G-8 leaders react to "particularly barbaric" London subway bomb blasts - 7-Jul-05 - Generational Dynamics

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 7-Jul-05

G-8 leaders react to "particularly barbaric" London subway bomb blasts

England and France are unified once more -- against terrorism.

An Islamist website has posted a statement - purportedly from al-Qaeda - claiming that it was behind the simultaneous bombing attacks on London's subways and busses this morning.

The terrorist bombings all went off simultaneously at about 8:50 am local time -- the same time of day that the Madrid subway bombing occurred on March 11, 2004, and the time of day that the first plane flew into the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke as follows:

"It's important, however, that those engaged in terrorism realize that our determination to defend our values and our way of life is greater than their determination to cause death and destruction to innocent people in a desire to impose extremism on the world.

Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilized nations throughout the world."

French President Jacques Chirac, also present at the G-8 meeting, announced his solidarity with Blair, as did George Bush and all the other leaders present.

Back in France, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said,

"Faced with these odious acts, I must express my most profound solidarity, my friendship and my support for the British people, and in particular for the people of London. ...

More than ever, democracies must rally together and show unity in the face of the terrorist threat. More than ever, we must show vigilance and determination."

We must now wait to see what the reaction will be to these terrorist acts. During a "generational crisis" period, like the current one, a terrorist act like this one can trigger retaliation and further crises in the months to come.

Here are some things to watch for:

Will the British retaliate, and if so, then how? After 9/11, we immediately invaded Afghanistan. Will the British do something similar (probably with American help)? Or will they refuse to take reprisals, and lay the government open to accusations of being afraid to respond forcefully?

Will there be new laws restricting civil rights in Britain, giving more police power to the central government? This is what almost always happens. After 9/11, America locked up close to 1,000 Muslims without charges and without being able to see lawyers, and there was no more than trivial public criticism. Today, France raised its internal security level from orange to red.

Will there be a big backlash in Britain against the Muslims?

Will today's bombings trigger a financial crisis? So far, it looks like it won't. Wall Street fell sharply on the news, but stocks are remaining relatively stable in New York and Europe.

During the last year, talk of war has become increasingly political, especially over the war with Iraq. I've corresponded with several people in the last few weeks who appear to claim the world's troubles are all George Bush's fault. One said that people in so-called "red states" want to "write off" New York and Washington. Those statements seem ironic today, unless red state people also want to write off London.

If you want to understand what's going on today, you have to realize that no politician has anything to do with it. The roots of these terrorist acts were laid decades ago, especially in decisions that were made after WW I and WW II. It could even be said that these events were caused by events that occurred centuries ago -- the Crusades, the Norman conquest of England, the fall of Constantinople, the French Revolution, and so forth.

All we can really do today is watch what happens, and look for ways to protect ourselves, our families, our communities and our nation, as we head for the inevitable "clash of civilizations" world war. (7-Jul-05) Permanent Link
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Donate to Generational Dynamics via PayPal

	Generational Dynamics
	Forecasting America's Destiny ... and the World's

\| HOME \| WEB LOG \| COUNTRY WIKI \| COMMENT \| FORUM \| DOWNLOADS \| ABOUT \|

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 7-Jul-05 G-8 leaders react to "particularly barbaric" London subway bomb blasts

Web Log Pages

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 7-Jul-05
G-8 leaders react to "particularly barbaric" London subway bomb blasts