Three wheels on Buda's Wagon, and we're still rolling along
I also used to work around that way, and often walked past the spot where the cars were parked on my way to a better boozing-place than "Tiger Tiger". So I'm an expert too. Couple of thoughts:
I think it's interesting how much information we've got about this bomb - the Guardian today is discussing the patio gas, the petrol, nails, the different kinds of fuel bomb you can have (the one bit of information we don't have that would be interesting would be whether it was a double-detonator fuel/air bomb, but I bet it wasn't), the smoke coming from the engineer's safety fuse, Uncle Tom Cobbleigh and all. Compare this to the 7/7 bombs, where we still don't know if they were TATP, C4 or whatever. I don't know why this is; I suspect that given that the 7/7 bombers clearly were very connected to international terrorism[1], the glasnost about this latest plot means that it isn't.
The "Iraq-style" bomb stuff is surely bollocks. It's a propane gas car bomb, about the simplest thing you can imagine. You might as well say that the bombers "ate the same Cornflakes as al-Qaeda in Iraq". Slightly dismayed to see that all the British newspapers have now seemingly uncritically accepted the American designation of every terrorist in Iraq as an al-Qaeda.
In general, successful organisations move up the technology curve, not down it. This looks like a regress for the terrorists to me (I'm assuming that it was jihadis rather than anyone else, which isn't actually proven but there you go). Also, not a suicide attack, which also suggests that whoever was behind this is more likely an isolated nutter (or small gang thereof) rather than a hardcore political organisation. I suppose that agents provocateurs can't be completely ruled out either, but this is unlikely to be a productive hypothesis as the UK state has no real history of fake bomb plots, and the possibility of another state doing it is pretty far-fetched.
[1] Note that merely to say this is actually to accuse the police and intelligence services of lying. The official story is still that the 7/7 bombers were purely homegrown extremists with no al-Qaeda connections. Conspiracy theories, how are ya.
"The "Iraq-style" bomb stuff is surely bollocks"
ReplyDeleteYeah, because for one thing Iraq-style bombs usually go off and kill people. They don't consist of people driving their merc erratically all over the place to attract attention, pranging into some rubbish bins and then getting out and running away, which is what the early reports said about the West End car bombs.
Now here is a load of old crap.
ReplyDeleteBritain "will not yield", says the story. No-one will "undermine our way of life", according to Gordon.
Ah - who's asking Britain to "yield"? How exactly is Britain's "way of life" being "undermined"? Has any statement been issued on behalf of the crap terrorists (assuming they're competent enough to write or record one, which I doubt) saying exactly how Britain's way of life should be undermined or else?
If not, and if we actually haven't yet got a clue what's going on, what on earth is Brown talking about?
Well, he is expected to say something. At least he didn't say, "this demonstrates why we must push on with our identity card programme".
ReplyDeleteHe could have tried "there is no need to panic". The press might not have liked it but he could always have responded "regardles of what the newspapers say" which would have been a refreshing change from the old regime.
ReplyDeleteMy fear is that the social fallout from all this far will outweigh any phsyical threat to UK citizens. I think it is probably safe to assume both sets of bombs were UK based jihadists and we are already we are seeing incidents like this:
ReplyDeletehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6258544.stm
This is currently only fringe lunatic types, but I wonder how long before the press and the mainstream turn on the Muslim community in the UK. Certainly, Blair's comments yesterday were pretty vocal and direct and unhelpful in the current climate:
'The idea that as a Muslim in this country that you don't have the freedom to express your religion or your views, I mean you've got far more freedom in this country than you do in most Muslim countries'
Strange times, and as EJH says, it would have been more helpful if the likes of Brown had moved to calm things down. I note Alex Salmond has been proactive in supporting the Muslim community in Scotland.
Actually technically speaking they weren't bombs, because the muppets failed terrorism school. All it the car would have done would have caught fire (and maybe spat out a pretty fireball). You wouldn't want to be close to it, but the buildings around would have been fine. Worst car bomb ever, though I'm sure the flames looked pretty kewl. If this is all we have to worry about, I think we'll be fine.
ReplyDeleteCian, as you say the incompetence of the 'bombers' means they were more likely to hurt themselves than anyone else. I doubt the Daily Mail et al we see it this way.
ReplyDeleteIt's times like this, looking from the sinister side of the pond, when I wished the British weren't reserving their fireworks for pissing-down-November, just so that someone could use July 4th to explain the difference between a fire and an explosion.
ReplyDeleteSadly Brown and the police seem to be doing the sad little wannabe's jobs for them.
ReplyDeleteBy imposing additional security on airports, Wimbledon, and other public spaces/events we're managing to piss off hundreds of thousands of people.
This is supposedly done because 'the public demands it.' Yeah right! I'd really like to know who's calling for longer queues at airports and more 'security' bollox at public events.
Surely a more intelligent response is to simply say "business as usual" and "these sad little creeps will be prosecuted as soon as possible" and "Everyone keep your eyes open but enjoy the summer, assuming it ever stops raining."
re: moving up the technology curve.
ReplyDeleteThe Glasgow one was even further down - 'drive at target really fast and hope it blows up'. Then run round with arse on fire when it goes wrong.
Max Hastings comments on this in today's Guardian:
ReplyDelete"It is also hard for ministers and the police to pitch their public utterances. A reasoned statement, following the weekend's events, might have gone something like this: 'After so much speculation about attacks on Britain by terrorists wielding weapons of mass destruction and biological weapons, it is a relief to see these attempts made with weapons as crude as cars filled with petrol and gas cylinders. The group carrying out the attacks are grotesque amateurs. At worst, their efforts might have inflicted the level of fatalities caused by a motorway smash.' In reality, of course, it would be unthinkable for anyone in authority to say anything of the sort. Spokesmen must talk gravely about "a threat of dreadful carnage", because anything less would sound flippant and irresponsible."
I agree with ejh that it's pathetic that spokespeople have to lie to keep their jobs, but I don't have any ideas on how to make it more acceptable for them to tell the truth.
gdr, I dunno. If the kind of statement suggested by Hastings was pitched in the context of "These people are dust beneath our chariot wheels. We'll mop them up as quick as you like, but meanwhile keep your eyes open, because there are always copycat idiots", I think it would go down very well, left and right.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it could easily come over as "Pray have faith in your betters. All is arranged. Should you have fear, simply state: Civis Britannicus Sum. *BANG* AARRGH WHAT THE FUCK..."
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ReplyDelete"The official story is still that the 7/7 bombers were purely homegrown extremists with no al-Qaeda connections."
ReplyDeleteI dont really know how to put this Dan, but of course that's correct. To suggest, as you appear to be, that our brave flying heros in their Lancasters, if they had been planning missions over Nazi Germany that day, would have been doing it on behalf of the peverted ideology of Al Qaeda, rather than out of a sense of patriotism and duty, is sick.
Of course, as you must be aware, most of the crews of Bomber Command stood down in the summer of 1945, and have not been operational since. So I really don't know what you are going on about
Oh dammit, I meant to say "Members of the Militant Tendency" of course - this confusion is always happening round this blog. Sorry readers.
ReplyDelete"as the UK state has no real history of fake bomb plots"
ReplyDeleteYeah, right. A google search on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings might put you right there. But as Alexei Sayle used to say, "that's all forgotten now".