To be fair, on one other occasion I detected signs that He-Who-Cannot-Be-Named had returned, but nothing much came of it. Maybe I was right and the person in question decided to lie low in response to being detected, but more likely I was wrong.
I’m getting a much stronger vibe this time (Googling the handle in question suggests that it fits the proclivities of the person in question) but not enough to say anything definitive.
Can we discuss Civil War battles? Then I could make a more definitive statement 😉
thoreau: I will additionally hope that shocks like this will actually shake one or two of the sharp minds here out of pre-conditioning. I’m still looking for a reasonable effective answer/response that is significantly different from what “the coalition” is already doing.
How has the adjustment to the other coast and the new job been?
Did you go to high school in Wisc? jest askin’.
The new job is in day 3. I’m wrapping most of my administrative stuff today (hopefully) and getting into my project.
It’s a great environment for the most part. Well, great scientifically. Administratively, well, it is what it is. I’m between training activities right now, hence the posting.
The move was crazy, but I haven’t seen much need for adjustment. I grew up in WI, so I’m used to humidity. The Metro is easy to ride. People are a littler nicer than CA, maybe, but service is less efficient. But not so inefficient that I get upset about it.
OK, time for more training modules. You’ll hear from me this evening.
Dynamist,
Well, that’s rather easy. You continue counter-terrorist activities. That is the most effective way to stop terrorists from attacking you. Siphoning off your energy into invasions of foreign locales that have little to do with the terrorist situation you are facing isn’t what is most effective.
Her words as well as I can recall – “I don’t think we’ll end up going berzerk like the americans did.”
My saying this risks some perfectly reasonable ire, but I’ll say it: While I think there’s major virtue in not going beserk, I think this acceptance of terrorism as in the scope of things, nothing to freak out about, just might be a contributing factor in the UK’s and, in general, Europe’s problem with terrorism.
My saying this risks some perfectly reasonable ire, but I’ll say it: While I think there’s major virtue in not going beserk, I think this acceptance of terrorism as in the scope of things, nothing to freak out about, just might be a contributing factor in the UK’s and, in general, Europe’s problem with terrorism.
Comment by: Eric the .5b at July 7, 2005 01:55 PM
No ire from me for it. As much as I appreciate my Ire of a heritage, I don’t buy into the cheap nationalism, not to mention I was born in the US and I’m as much of a mutt as most in the US. You do have a point in that Europe, and England have learned to live with terrorism, because, well, they did end up pissing off a lot of people in their time in pursuit of empire. It’s more a resignation to some people pushing right back, and life goes on with the stiff upper lip. The thing is, at some point I was able to sympathize with the IRA cause (even though my mom’s side of the family is from the non-catholic side). What worries me is that if I go digging through US foreign policy too much, I might just end up having a similar reaction to you know who.
As usual Thoreau, you said it much better than I.
What’s this about He-Who-Cannot-Be-Named?
“Under any name?”
Which names are “you?”
Me, I’m always “joe.”
Wow, thoreau should work for the CIA. I won’t spoil everyone’s fun by stating the name of the person here who seems a lot like He Who Cannot Be Named, but it rhymes with “Faklyut.”
I think thoreau is right. Based on the writing/posting style I was pretty convinced that He Who Cannot Be Named had been resurrected.
But seeing the interation between He and Shannon Love in another thread has me all but positive.
Dumb Fish-
Not only am I now 90% convinced that a certain person has returned, but I’m also starting to wonder again if He Of Many Names is also Shannon Love.
It could very well be that both of them simply returned in response to today’s events, but still.
Hakluyt: Play the cards you hold today. You’re in Iraq. Now, come up with a new strategy.
===
Wasn’t there an 80s band called Jean Love Gunnels?
Yeah, I saw your post in that other thread. I don’t think He Of Many Names is Shannon Love. I just can’t imagine the time or commitment it would take to maintain both sides of their arguments. But, like you, I have a lot of fun speculating about it.
You may have also noticed that Mona – another character that He often argued with and had vanished for a long time – has also returned.
Dumb Fish-
True, but I’m pretty sure Mona isn’t Him. Too much personality.
Shannon, I don’t know. I just get this vibe that maybe Shannon Love is His punching bag.
Or maybe Shannon is just smart enough to stay above that fray.
Regarding my job at NIH:
There are bureaucratic things that I don’t like. But one thing that I definitely like is the hours that the support staff keeps. Scientists are usually late risers. The secretaries get here around 9:30 or 10:00 am and stay until 6:00 or 6:30 pm. This is better than most universities, where support staff are usually 8-4 or 9-5 people.
Imagine my plight when, in an effort to make a good impression on my first day, I showed up at 8:15 am and over-dressed for the weather. Although on the plus side I had more than an hour to let the sweat evaporate before anybody arrived.
Imagine my plight when, in an effort to make a good impression on my first day, I showed up at 8:15 am and over-dressed for the weather. Although on the plus side I had more than an hour to let the sweat evaporate before anybody arrived.
Heheh. Better than late and underdressed, at least. 😉
Based on the writing/posting style I was pretty convinced that He Who Cannot Be Named had been resurrected.
This is so spooky! “In his house at R’lyeh, dead Cthulhu lies dreaming.”
Scientists are usually late risers.
Hey, I must be a scientist!
You know, you can chant that to “Good King Wenchalaus.”
In his house at R’lyeh
Dead Cthulhu lies dreaming.
I’m always under this handle, except for a few times when I make jokes under pertinant pseduonyms.
If you wish to insult me, I would appreciate it if you would hide behind a computer. I live in the Washington, DC area, and the e-mail address I provide is correct.
Otherwise, I am not interested in having any exchanges with you again. Deal?
..”not” hide..
“He who warns is excused”??? Warns of what? Excused of what? Dressing for gym class? Eating broccoli?
What arrogant primitives! How does anyone intellectually take them seriously?