The London blasts

It is perhaps an extremely easy thing to do... penetrating London's transports and blowing things up, to use simple words and if 'penetrate' is even an accurate term. London's history is full of blasts and simliar attacks, right back to WWII. Recent ones included the bombing during the General Elections in 1992, a micro-nuke megablast in the following year, mostly believed to be the work of the Real IRA, a dissident republican group. As were the blasts at Shepherd's Bush, M16's HQ and Hammersmith Bridge in 2000 and 2001.

The timing raises questions, no doubt. Right when the G8 summit is taking place - when all eyes and ears are on them and poverty and climate change and such - and all the world leaders are assembled... then this has to happen... what is this supposed to accomplish? And to come a day after London has won the 2012 Olympics bid... what a cruel blessing.

Right now the death toll is at 37-54 (conflicting reports from different sources) and around 700 injured. It's a tragedy, but it could easily have been so much worse. We're all scared now... those of us who are in London, been in London, or know that we have to return to London... this is a stark reminder that terrorism is much closer to us than what most of us would like to believe. How can we ever prepare ourselves for this sort of thing?

posted by Husky @ 7/08/2005 05:13:00 AM  |