Explosion On The Tube

I'm not looking for a row, either, Kathy - I think you genuinely have misunderstood the context of my posting.

What I am trying to say is that we all forget to acknowledge what a bloody good job our Security forces are doing as this is is the first 'successful' strike Al Qaeda have managed so far - shutting down London for a day (and that is probably over-stating the case) is nothing compared to the effect 9/11 had on New York.

They surely have had a 'real will' to cause us considerable damage over the past few years but how many attempts have been foiled we'll never know.

I simply feel we need to ackowledge this more than we do.

It is indeed a shite world at times.
 
Yes, less people killed, and probably carried out by complete amateurs this time due to the tightened security - possibly a bus driver who asked directions and then ran away - hardly the makings of a suicide bomber? :blink: .

Still, the result is the same isn't it, we (the world and it's leaders) are all talking about it, it has cost business's thousands if not millions of pounds, and probably half of London won't bother going into work tomorrow. Job done then or would it have had a greater effect if they had flown planes into Canary Wharf?
 
The moment they can say "job done" is when WE say it.

Brian has it absolutely right ..


QUOTE
"Britain is now burning with fear, terror and panic in its northern, southern, eastern, and western quarters."



Oi, Al Qaida - Bollocks!
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Sorry, too, Kathy - I've just switched off some of the television coverage because I get a bit fed up of the "What could we have done to prevent this .." stuff because it's futile - the answer is "Not a great deal ....".
 
Have just heard that Sam and Mark are ok. They're still working, and will be for most of the night but thank goodness they're safe.
 
I can't stand the thought of those 37 waking up this morning to a normal day, going to work and never going to see their families again .

Very odd atmosphere at Newmarket today . Like a crowd feeling guilty they were having a day out when such horrors had occurred.


Bastards - you will never win
 
It's a tribute to the excellent forward planning of 'Operation Cobra' to respond to this anticipated attack, that many people will not lose their lives tonight, because emergency services attended very, very quickly, and the Police did a fantastic job of clearing streets for them and keeping gawkers away. The London Ambulance Service deserves special credit for being able to respond so fast and get the worst-injured to hospitals fast.

Of course we were warned about this: it's been a promise from Al-Queda for a couple of years. As Songsheet says, various agencies, including Arab listening stations and observers, run by Arabs, contribute round-the-clock intelligence. What I think may well come out eventually will be that this is not an attack by an outside group, in a fly-in, fly-out hit and run. Those responsible would need a good knowledge of how London's transportation systems run, and quite likely some means to use them to deposit the explosives. This would appear to point to at least two people living in the UK now. If they are sitting at home tonight, drinking a pious orange juice, and gloating over the handiwork being shown on the tv, they are probably sitting in an English house, in the company of relatives who have no idea at all of their subversive activities. All will come out in the end.

It's a dreadful thing, but it was going to come our way one day. And we've responded with a fantastic rescue and recovery plan which has undoubtedly saved many lives today. There won't be anything anyone can do about Al-Queda cells as it's virtually impossible to penetrate such a fanatical organization with agents. However, CCTV cameras will no doubt provide (I hope) some useful clues as to what went on with the buses, by back-playing their destination to base.
 
The emergency services were - and are - terrific. This was a well planned attack and according to terrorism specialists has been a while in the planning and would have used sixteen to twenty people. One of their theories is that the bus was a mistake with one or more of the bombers on board transporting the bomb to a tube station. We will know more as time passes.
 
Originally posted by Kathy@Jul 7 2005, 07:07 PM
Yes, less people killed, and probably carried out by complete amateurs this time due to the tightened security - possibly a bus driver who asked directions and then ran away - hardly the makings of a suicide bomber? :blink: .
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I think if I was driving a bus, got out to ask for directions, and the bus blew up, I would run away too!

It's very lucky the bus was divrted away from KC as I'm sure the casulties would have been much much higher had it exploded outside just as everyone was being evacuated.

My thoughts are with everyone affected by this tradegy today :(
 
Our sentiments and prayers must be for those we have lost, those who are injured and of course the relatives of those involved regarding the aforementioned.

I think we (British) are a very tough race, our history has defined this, This was truly emphasised today by the elderly man interviewed on TV, He was in a queue waiting to go into The Imperial War Museum, He wanted to once again view The Spitfires and Hurricane aircraft and no doubt think of the colleagues lost in World War Two, When asked to comment on the bombings he said "Well, we have been through it all before havent we."

Nothing, absolutely nothing was going to stop this lovely old fella from going to the museum today.

While listening to this old boy I thought, yes we are a tough race, it is in our genes, we certainly do not scare easily. I also thought when looking at the old boy on the TV screen that this man, and his generation were even tougher.
 
So, do we now all believe the American propoganda that there's this incredibly organised Arab group called Al-Queda with cells around the world as opposed to the BBC's 'The Power Of Nightmares' suggestion that they're more or less an American invention that angry young Arab men now latch onto. When you consider that, outwith occupied Iraq, the sum total of their worldwide terror acts since 9/11 amounts to the equivalent of a bad week for the PIRA, I think I'll stick with the latter.
 
I have drivers again in London today and evidently it is extremely quiet on all the roads and motorways. It looks as if many people are having a day off and having a long weekend. This will cost business's thousands if not millions of pounds, but I can fully understand why after the trauma's of yesterday, and the fact that thousands of people probably just didn't physically get home until very late last night.
 
Sorry, too, Kathy - I've just switched off some of the television coverage because I get a bit fed up of the "What could we have done to prevent this .." stuff because it's futile - the answer is "Not a great deal ....".
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This was a well planned attack and according to terrorism specialists has been a while in the planning and would have used sixteen to twenty people
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Exactly my point - if this was a well-planned attack, while it was indeed horrendous, it could have been so much worse. In my view, it just goes to show how much IS being done that it wasn't.

Yes, London ground to a halt for a day and a few billion $ got wiped off the Exchanges (and soon went back in, bar 70pts) and maybe some won't go in to work tomorrow but my respect goes to those folk who will do their utmost to just get on with life as per normal, effectively sticking two fingers up at fanaticists and their ilk. I hope I'd have the guts to get back on the tube or train or bus as millions will do.

My admiration goes to them and my sympathy to those who've been bereaved. With any luck, one or two of the bombers may have died with them.
 
At the same time, Al-Zarqawi's murderous band in Iraq claims to have killed Egypt's ambassador for having a career mixing with 'infidels' - Jews and Christians. Still a long way to go before religious extremists, or those purporting to be religious, anyway, are stopped. So, another family bereaved under appalling circumstances, with no apparent ability to stop repeats.
 
Terrible scenes, but it is such a scary thought to know that such explosions and death happen virtually everyday of every week in Iraq. Imagine for a second living with that over your head.
 
I agree with Songsheet too - yes, it was a terrible, terrible affair & it was utterly tragic that innocent people died, but it could have been far, far worse. I also believe that it is a testament to the UK's security, intelligence and emergency services that the situation was dealt with quickly and efficiently and that, in effect, potentially the lives of hundreds, possibly thousands of British people were saved.
 
i was shocked and feel with the english people.
i am sure there will be a day of national mourning, as it would be in other countries (so there is no point in argueing about racing or theatre or not)

i hope Songsheet is right, when she says:

if this was a well-planned attack, while it was indeed horrendous, it could have been so much worse. In my view, it just goes to show how much IS being done that it wasn't.

but also the opposite may be true: that i could have been so much worse shows only, that the terrorist groups in reality are weaker, lesser organized and lesser dangerous than some believe.
 
i just read, that they deliberately gave false informations about the couse of the incidents (power surge) to avoid a mass panic.
somehow that does not look right to me - dont we have a right for the truth in every circumstance?
 
Not when the false message is for the public good. The initial claim that a "power surge" was behind the early morning travel chaos gave the authorities an extra hour to prevent panic, allowing the to put detailed emergency plans into operation.

There are literally millions of people travelling into London on a daily basis and this "power surge" ploy, which was obviously part of the plan for such an attack, may well have contributed to preventing many more injuries and even loss of lives.


As soon as the plans had been implemented - after about an hour - the truth was told.
 
I presume that the government will use this as perfect reasoning in the soon to be here ID cards. What gets me over the attacks, is the lack of up front public announcement from the government that there was a terrorist attack imminent. You know the sort of thing, we hjad plenty of it while the war was raging in Iraq, and before that while hunting down Bin Laden in Afghanistan. Now call me cynical, but either the "good intelligence" they kept spouting about which came to nothing was just political spin to get the nation behind them, or the intelligence services aren't as good as they would have us believe.
 
A large part of the decision not to stage Epsom was due a lack of ambulance & paramedic availability - the Surry Ambulance Service was on stand-by to respond to the situation in London and the racecourse had been advised by the local police that they could not assure the racecourse of paramedic coverage which is needed when staging a meeting.
 
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