Facts, Terrorism and Interpretation

Every conceivable pundit has a view, even without any documentary evidence or facts to back it up, blame is being placed squarely at the feet of George Bush and Tony Blair, everything from Western policies in the Middle East to the invasion of Iraq are the supposed causes of the London bombings.

Sadly, little space is given to consider the pathology of suicide bombings and the mentality behind them.

Instead we are told that the invasion of Iraq CAUSED the London bombings, as if there was some inexplicable and mechanical link between the two, push one lever for the invasion of Iraq and another lever moves the bombings to London.

Intelligent people are left to ask: how does that stand up to analysis and the facts?

Very badly, as it seems clear that Bin Laden was planning to attack Britain soon after 9/11, irrespective of any actions by Tony Blair or his government:

“Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden ordered a strike on Heathrow airport months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., the London-based Sunday Times reported in its latest edition, citing transcripts of interrogations of an al-Qaeda operations chief."

But let's be clear Bin Laden's justification requires no action from anyone else, he and his kind will commit bombing irrespectively. Bin Laden's mind is set in the past of the 12th century when he talks of the "tragedy of Andalucia"

Nothing short of a Caliphate and full capitulation, mass conversion to Islam would 'save' anyone, in Bin Laden's eyes. Even then it is questionable, Bin Laden and his kind are quite happy to kill Muslims when it suits them.

Why do we always blame ourselves for someone else's murderous actions?

Did we provoke Hitler? Of course not, and yet if you look material from the period many people try to suggest that Hitler's demands: the dismantling of the Treaty of Versailles, Munich, etc were justified.

Now, of course, we appreciate the magnitude of those errors. The error is a way of thinking, not to fully appreciate the motivation and dynamic of these people, be it Hitler or Bin Laden. As they cause mass murder across the world they will seek justification, but it is foolish to believe them as their statements are merely pretexts.

Facts show that Bin Laden and Co. were planning to attack London, long before the invasion of Iraq. Would changing policy satisfy him?

No, like Hitler, Bin Laden has an apocalyptical view of the world, therefore, there no reasoning with him or his kind.

So, let's not kid ourselves Bin Laden had decided to do these attacks years ago and then he looked for some feeble pretext to justify it, but sadly people are more concerned with believing his lies than considering his character and murderous intent.

Ultimately this is a battle of ideas and as such we should not give any ground to these nihilistic throwbacks.

PS: If you are asking yourself the obvious question: did he support the invasion of Iraq? No, I was very anti-war and still think it was a mistake.

However, I have studied Fascism far too long to appreciate that such people (Bin Laden, etc) mingle half-truths, lies and falsehoods to win over support of the naive or unsuspecting, therefore, I think we should oppose them wholeheartedly.