July 11, 2005

LONDON BOMBINGS:  TERRORISM'S 'HOLY WAR' ON THE WEST

 

 

KEY FINDINGS

 

**  Media denounce "blind violence" of attackers, call for common effort against terrorism.

**  Editorialists say bombings show radical Islamists fighting a "holy war" on the West.

**  Critics assert U.S.-led war on terror is a "failure," stress Iraq has strengthened jihadists.

**  While condemning attacks, Muslim writers state West must address "root causes" of terror.

 

MAJOR THEMES

 

'A dark day' of 'infamous acts'--  Global media condemned the "cowardly" and "barbaric" attacks on London as the "callous and senseless murder" of innocent victims.  The bombings, said Japan's moderate Yomiuri, "clearly showed that international terrorist organizations ...continue to pose a serious threat to the international community."  That paper was one of many calling for "joint efforts" to fight terrorism.  The G-8 leaders, editorialists emphasized, need to set aside their "sterile quarrels" and present a "common front" against the "spread of murderous extremism."

 

Terrorists aim at 'civilized society'--  Some dailies called the attacks "inevitable" because the aim of Islamic extremists is "to ignite a holy war" between themselves and democratic societies.  The terrorists, said France's right-of-center Journal du Dimanche, want to "establish a Great Caliphate, destroy the West, its miscreants and their lifestyles."  Calling for "steely resolve" in the face of the attacks, conservative outlets like The Australian declared that "bin Ladin's strategy rests on his declared conviction that the West is corrupt, decadent, weak and will fold."

 

West 'must protect its values'--  While conservative writers judged it would be "flawed thinking" to link the attacks to the war in Iraq, liberal critics asserted the war had "diverted resources" from the campaign against al-Qaida and that "tactical errors" like the abuses at Abu Ghraib helped to "radicalize the Middle East" and turned "much of the Islamic world" against the West.  Western papers agreed that the response to terrorism "must be firm, cooperative and united."  The Netherlands' left-of-center Trouw spoke for many papers by stating that while "everything possible" must be done to dismantle terror networks, it is "equally important" to preserve democratic liberties.

 

'Policy of might has failed'--  Many Arab and Muslim commentators claimed the attacks "show the war on terrorism has failed" because the West addresses the problem "purely from the standpoint of security."  The West, an Algerian journal argued, has repeatedly shown its "short-sightedness" by failing to address terrorism's root cause, including Muslim grievances over Palestine and Iraq, that nourish hatred of the U.S.  Kenya's independent Nation noted the attacks disrupted "talks vital for the future of Africa and [addressing] global warming."  Tanzania's independent tabloid Majira called on the international community to stamp out terrorism "once and for all" and worried that if the wealthy countries concentrated "all their efforts" on battling terrorism, "the problems facing Africa will be forgotten."

 

Prepared by Media Reaction Branch (202) 203-7888, rmrmail@state.gov

 

EDITOR:  Steven Wangsness

 

EDITOR'S NOTE:  Media Reaction reporting conveys the spectrum of foreign press sentiment.  Posts select commentary to provide a representative picture of local editorial opinion.  Some commentary is taken directly from the Internet.  This report summarizes and interprets foreign editorial opinion and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government.  This analysis was based on 97 reports from 50 countries July 7-11, 2005.  Editorial excerpts are listed from the most recent date.

 

EUROPE

 

BRITAIN:  "The Humdrum Return Of Normality"

 

The center-left Independent editorialized (7/11):  "It is as vital to avoid any sense of defeatism as it is to avoid the kind of hysteria that prevailed in the United States after 11 September, which gave rise to the sinister-sounding Department of Homeland Security and leading to critics of the Administration's actions being denounced in almost McCarthyite fashion as traitors and friends of terrorists."

 

"Blair's Blowback"

 

Gary Younge commented in the left-of-center Guardian (7/11):  "Bush laid down the gauntlet:  you're either with us or with the terrorists.  A small minority of young Muslims looked at the values displayed in Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo Bay and Camp Bread Basket--and made their choice.  The war helped transform Iraq from a vicious, secular dictatorship with no links to international terrorism into a magnet and training ground for those determined to commit terrorist atrocities.  Meanwhile, it diverted our attention and resources from the very people we should have been fighting--al-Qaida."

 

"Europe Must Tackle The Terrorist Threat"

 

Wolfgang Munchau wrote in the independent Financial Times (7/11):  "We have all marveled at the stoicism and defiance of Londoners in the aftermath of Thursday's attacks.  But it is not our attitude that will defeat terrorism.  It is the way we organize the fight.  We should have had a fundamental debate about the effectiveness of our anti-terrorism systems after the Madrid bombing last year.  We urgently need it now."

 

"Chance For G-8-Plus To Respond To Murders"

 

The independent Financial Times editorialized (7/8):  "Tony Blair set exactly the right tone in his first response yesterday, when he said…it was especially barbaric to time these attacks when world leaders may make progress in dealing with the roots of poverty in Africa and the problems of climate change and environmental degradation.  The best response of the G-8 leaders would now be to put aside any remaining hesitations about this hugely important agenda....  Out of Gleneagles should come a rallying cry further to develop global governance, to manage global problems in a fair, efficient and civilized way....  Part of that should be a redoubled attempt to get agreement at the United Nations on a definition of terrorism that places beyond the pale attacks on civilians and non-combatants in a war situation.  Because terrorism in a globalized world--with ease of travel, modern communications and transnational financial services--must also be addressed at global level if these benefits are to be fully preserved."

 

"In The Face Of Danger"

 

The left-of-center Guardian argued (7/8):  "Yesterday was a dark day, when infamous acts were carried out by dangerous people.  The killers, if they are still alive, must be brought to justice and we have no alternative but to keep our guard up against the likelihood that there are others plotting to repeat the assaults.  Mr. Blair was right to insist that our determination to defend our values and our way of life should be indomitable.  That certainly means implacability in the face of the direct threat from the terrorist enemy.  It means keen policing and long-term intelligence work.  But it also involves trying to understand why people are drawn to commit such infamous and evil deeds, not merely tightening security to prevent them from happening again.  And it means sticking resolutely to all the values that make an open society so worth living in, including tolerance and civil liberty.  In the end, as Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair each said, it is the contrast that counts.  This is a conflict of values.  But it is not just the contrast between the hate of the terrorists and the labors of the world leaders that will turn the tide.  It is the contrast between the anger of the terrorists and the decency of ordinary people, as Londoners so powerfully showed yesterday."

 

"Revulsion And Resolve"

 

The conservative Times commented (7/8):  "There may be a few people inclined to make a link between the deaths in London and the intervention in Iraq.  This is utterly flawed thinking.  Al-Qaida and its subsidiary branches began their sadistic campaign more than a decade ago and they did not require the removal of Saddam Hussein from power in Baghdad as an extra incentive.  London was not targeted because British troops are in Iraq or because of Tony Blair’s alliance with the Bush White House.  Rather, London was attacked because these extremists want to ignite a 'holy war' between themselves and democratic societies....  Mr. Blair declared forcefully yesterday that 'those engaged in terrorism' should '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 throughout the world.'  This is a sentiment that will be endorsed throughout Britain.  Despite the shock, horror and outrage, the calm shown in London was exemplary.  Ordinary life may be inconvenienced by the specter of terror, yet terrorism will not force free societies to abandon their fundamental features.  An attack was inevitable.  The casualties were dreadful.  The terrorists have only strengthened the resolve of Britain and its people."

 

"A Dark Day From Which We Will Emerge Stronger"

 

The conservative Daily Telegraph editorialized (7/8):  "Through a combination of vigilance, tolerance of religious diversity and sheer grit, the rest of us must now show that cowardly attacks on soft targets will strengthen, rather than undermine, our belief in humane and democratic values.  That applies as much to our projection of power overseas as it does on the streets of our cities....  Yesterday was a dark day for London....  But there was much in its reaction from which to draw strength for the long and bitter battle ahead."

 

"We Must Not Allow This Atrocity To Undermine Our Open Society"

 

The center-left Independent concluded (7/8):  "The invasion of Iraq was a mistake.  It has helped to radicalize the Middle East and much of the Islamic world against us.  But the policy towards that country now cannot be determined by fear of the bomb."

 

FRANCE:  "A Strategy Of Barbarity"

 

Jean-Claude Maurice observed in right-of-center Le Journal du Dimanche (7/11):  "There is no need to emphasize the cowardice of those behind such carnage....  No one can ignore the 'cause' behind these acts:  it is neither the war in Iraq, nor the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, even if these foster rancor and frustration.  The objective is to establish a Great Caliphate, destroy the West, its miscreants and their lifestyles....  As Tony Blair said, the terrorists did not target Great Britain alone, but all democracies....  Our democracies must stop tolerating, in the name of freedom of speech, those who preach hate and murder....  But we must also be careful not to fall into the trap of amalgamation between the terrorists and the religion which inspires them.  To make Islam the enemy is to fall into the terrorists' trap.  Our answer must use the weapons of democracy."

 

"First Lessons From London"

 

Francois Gere took this view in right-of-center Le Figaro (7/11):  "The 'success' of the London bombings must not hide the recent successes by European police in the dismantling of many thwarted attempts....  Cooperation between police and justice departments across Europe has been re-enforced....  Europe is no longer a land of asylum for terrorists....  Al-Qaida is not a physical entity as much as a source of ideological inspiration....  As such, it feeds on the strategic and tactical errors committed in the battle against terror.  The strategic error was to have attacked Iraq, whose government never helped the Salafists.  Iraq serves today as a base for training Jihadists from the Arab peninsula, the Maghreb and Europe, and who once trained, return to their home base.  To this one must add a number of tactical errors....  The treatment of detainees in Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib and the Koran defiling incident have been feeding propaganda across the Middle East.  If we want to stop the recruitment of Salafists, we must not provide fodder for their arguments."

 

"A Declaration Of War"

 

Dominique Quinio wrote in Catholic La Croix (7/8):  "This is war, and the combatants are relentless....  It is war and its strategy is minutely orchestrated....  It is a war in which the weapons of democracy seem at times ineffective against fanatics who are ready to die for their cause.  The only solution is for all nations to present a common front, and the image yesterday of the close-knit ranks of leaders behind Tony Blair was impressive....  But these leaders need to avoid making an amalgamation between the terrorists and a religion or a culture.  Mostly they need to reduce the inequalities and the injustices that breed extremism of all kinds."

 

"Anger And Impotence"

 

Pierre Rousselin judged in right-of-center Le Figaro (7/8):  "Once again anger and feelings of impotence come to the surface....  It is clear that it was the G-8 that was being targeted.  Its date was known well in advance allowing the terrorists time to prepare their attacks....  In spite of the worldwide mobilization since 9/11 against ‘hyper terrorism,’ we do not have the necessary weapons to prevent these types of attacks....  In light of this tragedy, the mighty leaders of the world meeting in Scotland could well find once more a sense of priorities.  For this they need to abandon their sterile quarrels.  Their efforts to reduce poverty and ensure the survival of our planet are a good beginning.  The fight against terrorism and its deep roots deserve a dialogue in spite of divergent opinions, otherwise anger and impotence will be long-lasting."

 

"How Many More?"

 

Pierre Laurent contended in communist l’Humanite (7/8):  "Fighting war with war?  Terror with terror?  After Madrid, London is the tragic demonstration that the policy of might has failed."

 

"The West United Against The Barbarians"

 

Ivan Rioufol wrote in right-of-center Le Figaro (7/8):  "When confronted with Evil, the western world must be exemplary.  The great merit of the G-8 is to have asked the right questions regarding Africa....  But it is through the liberalization of its economies that the African continent and the third world in general will be able to overcome the hardships that promote emigration and keeps democracy from taking root."

 

GERMANY:  "The West Learns"

 

Christoph Birnbaum editorialized in business daily Handelsblatt of Duesseldorf (7/11):  "It is becoming increasingly evident that terrorists are no longer capable of shaking the West's economy by 'ordinary' attacks.  At least as long as they are confined in the horrific dimension we already know.  This does not mean that we have become unemotional about the victims of the terror attacks....  But the West has meanwhile become economically immune against the results of such attacks.  The logic of Jihadists to destabilize the West by causing financial and economic panic reactions is becoming less dangerous....  This economic resistance of postmodern industrialized societies might eventually turn out as the most effective weapon in the fight against terror."

 

"The Duty Of Muslims"

 

Carl Graf Hohenthal noted in right-of-center Die Welt of Berlin (7/11):  "It makes sense to draw attention to the large Muslim population in Germany.  Although just one percent of them are suspected of Islamist tendencies, with every new attack Germans increasingly become suspicious of harmless Turkish grocery dealers.  As a result, Islamic terrorism poses a greater threat to Muslims than to the Western communities, because the Muslim community depends on the acceptance of their German hosts.  The more attacks there are, the more necessary it becomes that Muslims living here state their support for tolerance, democracy and the Western rule of law."

 

"The Terror Pattern"

 

Günther Nonnenmacher commented in center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine (7/8):  "PM Blair suggested that there is a link between the G-8 summit in Gleneagles and the terror attacks in London.  Indeed, the pattern of the attacks--simultaneous explosions at several places and the similarity to the attacks in Madrid--indicates that the crime was prepared for a long time and intended to be committed at a time when the world's attention focused on Britain....  It is not a coincidence that terrorists  targeted London.  Not just international banks and firms have their seat in this multinational city, also almost all radical Islamic groups of the world are represented there; most of them are officially registered despite their ties to the terror scene in the greater Middle East.  Because Blair's Britain is America's closest ally in Iraq, London has been on the top of the list of the towns threatened by Islamic terrorism....  There can be no doubt that the war in Iraq has encouraged this movement.  The country has become the main attraction for all jihadists; the combination of the fight against the occupiers and the civil war is an exercise in brutality and maliciousness.  The highest attention and strictest controls are required, but attacks such as in London and Madrid cannot totally be prevented."

 

"The Law Of Composure"

 

Stefan Kornelius observed in center-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung of Munich (7/8):  "Composure or crass military actions alone cannot be a sufficient response to these terror attacks.  This has been said for years now, but we obviously lack the patience and steadfastness to confront the terror plague.  In the long run, we will only defeat terrorism with the help of the police and intelligence forces on the one hand, and by political efforts to dry up the ideological source of terrorism on the other hand.  This will only be possible if the attacked Western world finds enough Islamic allies ready to ostracize terrorism in their societies.  Angry Islamists recruit their assassins by promising them a dignified and fulfilled life.  Many people in the Islamic world are euphoric over the defeats and weaknesses of the Christian world because they feel a deep sense of inferiority, discrimination and a lack of dignity....  Islam can only free itself from this anger by education, enlightenment, modernization and condemning violence.  The G-8 club was reminded that it has a huge political task.  So far, the eight have not spoken with one voice in their counterterrorism policy.  The experience in Gleneagles has hopefully educated them."

 

"Allah's Scum"

 

Roger Köppel asserted in right-of-center Die Welt of Berlin (7/8):  "The terror attacks on London's center show with tragic clarity the core of the Islamist project.  Covered by the political motives of retaliation, bomb-throwing Muslims spread shock and awe among innocent civilians.  They do not dare to attack well-guarded military institutions in the West.  Instead, they attack buses and subways, office buildings and discos....   This is not retaliation against an English 'Crusader government,' which is punished for its participation in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The Islamists do not focus on secular and political motives, but they pursue the centuries-old eschatology of destruction, which divides believers from non-believers unworthy of living....  The plain human intelligence poses the evil question of whether these cowardly murderers of innumerous civilians should be granted the mercy of living in a prison.  If the West does not want to give itself up, it must not use the methods of its enemy.  The evil will continue as long as Islamic societies allow the spread of terrorism."

 

ITALY:  "From Baghdad To Hyde Park"

 

Magdi Allam commented on the front-page of centrist, top-circulation Corriere della Sera (7/8):  "More than ever, today it should be clear that we are dealing with a global war on Islamic terrorism.  There is no connection between the attacks in London and the killing of the Egyptian chargé d'affaires in Baghdad.  Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for both events, inspired by a nihilistic Islamic ideology that legitimates the massacre of 'Jews, crusaders, infidels, apostates' aimed at annihilating a shared civilized society based upon the value of the sanctity of human life.  However, there are still too many people in the West who continue to avoid looking at this reality....  Indeed, 7/7 will be remembered as the end of the naive and harmful idea that...it’s wrong to confuse incitement to revolt with freedom of expression....  The list of Islamic extremists who enjoyed total freedom and impunity in London is a long one.  We fooled ourselves that by allowing them to speak up, they would let off their steam so that words would not be followed by acts....  We have to open up our eyes, we have to realize that terrorists are only the top of an iceberg of a wider and deeper structure of Islamic radicalism committed to the transformation of individuals into human bombs.  We can win this global war only if we repress this process as it starts."

 

"Wake-Up Call For Europe"

 

Massimo Teodori argued in pro-government, leading center-right Il Giornale (7/8):  "Yesterday in London the wake-up call sounded tragically for the reality of our time....  Europe, understood as a community of hundreds of millions of people, unlike the U.S., hasn’t done much against terrorism.  We Europeans, certainly legitimately, argue and criticize the American strategy that relies also, but not only, on armed intervention.  But we don’t have the right to take jokingly that mobilization of conscience that took place behind George W. Bush with the objective of conducting the 'forth world war' against Islamic totalitarianism.  Once again, even if with alternate effects, the United States has remained almost alone on the front lines against the enemies of freedom, yesterday Nazism and Communism, today revolutionary Islamism.  In Europe we basked too much in our peace seasoned by much wellbeing....  You read that Italy is in the crosshairs of terrorists.  It would be an illusion if we think of facing such a difficult challenge if, after London, we don’t hold firm to some key strategic guidelines....  And that there is no hope of victory if we don’t act in accordance with the Atlantic community, with Europe and the United States , both indestructible pillars of the West under siege."

 

"The War With The West"

 

Managing editor Ezio Mauro commented in left-leaning, influential la Repubblica (7/8):  "It should be clear to everyone that we have been in the same history since 9/11....  After today it will be more difficult for everyone to separate the chain of terrorist acts into isolated pieces, to refuse to allow oneself to see and understand....  With the simple compassion that 'we are all Americans' we have refused to take on the true responsibility of sharing responsibility.....  In reality we are all Westerners because the attack is against democracy...not just the United States, as it was not only against Spain, nor was only against Blair’s England....  Then there is the war.  I have always thought that it was a mistake, even if the dictator was defeated.  I repeat it today with conviction....  Bush’s doctrine is not acceptable when he assigns the U.S., without any legitimate mandate, the universal 'mission' to defeat the 'enemies' of liberty.  This method humiliates and above all weakens the West, reducing it to a system of U.S. delegation....  But having said that, I need to say that 9/11 came before the war....  Therefore, the true war has lasted nearly four years....  Whoever still wonders what the West is should follow the perimeter outlined by terrorism, from New York to Madrid to London, and prolong it to where logic and fear push it."

 

RUSSIA:  "Apocalypse"

 

Reformist Izvestiya editorialized (7/8):  "Mankind is exposed to global terror.  There is no global age without global terror.  There is no hiding from it, as it is everywhere, devious and absolutely indiscriminate.  An apocalypse haunts every home, lying in wait around the corner....  Clearly, the London blasts are a message to the world’s leaders meeting several hundred kilometers away, who, even though they pose as the masters of the world working on its agenda, may fall victim to global terrorism any moment, whatever security measures they take.  Indicatively, terrorists don’t attack the military or presidents or kings.  Instead, they attack ordinary people....  Terror knows no bounds and, in picking victims, has no preference as to their nationality.  It thinks globally, targeting a civilization with all its symbols, institutions, culture, values, and lifestyle.  Global terrorism is anonymous.  Copyright doesn’t matter very much, because we are talking about a world war pitting barbarity against civilization."

 

"Evil"

 

Fedor Lukyanov held in reformist Vremya Novostey (7/8):  "The tactics used in the ongoing war on terror have the world’s only surviving superpower embroiled in two chronic conflicts, stirring discontent over the United States’ behavior.  Following that pattern may bring about a situation where stability problems worsen because of impulsive, not always far-sighted actions, by governments.  Addressing the nation yesterday, Tony Blair urged unity in the struggle against terrorism.  President George Bush and President Vladimir Putin spoke along similar lines.  But again, you can’t be sure their subsequent deeds will match their words.  One thing is certain:  great powers, for all their pledges, don’t quite trust each other, obviously unaware of the true scale of the peril.  Worst of all, when the right words about combating terror and ensuring universal security are used as camouflage, important goals get devalued, making the civilized world even more vulnerable."

 

"Where Will They Strike Next?"

 

Vladimir Belous said in centrist Nezavisimaya Gazeta (7/8):  "Yesterday’s series of explosions in London showed that no country is safe, however hard its special services try to control the situation."

 

AUSTRIA:  "Fight Against Terror -- Tough But Without Panic"

 

Foreign affairs editor Christian Ultsch commented in centrist daily Die Presse (7/8):  "Europe must protect its values, it must not undermine its fundamental rights in the fight against terrorism.  For that would be just what the fanatical jihadis want--the West weakening its own position.  On the other hand, ever since the attacks of Madrid on March 11, 2004, it should be clear to every European that the indifference disguised as tolerance towards Islamists between Stockholm and Rome must belong to the past.  For too long Islamists, who are dreaming of a totally undemocratic theocratic state, were allowed to make trouble on the old continent, especially in London....  Al-Qaida is, above all, based on the franchise concept that is individually adopted and developed further by 'private' activists around the world.  And that is just what makes al-Qaida so dangerous:  its fragmentation.  It would also be completely wrong to dismiss the Jihad movement as a special form of madness....  It pursues concrete goals...the destruction of Israel; toppling corrupt, Arab regimes; and the withdrawal of Western troops from the Middle East.  To this purpose, al-Qaida wants to provoke a  'clash of civilizations'...the ultimate conflict between the West and Islam....  The answer to the jihadis' challenge must therefore be multi-faceted and long-term.  The West must find the right mix of measures to take--measures that involve the police, the economy, the military. And in the inevitable destruction of terrorist structures, the root of the problem must be addressed:  the desolate situation in the Middle East."

 

BELGIUM:  "All United Against Al-Qaida"

 

Foreign editor Gerald Papy concluded in independent La Libre Belgique (7/8):  "Backed by the leaders of emerging countries like China, India, South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico, the clear determination of the G-8 leaders has really the value of a universal symbol that transcend the North-South divisions, which al-Qaida zealots sometimes use as a pretext to justify their murders.  Paradoxically, by planning the lifting of the poorest countries' debt and by considering increasing development aid, this G-8 summit is bringing a response to the challenge of violence in the world....  However, although the G-8 resolutions may prevent African poor people from uprising, they will not solve the problems that Islamic radicals exploit to recruit fanatics, i.e., the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the occupation of Iraq. Without a solution to these problems, one should not hope to defeat jihadism."

 

CROATIA:  "London Burning"

 

Rijeka-based Novi list commented (7/8):  "Contemporary terrorism is practically unpredictable, it’s difficult to prevent and defeat, especially when religious and other fanatics are willing to turn their own bodies into bombs, without choosing time or place or victims of their actions....  Children, women, old people, their compatriots, members of the same faith--nothing is sacred when war without winners is at stake, war in which all sides will be defeated in the end.  Unfortunately, only George Bush and Osama bin Ladin can be satisfied with such an outcome.  They will both, in the attack against London, each in his own way, find additional motives for further continuation of their deadly missions.  Until the last breath."

 

CZECH REPUBLIC:  "Perverted Logic"

 

Pavel Masa opined in the center-right daily Lidove Noviny (7/8):  "It was no coincidence that it was planned at the time when the G-8 countries are discussing help for Africa and also that it was the subway line that leads to the biggest London mosque (Muslims in England see the attack as retaliation for the unity of the multi-ethnic British people).  In some ways this can be seen as proof that terrorists stand on the defensive.  From their aim to rule the world they have switched to a desperate effort to prevent the world from merging into one multicultural unit.  If we continue to help Africa and tolerate minorities in Europe we will show the Islamists that they never understood what Churchill meant when he asked the Nazi perpetrators:  'What kind of people do you think we are?'"

 

FINLAND:  "London Terrorist Strikes Carefully Prepared And Timed"

 

Leading, centrist Helsingin Sanomat editorialized (7/8):  "The G-8 leaders were right to continue their meeting despite the bloody attacks....  Interrupting the summit would have been interpreted as a victory among those who planned the strikes...which clearly seem to be linked to the G-8 meeting.  The presence of several world leaders guaranteed the strikes maximum publicity....  If one were to try to find a consolation in this situation, it is the fact that the attacks were traditional and executed in a relatively clumsily, although with much bloodshed.  The terrorists did not use chemical or biological weapons.  The feared escalation to an entirely new form of terrorism does not seem to have happened so far.  Information exchanges and cooperation between authorities must be developed.  Attempts to infiltrate terrorist organizations must continue."

 

GREECE:  "Solidarity"

 

Top-circulation, center-left Ta Nea remarked (7/8):  "In view of the victims the only response is solidarity and a categorical condemnation of terrorism.  Those seeking alibis and political interpretations simply refuse to see reality, i.e., that Islamic terrorists constitute a threat to Europe and those Arabs who seek political solutions.  Here lies the weakness of the West, which, with its stance, appears to strengthen terrorists politically and weaken moderates.  Its weakness to intervene with the continuing drama of the Palestinians and its support to undemocratic corrupt regimes, and the war on Iraq helped legitimize terrorism in large parts of the Muslim world and marginalize democratic powers.  It is time the 'Eight' and Europe started seeking political solutions to the crisis!"

 

HUNGARY:  "The London Scene"

 

Oszkar Fuzes observed in top-circulation, center-left Nepszabadsag (7/8):  "Al-Qaida continues to be capable and ready for effectively mass murderous action of a large caliber....  There are two logical conclusions here, both of them rather scary.  One, that the anti-terror measures taken so far are not effective, not comprehensive and not good enough; therefore, they need to be made stricter....  And the other:  is it possible that almost everything done so far to stop terror has, from the beginning, been wrong and doomed to failure?...  What seems to be certain so far is that the war against Iraq (no matter how justified from other points of view) has done more damage than good to the war against terrorism.  Al-Qaida has found an excellent venue for resistance and for reserves in Iraq where before it had not had a traceable role.  It also looks certain that the liquidation, or even the breaking, of Osama bin Ladin’s organization in Afghanistan has not been successful....  The other face of failure:  the general relationship between the Islam and the West has not improved; what’s more, it has worsened.  Not only between states, in the international arena, but also in everyday life where Muslims and Westerners live next to each other.  Mutual fear is increasing, and one of the goals of each terrorist attack is exactly that."

 

IRELAND:  "Pointless Carnage"

 

The center-right, populist Irish Independent noted (7/8):  "The primary effect of the bombings has obviously been the loss of life and limb.  But a secondary effect is to push the issues of Africa and climate change down the political agenda, at least temporarily.  This shows up, in an even starker light than usual, the truly inhuman agenda of those behind these bombings.  It matters not a jot to them that for the first time ever the needs of the world's poorest continent was at the top of the concerns of the world's most powerful leaders, even if it was only for a week....  The specific demands of the terrorists are ever-changing and impossible to meet.  Their desire is simply to kill us.  In the end, this scourge of terrorism will only be defeated through a combination of meaningful political reform in the countries that produce the bulk of the terrorists, good intelligence, good police work, and military intervention when the need is there and the international community approves."

 

NETHERLANDS:  "Predictability Makes Attacks Even More Senseless"

 

Left-of-Center Trouw editorialized (7/8):  "Other than the terrorists might have hoped, this suffering did not bring them any closer to their objectives because the attacks were--no matter how terrible this might sound- too predictable.  London had to be hit sometime....  This form of terrorism has only one objective:  destruction of the West.  After the attacks at the Twin Towers and Madrid there is no doubt about that.  Paris, Ankara, or Amsterdam could have easily been the target too....  But even if everybody were to become Muslim, then still the terrorists would not be pleased.  For then they would turn against their own Muslims--look at the attacks in Iraq and elsewhere in the Islamic world.  The only thing the terrorists could achieve would be to make us the way they are.  That is why it is important that we keep our head cool.  We should do everything possible to dismantle terror networks but it is of equal importance that we maintain the foundations of our democratic legal state....  Fighting terrorism is a first task but at the same time we must try to work even harder to maintain democracy and respect for human rights."

 

"London 7/7/05"

 

Influential liberal De Volkskrant argued (7/8):  "The timing of the attacks cannot be a coincidence:  the attacks coincide with the G-8 summit in Gleneagles....  But the G-8 leaders rightly so decided not to cancel their meetings even though the course of the discussion must be different from what was initially planned....  Nevertheless, it would be of extra significance if the G-8 were to manage to come up with a tangible interpretation of the 'ideology of hope and compassion' that President Bush said was an inevitable weapon in the war on terror."

 

NORWAY:  "The Attack On London"

 

The ndependent Dagbladet opined (7/8):  "What the politicians’ answer to the terrorist attack will be remains to be seen.  It is essential that liberal societies do not end up using illiberal methods to fight an enemy that has to be eliminated.  Western leaders, including President George W. Bush, have only passed this test with mediocre results earlier.  But Tony Blair is right in his statements about the perpetrators:  we will survive, they will not."

 

POLAND:  "Win Or Lose"

 

Bartosz Weglarczyk opined in liberal Gazeta Wyborcza (7/11):  "If the terrorists thought that the bombing in London would bring about a change in British policy, i.e., pulling British troops out of Iraq or breaking up an alliance with the United States, they were mistaken.  Like America after September 11, Great Britain holds a burning conviction that the war with terrorism must go on....  Whoever believes that there is some efficient political or diplomatic method of combating Islamic terror is totally wrong.  There is nothing to talk about with Islamic terrorists....  This war will be neither easy nor short.  Very few people remember that Bush and Blair spoke about it right after September 11.  Neither of them announced that we would get rid of Islamic terror in our lifetime or during one generation.  It does not mean, however, that we should not wage such a war."

 

"The Defense Of Our Values"

 

Bogumil Luft contended in the daily of record Rzeczpospolita (7/8):  "In a special statement, the G-8 leaders wrote that they would never allow violence to change their people or their values.  The politicians are outdoing one another in reassuring of their determination to defend our world.  However, the determination of the European people is not certain, because Europe is undergoing a crisis of values.  What is certain, however, is that Europe will do its best to preserve its prosperity and forget about the whole thing.  In the meantime, although terrorism is the fruit of fanatical insanity, it derives from a real problem, which is the expanding gap between the haves and have-nots.  'Our values' often mean 'our prosperity' and 'our comfort.'  With such morals, it will be very difficult to face the challenge of both the causes and effects of the terrorist disease."

 

ROMANIA:  "At War"

 

Military analyst Radu Tudor had this to say in independent Ziua (7/8):  "Yesterday’s terrorist attacks in London demonstrate, once again, that Europe is at war with terrorism....  What happened in London yesterday is the final alarm before an outburst of security chaos on our continent.  If the EU doesn’t establish, together with NATO, an anti-terrorist agency with full powers, with real-time information exchange, with the possibility of instantaneous action on the continent, then Europe will lose the war against terrorism.  Otherwise, there will be other capitals under attack; there will be other hundreds of innocent dead, devastating economic effects, uncertainty and fear; i.e., exactly what Usama bin Ladin wants.”

 

SPAIN:  "The War In Iraq And The Attacks Of Madrid And London"

 

Independent El Mundo editorialized (7/10):  "Although there seems to be a relationship between the goals of the terrorists and the degree of implication in Iraq, what these (attacks) attempt to destroy is not a foreign policy but the value system of free societies....  Zapatero made a serious error in establishing a relationship between (Madrid's) March 11 and the policy--in our opinion, incorrect--of the Partido Popular government in Iraq....  The British and their leading class assume that the politics of its country, wise or wrong, is the fruit of a democratic debate, and that it is a system of values and liberties that cannot yield before the blackmail of terror."

 

"This Time London"

 

Left-of-center El País held (7/8):  "Nobody is free from the danger of this threat, and nobody will neutralize it on their own.  A strengthening of international cooperation, better coordination of the intelligence services, and a joint prevention of the democracies is urgent.  At the same time it is urgent to avoid erroneous shortcuts and wrong preventive initiatives.  It would be a cruel paradox if in a resounding victory over terrorism democracies hand over their freedoms and break with their principals in the name of fighting for them....  The London attempts are an attack against European society as a whole." 

 

"Blair:  Exemplary Reaction"

 

Conservative La Razon (7/8):  "Yesterday's attack, like that of Madrid or New York, was not a response to tactical questions, but a strategy that sinks its roots into religious extremism and feeds the notion that Islam confronts the West in a holy war without a headquarters.  Terrorism is a fight without truces or borders and is against everyone....  By ignoring or underestimating its seriousness in light of the reconstruction of Iraq, with the fundamentalist drift in Iran, and Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia anchored in semi-feudal systems, would be to close ones eyes to the greater threat that threatens the democratic world at the beginning of the new millennium.  Yesterday's attack changes Europe, before the mirror of its own weaknesses."

 

SWEDEN:  "Democracies Must Not Yield"

 

Conservative Svenska Dagbladet editorialized (7/8):  "Once again innocent people have been indiscriminately murdered by faceless perpetrators.  Regardless of who is guilty, the first reaction of democracy must be to condemn the repugnant disregard for human dignity they demonstrate.  Nothing can justify an attack like the one London was subject to yesterday....  The Swedish Prime Minister stated at a press conference that 'democratic societies have an obligation to protect themselves.'  But he also recalled that the principles of a state governed by law must be upheld and that we must safeguard our open society....  Resolve and strength will be needed in both the fight against terrorists and the struggle for the values of the good society."

 

TURKEY:  "The Eclipse Of The Mind"

 

Fehmi Koru argued in the pro-government/Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak” (7/8):  "The London attacks prove that the global fight against terrorism has not been effective in confining terrorist activity...[and] has also invalidated the latest argument that Washington has been using to justify its presence in Iraq.  The intervention in Iraq has not helped to minimize terrorism.  On the contrary, it has made the entire world vulnerable to the terrorist threat....  Now it is important what kind of measures the U.S. and the UK will implement in the fight against terrorism.  Tougher measures are expected.  We could see people being asked to make more sacrifices on issues of basic freedom.  In fact, such measures will not bring a solution.  An analysis of events since 9/11 should be done.  A proper diagnosis will provide the ground for taking measures to eliminate the social, political, and economic reasons behind the terror....  Yet what we have been seeing is altogether different.  Rationality and morality are missing in the midst of the violence.  Terror is a result of the mind being eclipsed by other forces.  It is impossible not to feel pessimistic when we see the direction in which the world is heading."

 

MIDDLE EAST

 

ISRAEL:  "Root Causes"

 

The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (7/11):  "Regrettably, it hasn't taken long for [some British] politicians and pundits to raise the familiar, if sterile, 'root causes' argument to 'explain' the blowing up of carriages on the London Underground and a double-decker bus in the center of town....  Even Blair himself has seemed to be backtracking, ever so subtly, from his initial Churchillian responses on the day of the bombings....  In the encounter between the Orient and the Occident, between Islam and the West and, more recently, in Israel's struggle to survive in the Muslim Middle East, it may be that errors have been made which have contributed to the development of Islamic fanaticism.  If so, those errors should be addressed.  We all have an interest in preventing the spread of murderous extremism.  But no such errors can possibly be cited to so much as imply a justification or legitimization for the premeditated, indiscriminate killings of innocents....  Critics focus on what the West does.  But the real 'root cause' for Islamists is what the West is."

 

"The New Terror Front Is Europe"

 

Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (7/8):  "The bombings in London and the announcement from an organization calling itself al-Qaida Jihad Europe indicate that the organization has adopted a new strategy--to export the war from Iraq to states it sees as its rivals for the control of Iraq....  This new strategy in Europe could result in the operation of two terror systems--one in Iraq, headed by the Iraqi network, and another on the international front, wherever a bombing could be carried out.  Thus the radical organizations could fully realize the tactical capability of their flexible structure.  On the one hand, they could operate as local groups poised to establish radical fundamentalist regimes in Muslim states, and on the other hand, serve as branches of a universal ideology and its leadership....  It is difficult to detect the two terror systems because international terror organizations, unlike local ones, do not necessarily depend on local community infrastructure, Arab or Muslim.  Instead they have developed independent logistic systems....  [Thus,] the European intelligence services have difficulty in detecting these cells, apparently because they are cut off from the local Muslim communities that are under surveillance."

 

"A Global Test"

 

Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (7/8):  "The threat posed by Islamist fanaticism is to the very fabric that keeps the international system together....  The remedy must therefore constitute a long-term effort that only begins with the world's leading secret services and armies.  Even more fundamentally, the peoples who languish under the thumb of dictators who support terrorism must see that they are not alone....  The attackers would, of course, like gullible Westerners to think that they struck because of Britain's presence in Iraq and Afghanistan.   But in both countries the people have been given a chance to express their own views, in the kind of free elections that the Islamists are fighting against.  In turning out massively for both elections, Afghanis and Iraqis have effectively told the world that in the war between terror and life, they, the Muslim masses, are on the side of life.  Sooner or later they will be joined in that reckoning with those in the West who have yet to understand where history has now arrived.  Only then will the end of this world war's beginning have arrived."

 

WEST BANK:  "The London Blasts… Blind Violence Against Civilians"

 

Independent Al-Quds editorialized (7/8):  "Yesterday’s events in the British capital, London, in which hundreds were reported killed and injured, is totally unacceptable....  Some Western policies are positive and reasonable in understanding the just Arab causes and others are strict and biased.... Blind violence is not the means to strengthen the first kind and to contain the second one, for it would only harm the general position of the European and American peoples, similar to the post 9/11 events..... toward Arabs and Muslims.”

 

"Who Accepts This?"

 

Ahmad Dahbour wrote in official Al-Hayat Al-Jadida  (7/8):  "At a public level, the Brits were celebrating the selection of London as a house for the Olympics and their politicians were greeting the G-8 representatives while their soldiers were assaulting the Iraqi people, which nobody denies and is unfair to underestimate.  Yet, is the killing of innocents and the ruining of the Olympics celebrations...a response to what’s taking place in Iraq?  How many Muslims, Arabs and Easterners can be subject to death threats in [events] such as the London bombings?  And how many will certainly face the [British] police and administrative reaction that will follow?  Let’s check the feasibility [of such acts], is the harm to the targets bigger than the harm to the innocent?...  What about ethics and values?  Who is the winner in this case?  Where does the legitimate Iraqi resistance against the occupation troops stand in terms of the bombings that killed innocent civilians in London?"

 

SAUDI ARABIA:  "Muslims After The London Bombings"

 

Dammam’s moderate Al-Yaum argued (7/9):  "The obvious objective of al-Qaida is to isolate Muslims from the rest of the nations of the world.  To keep them always in a cage of accusations and to get them back into the dark ages....  After the London bombings Muslims will not find any sympathy for their causes.  Muslims will face difficult times."

 

"We Told You To Protect Against Them, And Now We Say Expel Them"

 

Abdulrahman Al-Rashid commented in London-based, pan-Arab influential Asharq Al-Awsat (7/9):  "Many Arab writers warned Britain of danger of being lenient in the issue of extremism that spread among Muslims living and immigrating to London.  London gave asylum to people suspected or even convicted of extremism....  What foolish generosity that was irrespective of legal or political justification!  Leniency has become a visible feature in the British foreign policy....  Tolerance is not deserved by those who are sick with hatred....  Because of this leniency, Arab and Muslim extremists from everywhere went to London....  It is time for the British authorities to deal practically with extremism, otherwise, we will see a real hell.  We told you before to protect against them, today we say expel them."

 

"Harming The Fair Cases"

 

Jeddah's conservative Al-Madina editorialized (7/9):  "Terrorism is the common worldwide enemy, the explosions that rocked central London killing and injuring hundreds of peaceful people, are not serving any case whatsoever.  They are just raising the indignation of the country that witnessed the biggest march against the war in Iraq, globalization, and the economic and financial domination of the richest eight countries, before and during the G-8 summit....  These attacks only create obstacles to peace and development in the Middle East.  It only expresses their desperation in not being able to reach the Scotland.  The result is, more international insistence on counterterrorism."

 

"War On Terror Has Not Achieved Anything"

 

Abd Al-Rahim ‘Ali, a journalist specializing in the affairs of Islamic groups commented on Al Arabiya satellite TV (7/7):  "[The War on Terrorism] has not achieved anything, because they are facing an enemy with a certain ideology and strategy.  Al-Qaida’s ideology cannot be confronted by a group of Muslim scholars [loyal] to their countries' authorities.  Al-Qaida cannot be confronted while human rights are being violated in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo, and Palestine.  Al-Qaida cannot be confronted by a U.S. soldier....  One cannot confront a man who wants to become a martyr instantly."

 

ALGERIA:  "Terrorism Is Anti-Human"

 

Independent, French-language La Tribune noted (Internet version, 7/10):  "Modern religious extremism is another version of the nationalist and racial extremism that dominated the West for centuries, which explains the wars which tore it apart, particularly the First and the Second World Wars....  Religious extremism, which, moreover, is not the expression of a nation, even less of the Muslim nations, is no less the desperate manifestation of a feeling of humiliation and a perceptible contempt via the two major issues for Muslims, Palestine and Iraq....  Injustice generates its counterweight, which is expressed in other forms ranging from the most civilized forms to barbarism.  That is where the profound cause of terrorism lies which, for its part, no longer recognizes the world powers as referees and, as such, has shut itself up in its own up-to-the-bitter-end logic, for a 'world order' based on its principles.  On this issue, al-Qaida attacked Muslims before attacking non-Muslims.  The Islamist fundamentalists' thesis of anti-Westernism is quite flimsy as an explanation of the terrorist wave against Western countries.  Terrorism is quite simply anti-human since, for it, everyone who leaves his shell is equal, whether they be Muslims or something else."

 

"And It Is Not Finished Yet"

 

Influential French-language L’Expression commented (7/8):  "It is the hatred of the U.S. that nourishes bin Ladin....  By striking Great Britain, al-Qaida has also shaken America....  The results of a poll conducted in 16 countries [shows]...people are convinced that the world's first power does not take the interests of other countries into account and that it is largely responsible for the worsening of terrorist threats.  The war in Iraq explains in large part anti-American sentiments....  The political short-sightedness of Western heads of state has lasted for too long.  They must face facts that Iraq is the primary stimulus for terrorism.  However, will they have the courage to say so to Bush?"

 

IRAQ:  "What Are The Causes And Solutions Of The Attacks In Iraq And Britain?"

 

Abdul Hadi Mahdi wrote in Al-Ittihad, affiliated with the PUK, led by Jalal Talabani (7/11):  "The attacks in London were no easy feat because they coincided with the security precautions implemented for the G-8 summit.  Needless to say, the daily attacks in Iraq are more violent than the London bombings and the number of daily victims is much higher.  We must ask why did Iraq's neighboring countries not implement security precautions around their own facilities in Iraq?...  Do these countries believe that the terrorist operations occurring in Iraq will never be exported into their lands?  Do they prefer to leave the Iraqis alone to face their own destiny?...  Countries around the world have allocated billions of dollars to counterterrorist operations.  However, this amount has proven incapable of putting an end to such operations.  Perhaps the billions of dollars that have been spent have only resulted in transferring the execution of these operations from one country to another.  Therefore, we must implement an accurate study to discuss the motives behind this dissemination of death culture.  We must enact solutions to save the world from this evil.  We have grown tired of debates on the pan-Arab satellite channels and newspapers where accusations are exchanged without offering any real or accurate facts."

 

LIBYA:  "Bloody Thursday In London"

 

Tripoli's Al-Jamahariyah editorialized (7/9):  "How could seven blasts (sic) happen as if arranged by a maestro on a day when the world was looking at London with wide eyes, because of the G-8 summit or the Olympics?...  The perpetrator of this terrorist act was able to choose the time, was able to choose the place, and also managed to carry [it] out without any problems.  This reflects the fact that terrorism has become more dangerous after Iraq, and that the wrong prescription cannot lead to the correct remedy.  We therefore need to deal with the terrorism phenomenon from its roots.  We as Muslims need an international public relations campaign to convince the world of only one thing, that Islam is not like this."

 

MOROCCO:  "The Carpet"

 

Mohamed Benabid commented in independent business-oriented L’Economiste (7/8):  "Like September 11, March 11 and May 16, there will from now on always be a July 7.  Now we’re in for another international security lock-down all because of mentally ill people who think they have been ordered, in the name of divine justice, to take innocent lives.  The best response to these monsters is to make them doubt that they have achieved their goal, which is to destroy democracy."

 

QATAR:  "A Major Blow To Tony Blair"

 

Abd Al-Bari 'Atwan, editor-in-chief of the London-based, Arab nationalist Al-Quds Al-'Arabi commented on government-owned Al Jazeera satellite TV's "Harvest of the Day" program (7/7):   "Without a doubt, these bombings were a major blow to Tony Blair, who was at the height of his glory until the last moments before the explosions....  He succeeded in getting London to host the Olympics, and he is hosting the G-8 summit.  He has also just begun [presiding over] the EU.  Through these accomplishments, this man wanted to cover up the great failure of British and U.S. policies in Iraq....  These bombings wiped away everything, to confirm the [failure of] the war launched by Blair and Bush against terrorism, spending $250 billion, in addition to 2,000 British soldiers [sic] and 100,000 Iraqis killed.  Thus far, the war [on terrorism] has not achieved success.  If al-Qaida is really behind these bombings, this will confirm that al-Qaida has re-organized its ranks, was able to recruit anew, and was able to reach the heart of European capitals, Britain after Madrid....  The Arab and Islamic communities are living in a state of fear, a real state of psychological terror due to these bombings.  These communities were subjected to vicious racial attacks [after] September 11.  Mosques were attacked, grocery stores were burned, and women were...attacked in the streets of Arab areas [in London].  They were attacked by extremist racists.  If the events that occurred in New York caused such damage to the Islamic and Arab communities in more than one British city, how then will their situation be, [since] these targeted Britons and killed innocent citizens on their way to work?  These attacks will perhaps lead to [attacks on] the Islamic and Arab communities."

 

"West’s Mistake Is Treating Terrorism Solely As Security Problem"

 

Dhiya Rashwan, expert at the Center for Strategic Studies at the Al-Ahram newspaper in Cairo, declared on government-owned Al Jazeera satellite TV (7/7):  "The expansion [of Al-Qaida ideology] is due to the numerous Arab and Muslim communities present in Europe, in the West in general, and all over the world.  These communities feel that they are cut off, and most of them are personally feeling the impact of what is called the war on terrorism.  Some of these communities also feel humiliated due to what is occurring in their home countries because of U.S., Western, and Israeli policies.  This pushes many of the members of the communities to support [these] groups....  They provide them with human support and logistical cover, enabling them to overcome security measures.  The problem of violence and terrorism and what is now occurring in the world is because Westerners, and specifically the Americans and the British, look at these problems purely from the standpoint of security.  This thinking is what led to the attack on London...and it will exacerbate the situation in most of the European capitals."

 

SYRIA:  "To Uproot Terrorism"

 

Izz Eddin al-Darwish penned this in government-owned Tishreen (7/10):  "The bombings in London and before that in many other cities around the world show that the Arab and Islamic region are witnessing unprecedented tension....  Arabs have a central cause that is being ignored or worked against; namely, the Palestinian question and the occupation of Syrian and Lebanese territories that resulted from it.  It is neither conceivable nor acceptable that Israel, the aggressor and occupier of these Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese territories receive support instead of punishment for its aggression....  How can Arab and Islamic peoples be convinced that the war on terror is fair when the Israeli terrorism is classified as self-defense?  How can things be right if the U.S. administration and the Western governments in general turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the documented Israeli terrorism, if not justify it?...  Terrorism is rejected and condemned, and it is in the interest of Arabs, more than anyone else, that it be uprooted because the Arabs are the ones who suffer most from it against what is happening in the occupied Arab territories, including Iraq....  Annihilating terrorism requires, above all, creating the appropriate political, security, and psychological climates and studying the problem from all its aspects."

 

EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC

 

AUSTRALIA:  "Crisis At Heart Of Islam"

 

Editor-at-large Paul Kelly observed in the national conservative Australian (7/9):  "This is a terrorist attack, but the conflict is not really a war against terrorism.  Its sources lie in religious fundamentalism and an ideological perversion within Islam.  The enemy is not a nation but a global movement embedded within religion and this explains its formidable and elusive nature….  For this fanatical mind-set, the London attack is a celebration of God's will.  It is, however, minor compared with the scale of al-Qaida's declarations….  Don't ask whether Australia is a target because of who we are or what we do.  We are a target on both counts.  Like Britain and the U.S., we are a target because we belong to the Zionist-Christian conspiracy but we are also a target because of our policies, notably our intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq….  The...trap lies in the prejudice of the anti-Howard, anti-Blair, anti-Bush Left and its false claim that the West is responsible for this war, a claim that is dangerous because it assumes one can appease or negotiate with jihadists whose objective is mass murder.  Bin Ladin's strategy rests on his declared conviction that the West is corrupt, decadent, weak and will fold.  The only response is a blend of the dignity and strength on display in London."

 

"Today We Are All Londoners"

 

The national conservative Australian judged (7/8):  "Last night's attacks on the London Underground and the bombing of buses in the city are an evil omen for the British capital's Olympic win.  Just who is responsible for this awful attack is not yet known and it is important blame is not attributed before the facts are clear....  For nearly four hundred years, London has been a global city, and an engine-room for democratic and civilized values.  Terrorists can set off as many bombs as they wish:  they cannot win against a tradition that is inherently superior to theirs because it respects human life and the desire for freedom.  So they will try to destroy what they cannot defeat in democratic debate.  The awarding of the Olympics to London was a testament to the city's economic success and self-confidence....  And London will bounce back from this attack--to stage a spectacular festival of sport and culture in 2012.  Just as the world united behind New York on September 11, 2001, this morning we are all Londoners."

 

"London Put To An Immediate Test"

 

The liberal Sydney Morning Herald observed (7/8):  "How quickly the images of cheering crowds in Trafalgar Square changed to the grim faces of emergency workers; how soon the cheers of those celebrating the success of London's bid for the 2012 Olympics became the cries of those injured in the terrorist attacks on London's trains and a bus....  Immediately our fervent hope is that in more peaceful times London will enjoy its Games, and that they will become the expression of the best in human endeavor as the bombing outrages expressed the very worst."

 

CHINA (HONG KONG SAR):  "War On Terrorism Is A Victory Or Failure"

 

The independent Chinese-language Hong Kong Economic Journal editorialized (7/8):  "When the 9/11 tragedy happened, the whole world shared a bitter hatred of the enemy.  The phrase 'Today, we are Americans' moved many people.  Four years have passed, the U.S. war on terrorism and its strategy of countering terrorist activities has not prevented this tragedy from happening or made the world safer.  On the contrary, anti-U.S. and anti-West sentiment among the Islamic world has grown stronger.  Even the U.S.' Foreign Affairs magazine wrote:  Today, the whole world seems to be anti-U.S.  We can see that those terrorist attacks outside the U.S. are targeted at allies of the U.S.  U.S. radical Middle East policies are the roots for the wave upon wave of terrorist activities and these policies provide breeding grounds for new generations of terrorists.  Although the Bush administration boasted that it had struck the countries that harbored terrorist activities, if the political, economic, national and religious conditions that cultivate terrorism are not removed, terrorist activities will follow one after another."

 

"Terrorist Attacks Will Not Succeed"

 

The mass-circulation Chinese-language Apple Daily News remarked (7/8):  "Just when Britain's elation of winning the bid to hold the 2012 Olympics cooled down a bit, terrorists launched a cold-blooded attack on civilians.  They set off bombs in underground trains and buses causing hundreds of casualties.  We strongly condemn terrorist attacks, which aim to kill and hurt civilians.  We hope that the international community, the British people and the people living in London can stand together to condemn the terrorist group that launched these attacks.  We hope the governments of all countries can strengthen their cooperation to combat and eradicate these cold-blooded murderers."

 

TAIWAN:  "Has World Become Safer In Wake Of War On Terrorism?"

 

Washington correspondent Liu Ping noted in centrist, pro-status quo China Times (7/8):  "An extremely important job for preventing terrorist attacks is intelligence collection, especially of intelligence sources from within the Islamic world.  But given the [rising] anti-American sentiments [in the Islamic world] today, the reliability and stability of such intelligence is questionable.  As a result, the  security of the United States and its allies is also a challenge.  The irony lies in the fact that within the Islamic world, Iraq is in reality the country that is most tolerant of Christianity....  The United States and United Kingdom jointly launched a war of injustice using made-up reasons, but in fact, the war has failed to obtain better security for them."

 

JAPAN:  "Dauntless Challenge To International Order"

 

Top-circulation, moderate Yomiuri editorialized (7/8):  "Thursday's multiple bombing attacks on London's public transportation systems brought back the nightmarish memories of the simultaneous 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.  We can by no means condone these indiscriminate acts of terrorism, which targeted innocent civilians.  British Prime Minister Blair declared that Britain would flinch even an inch from international terrorism.  It is important for the international community to show a firm stance toward terrorism....  Undoubtedly, terrorists tried to show force timed to coincide with the start of the G-8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.  The London bombing clearly showed that international terrorist organizations, similar to (those responsible for) 9/11, continue to pose a serious threat to the international community....  G-8 nations should join forces to lead the fight against international terrorism."       

 

"9/11 Nightmare Revived"

 

The liberal Asahi observed (7/8):  "We shudder to think that terrorists brazenly carried out such bombings in the heavily guarded capital of Britain in a manner designed to ridicule the G-8 leaders' pledge to continue the war on terrorism.  The terrorists may have attacked London in retaliation for Britain's participation in the ongoing Iraq war.  But we are concerned that the terrorists may very well have executed the bombings out of growing hatred of the G-8 and other advanced Western nations."

 

"Terrorism Designed To Disturb G-8 Summit"

 

Business daily Nihon Keizai concluded (7/8):  "Leaders from the G-8 nations should discuss the key issues of aid for Africa and measures to combat global warming as scheduled without succumbing to the terrorists' attempt to disrupt the Gleneagles summit.  We give strong support to a joint statement by the G-8 leaders criticizing and pledging to fight acts of terrorism....  There are already fears that the London bombing could trigger a fall in stock prices worldwide and have (other) adverse effects on the world economy."     

 

INDONESIA:  "Terror In London"

 

Leading independent daily Kompas commented (7/9):  "Every time a terror attack such as this engulfs civilian victims, we are crushed by the event and overwhelmed by anger.  Attacks like this cannot be accepted within the civilized world....  Outside of this tragedy a few people see an explicit connection between the London bombing and the policies being carried out by the English government; in this case, their support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan....  In this context, in addition to firmly fighting terrorism, we also need to look at the improving the system of international relations."

 

"Bombs In London"

 

Independent Surabaya-based daily IndoPos maintained (7/11):  "No matter who committed the bombing which killed many of London’s citizens, it shows that terror acts no longer recognize countries and regions.  In other words, there is no single country that is really free from a terrorist threat.  Therefore, the British police should regard and understand the bombing as a universal terror act.  It should not be related with any religious issue or sentiment....  Britain is a multicultural country.  Many of its citizens are migrants, including those coming from African countries where Muslims comprise the majority of the population. For that reason, it would be inappropriate to connect the bombing with British citizens who are Muslims."

 

SOUTH KOREA:  "Abominable Terrorist Attacks Once Again Shake The World"

 

The conservative Chosun Ilbo judged (7/8):  "Terrorism is the most cowardly and cruelest act of aggression used to achieve one’s own political objectives by striking fear with indiscriminate acts of violence against innocent civilians.  In the case of yesterday’s attacks in London as well, terrorists killed Londoners, plunging all of Britain into shock and horror, for the reasons that a summit of the Group of Eight leaders is being held in Scotland, Great Britain, and that the country actively supports the U.S.-led war in Iraq.  However, the terrorists must note that such acts of violence only help to strengthen the British people’s support for their government against their cruel intentions.  We urge the international community to join forces to not succumb to the horror of terrorism under the principle of zero tolerance for any acts of terrorism, no matter what ulterior motives are behind them."

 

THAILAND:  "Joint Action The Way To Beat Terror"

 

The top-circulation, moderately conservative, English-language Bangkok Post concluded (7/9):  "The terrorist attacks on London were a shock but not a surprise....  While transportation systems throughout Europe and around the world stepped up security and called for passenger vigilance, it is clear there is little defense against hardened terrorists once they bring their bombs to the center of their target cities.  Thursday's attacks showed that countries have failed to take the steps necessary to identify and stop the bombers before they act....  The real defense of innocent civilians against bombs, hijackings and other mass violence is to stop the murderous gangs in their tracks, and to convince potential terrorists and supporters to abandon their indefensible violence.  This is obviously more easily said than done, but it is clear even many of the countries involved in this necessary effort are not meeting their responsibility.  Innocent citizens of Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia have died in terrorist attacks just like those in London....  No one is safe from international terrorists, and the effort to stop terrorism must equally involve all countries."

 

SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA

 

INDIA:  "London Under Siege"

 

The centrist Indian Express editorialized (7/8):  "On Thursday morning, the inevitable happened.  The timing of the attack was nothing more than a direct message to the G-8 nations assembled at Gleneagles that the phantom still walks amidst them....  The problem of defeating terror lies in its very fluidity....  These forces mean business, they cannot be allowed to get away each time.  Their asymmetric skill to perpetrate discrete acts of terror demands a new alertness and a new intelligence from the international community.  But, first, they need to be isolated from civilized society.  Groups like the al-Qaida portray themselves as defenders of Islam.  But in actual fact they represent everything that is contrary to Islamic law and teaching.  This recognition that terrorism--and its conscious targeting of ordinary people--represents an absolute evil, that is contrary to everything that civilized society values, should be the basis for the world’s response."

 

"Earth Shakes Under World Leaders' Feet"

 

London correspondent Amit Roy noted in the centrist Telegraph (7/8):  "The Muslim Council of Britain, fearing a backlash, condemned today’s atrocity....  However, the terrorists may have misjudged the British.  Even those who were against Blair’s decision to go to war against Iraq are likely to rally behind him."

 

PAKISTAN:  "Al-Qaida Strikes In London's Heart"

 

The centrist national English-language News had this to say (7/8):  "Despite strict security and layers of intelligence checks, the men in the shadows have been able to strike in the heart of Britain....  While a change in the global strategy is required to tackle the root causes of terrorism, the kind of vulnerability that the British people must now be feeling after being targeted may also translate into more pressure on the re-elected Labor government to reconsider its global anti-terrorism positioning....  Despite al-Qaida's owning the responsibility for the bombings, the London atrocity emphasized that terrorism isn't confined to religious extremism, condemnable as that trend is....  The bombings are a chilling new reminder that the 'First World' is just as vulnerable to terrorism as the Third, the difference being the degree of vulnerability.  The London attack has brought the war home that Britain has so far been fighting in far off Iraq.  And the seven blasts may yet jolt the G-8 leaders in Gleneagles into pondering over the fact that poverty and global injustice are the root causes of terrorism in the world."

 

"Mysterious Blasts In London"

 

Second-largest Urdu-language daily Nawa-e-Waqt remarked (7/8):  "Perhaps, like the World Trade Center, the U.S. also managed the London blasts, so that they may be blamed on al-Qaida and eventually Muslims and Pakistanis living in Europe could be harassed.  In contrast, the underground railway company has said that the explosions were caused by a power surge.  There was no evidence of bomb explosions, yet the European leaders are terming them as such."

 

BANGLADESH:  "On The London Blast"

 

Conservative Islamic, Bangla-language, Jamaat-e-Islami-spokespiece Sangram commented (7/10):  "We condemn the criminal act and express out deep sorrow for the death of innocent people....  Investigations into the London blast have just begun, but already al-Qaida has been identified as the prime suspect.  Since al-Qaida is involved with Islam and Muslims, Muslims become a target of suspicion in various countries.  This baseless suspicion must be ended for the sake of peace and for the preservation of rights of a great religion and nation.  Bin Ladin and al-Qaida are new names to the Muslim world.  They are not something to be followed in the Islamic world.  After 9/11, bin Ladin's name came to the forefront, then al-Qaida emerged.  Since 9/11 incidents were not thoroughly investigated and perpetrators were not put on trial.  Bin Ladin and al-Qaida's identity and activities have remained in the dark.  These two names are being implicated in all major terrorist incidents....  We think that terrorist acts of political and international nature must be investigated impartially.  In this case, the International Court may come forward.  We think that if the International Court takes initiative with the cooperation from all countries, bin Ladin and al-Qaida's existence can be proved, if they exist at all, and their hands can be broken for good.  The International Court, as a part of the UN, should come forward to apprehend bin Ladin and al-Qaida and free Islam and the Muslim nation from baseless suspicion."

 

AFRICA

 

SOUTH AFRICA:  "London’s Joy And Agony"

 

The liberal Star held (7/8):  "The atrocity highlights two worrisome factors.  First, al-Qaida had been written off as a spent force unable to again mount spectacular attacks like it did on New York’s world Trade Centre four years ago.  Secondly, yesterdays attacks could have been planned in the making since 2001, and illustrate the ability of terrorists to bide their time and wait until targeted countries have been lulled into a false sense of security.  The attacks once again prove that no nation is immune form terrorist attacks.  They highlight the need for international intelligence agencies to be on their guard, and to share information about global threats.  Without that, every country will be a sitting duck."

 

"An Odious Attack"

 

Balanced Business Day argued (7/8):  "Yesterdays bombing in London are unforgivable.  But if the response is to be violence in return, then free societies become less free.  The new and supposedly secure environment in which Americans live following September 11, 2001 is a good measure of the high price democracies pay for their inability to find lasting solutions to terrorism.  Britain yesterday appears to have paid the price for its role in Iraq, just as Spain did in March last year.  And it is all well for Blair to declare, as he did yesterday, that the terrorists will never succeed."

 

GHANA:  "If Bombs Could Speak"

 

The pro-ruling Party Statesman observed (7/8):  "It looks...like terrorism is destined to escalate and spread, not because extremist terrorist cadres are so capable but because of the incorrigible commitment of the Bush-Blair mindset that insists on asserting the values and privileged lifestyles of Westerners are more important than the uncounted lives of Iraqis and Palestinians and Afghans and Kuwaitis and Kurds and God only knows who next.  What we hear from Mr. Blair and his close partner Mr. Bush is not eagerness for reconciliation and a resolute turn away from further violence, but greater resolve and vindication that they have been right all along in waging their war of terror....  If Blair insists stubbornly on going through with his supremacist posturing and leads his country through to the Olympics as if he is incapable of wrongdoing and error in leadership, then we are sure to see more killings of innocents, perhaps during the game themselves....  And simultaneously we will suffer an erosion of the very freedoms and privileges enjoyed thanks to the globalizing capitalist democracies for which G-8 leaders are prepared to sacrifice citizens’ lives, provided those lives are lost in predominantly Islamic societies."

 

KENYA:  "Talk Tough But Tackle Real Causes Of Terrorism"

 

The independent, pro-business Standard held (Internet version, 7/10):  "First comes the carnage....  Innocent citizens caught in the great new war of our time; one in which the enemy is faceless, its armies elusive, and its cause fuzzily defined.  The reaction of world leaders in the aftermath of these attacks is similarly predictable.  Tony Blair, like George W. Bush before him, reacted to the bombings in London last week with fighting talk....  Yet it is a fair assessment that the attacks in the British capital also illustrate the fact that the 'war on terror' has not been a success.  The American president and the British prime minister have repeated severally that they have committed troops to fight abroad to avoid the possibility of being attacked at home.  Clearly, they have not succeeded....  There can be no doubt that Osama bin Ladin is a threat to our world.  His aim of establishing a pan-Islamic caliphate around the world is doomed to fail and his methods are utterly despicable.  Yet the methods that the West has thus far adopted in tackling the threat he poses have done little to make the world a safer place....  The West needs to appreciate the fact that this is not a war that can be won militarily.  Instead, greater investment must be put to the cause of draining the well of grievances which inspires terrorism or which die-hard terrorists use to recruit new members, to render them redundant....  Muslim leaders must also play their part, and actively condemn extremism in all its forms."

 

"London Bombing Cowardly"

 

The independent, left-of-center Nation concluded (7/9):  "The barbarian and cowardly terrorist attacks, be they over religious or political grievances, wreak needless destruction to life and property.  They seriously disrupt the peace and tranquility that is a prerequisite for all human undertakings.  Fortunately for us all, they end up hardening people's resolve to pursue with added vigor, their aims and their vision.  Such is the futility and stupidity of terrorism.  The London attacks came at a time when the G-8 nations were principally thrashing out issues of poverty alleviation in Africa and global warming...without doubt, to reap maximum effect in both casualty numbers and the publicity.  Shame on the perpetrators for they again failed miserably.  All they did achieve was the callous and senseless murder of innocent men, women and children, and the disruption of talks vital for the future of Africa and global warming."

 

"Terror Attacks Barbaric"

 

The KANU party-owned Kenya Times observed (7/8):  "While we grieve with those affected by the blasts, especially those who lost their kin in the incident, it, perhaps, also offers an opportunity for the world to give greater thought on how to address root causes of international terrorism.  It has often been said, for example, that terrorists exploit high poverty levels in most of the world’s nations to perpetuate their fundamentalist ideals, and more so to whip up hatred feelings against Western countries such as the U.S. ...  There has, however, been some tardiness in the response of other countries, such as the U.S. to the initiative.  Our hope is that what transpired in London should now awaken them to the reality that time has come for a collective efforts aimed at not only defeating terrorism but also ensuring that its root causes are eliminated."

 

TANZANIA:  "Stop Terrorism!"

 

The Kiswahili-language, independent tabloid Majira held (7/11):  "It is saddening that the attacks were carried out during the G-8 summit in Gleneagles which was discussing ways of alleviating abject poverty in Africa.  The money and resources used to attack London could have been put to better use by helping African countries combat poverty, instead of being used to eliminate human life.  We strongly condemn these attacks, especially also because our president, Benjamin Mkapa was one of the African heads of state in Gleneagles.  We congratulate the heads of state that were gathered in Scotland for the courage and determination they showed by carrying on with the summit.  The international community must join forces to ensure that terrorism is stamped out once and for all.  If this is not done, rich countries will concentrate their efforts on dealing with this vice and the problems facing Africa will be forgotten."

 

UGANDA:  "When Bell Tolls For Londoners"

 

The independent, influential Monitor opined (7/8):  "The goal of the terrorists is to cause the greatest panic, and so their attack on London failed....  The world celebrates the courage and defiance of Londoners who refuse to be cowed by the dastardly tactics of the terrorists....  The terrorists hate a happy world.  They timed their attacks to coincide with London's celebration after being awarded the 2012 Olympics and the G-8 summit of leaders of the wealthiest countries meeting to solve the problems of world poverty and the environment.  Ugandans, who have endured 19-years of brutality wreaked upon us by the Lord's Resistance Army rebels of Joseph Kony, easily empathize with the Londoners who are the latest in a chain of international cities that have confronted the faceless monster of global terror.  The timing, impunity, and indiscriminate nature of the attacks show that they are clearly the nihilist work of warped minds.  We cannot meet the demands of the terrorist even if we wanted to, but we can build a more beautiful world to quash the ugly unreality that they seek to impose on us.  World leaders must strengthen organs of international unity and arbitration to ensure lasting, peaceful, and just solutions to world problems."

 

WESTERN HEMISPHERE

 

CANADA:  "Steely G-8 Resolve Will Defeat Terror"

 

The liberal Toronto Star opined (7/8):  "'Britain is now burning with fear, terror and fright.'  That's how the al-Qaida sympathizers who say they murdered dozens of London commuters yesterday and wounded hundreds view their odious handiwork.  How pathetically delusionary they are.  Like the Americans, who were not cowed by 9/11, Britons have reacted with a Blitz-like resolve to carry on, and to run their tormenters to ground, whoever they prove to be.  As the smoke cleared there was more cold anger in the streets of London yesterday than fright.  And the Group of Eight leaders must match that steely resolve, with a renewed drive to put al-Qaida and its anarchic ilk out of business....  Yesterday's bombing inevitably raised the question of whether gatherings like the G-8 summit are 'worth it,' because they are attractive targets.  But if democratic leaders fear to gather, the terrorists will have won.  Far from striking the mighty and rich yesterday, the bombers hit the very people with whom they purport to sympathize.  They targeted ordinary London workers, including the Arabs and Muslims who call that city home.  They also targeted Africa.  The G-8 leaders had gathered to ratchet up aid to a region where 50,000 die every day from hunger and illness.  Murdering commuters and distracting attention from the world's poorest is no heroic blow for struggling humanity.  But that is not the terrorists' program. It never was."

 

"The Grim Connection"

 

Columnist Rick Salutin commented in the leading, moderate Globe and Mail (7/8):  "There is a grim but real relation between the bombings and the acts of the mighty nations of the G-8....  The kind of terror that occurred yesterday was incubated in U.S. policy going back to the Vietnam years, when Laotian tribesmen were recruited to fight a secret, brutal war....  Ronald Reagan legitimized them as 'freedom fighters' and compared them to the U.S.'s 'founding fathers'--as he also once described Muslim fighters that the U.S. recruited to fight a war of terror in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation....In Afghanistan, working with its partners in Pakistan's security service, the U.S. funded and trained as many as 100,000 religiously fanatical mujahedeen....  Then it simply abandoned them.  Many of these people now are al-Qaida and its offshoots....  It's all sickening: the targeting of totally innocent people, the appalling sanctions against Iraqi kids, the bombs yesterday, 9/11.  But you can't create, legitimate and utilize terror for decades, even as you officially condemn it out of the other side of your mouth, then suddenly claim to stand utterly clear of its incarnations....  The U.S. justified support for its terrorist 'freedom fighters' by saying they were battling the 'evil empire' of the Soviets....  Yesterday, George Bush again said this is about good versus evil.  Many mujahedeen learned the language of good versus evil while in Afghanistan.  Today, they fling it at their former sponsors, who fling it back.  None of this absolves the bombers of responsibility for their bombs, but it makes for less than a clear contrast with the leaders of the G-8."

 

"Attacks Proof War Necessary"

 

Editor emeritus Peter Worthington observed in the conservative tabloid Ottawa Sun (7/8):  "If anything was needed to prove that the U.S.-British war on terrorism is correct and necessary, the coordinated bombings in London are such proof....  There will be faint hearts who will blame the aggressive policies of U.S. President George Bush and Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair for this terrorist violence.  If so, that's superficial and wrong....  Even though the G-8 summit may be the trigger for the London attacks, the 'war' in Iraq is more significant.  The goal of Islamic terrorism against America and Britain and their allies is not merely to defeat them in Iraq, but to defeat democracy as a concept and way of life....  Many countries have experienced terrorism:  America, Britain, Russia, France, Spain, Japan, Morocco, Thailand, Egypt and others. Inevitably the London attack will result in more security.  That's increasingly a reality of the 21st century.  Curiously, one country that has escaped what could be called Islamic terror is Canada-- ot because we are more vigilant and alert, but because we are useful to potential terrorists.  Our strange laws require that any who claim to be refugees, even though they enter Canada fraudulently with false passports and a background of training in terrorist camps, cannot be deported without years of reviews and appeals, often while living on welfare with medical and legal advice.  Why would any terror organization jeopardize this convenient status by committing a terrorist act here and possibly provoke Canada's government into tightening the rules?  Meanwhile, we can sympathize with the Brits, join the CBC in blaming Bush, and feel our neutrality protects us from bad guys."

 

BRAZIL:  "Barbarism"

 

Liberal Folha de S. Paulo editorialized (7/8):  "The barbarity of terrorism has once again shown its most abject face in yesterday’s attack in downtown London.  There is no political, moral or religious justification for a fanatic who decides to explode a train full of passengers.  The civilized world must go on fighting without truce those groups that believe that they have the right to kill people just to try to make their insane beliefs to prevail.  The attack has al-Qaida’s fingerprints....  To fight against terrorism is an imperative.  What is at stake, in addition to human lives, are values such as democracy, freedom and tolerance....  Differently from what happened on Sept. 11, one cannot say that the British have been caught by surprise.  Since Blair’s decision to support the invasion of Iraq, London was aware that it would be a probable next target....  The obligation to act against Islamic terrorism does not mean automatic support to nonsensical and counterproductive actions such as the invasion of Iraq.  But it is necessary that the international community faces the problem more decisively--and does not leave that cause only in the U.S. president’s hands."

 

"London’s Turn"

 

Center-right O Estado de S. Paulo asserted (7/8):  "In a free society there is no absolute protection against those who plan and perpetrate mass murders and are ready to die to carry out their criminal actions, which are motivated by the most insane fanaticism....  The war against terrorism can only exist as a metaphor to justify preventive measures whose fallibility requires permanent reviewing and improvement.  But the tragedy that afflicts the world is that under the ineptest administration of its modern history, the American superpower insists on waging such a war not only in the literal sense, but also against the wrong enemy....  Bush’s impenitent policy in Iraq, with its devastating reverberations throughout the Muslim Arab world, has created the largest recruitment base of murderers al-Qaida and similar organizations could have imagined."

 

MEXICO:  "We All Are Citizens Of London"

 

Sergio Sarmiento wrote in independent Reforma (7/8):  "After New York, Bali and Madrid, it is now London’s turn.  The list of cities is likely to grow, and the terrorists have succeeded in sending the message that there is no way to escape from violent attempts in an open society.  No security measures would be enough to stop a determined terrorist....  The truth is that the terrorists need no excuse to carry out their attempts.  Islamic radicals do not need an excuse or reason....  This line of thought has reinforced in recent years.  One reason is that the Palestinian conflict has fueled the concept among millions of Arabs that violence is the only way to reach a goal....  Every terrorist attempt paves the way for another one.  We will have to get used to look over our shoulder.  And we will have to do so in New York, Bali, Madrid, London or Mexico City.  This is why we are citizens of London."

 

"Stop Irrationality"

 

The business-oriented El Financiero editorialized (7/8):  "The attacks perpetrated in London...confirm the growing contradictions of the Islamic groups, which, under the belief that they are martyrs, reflect the irrationality of their criminal actions....  They claim that their goal is to finish the Western world.  However, the victims of their action are mostly civilians who might agree with their beliefs, but not with their radicalization.  What happened in London shows that the contradictions of Islamic terrorism undermine its belligerence.  Attacks on innocent civilians invalidate any form of terrorism."

 

CHILE:  "The Impact Of The Attacks In London"

 

Conservative, independent La Tercera contended (7/8):  "If we analyze yesterday’s events in London from al-Qaida’s evil perspective, we can say that the results were far from desirable.  Compared to what happened in New York and Washington in 2001...the impact was far smaller...not just because of the number of victims....  September 11 gave way to a new international order that translated into new security interests in the White House and practically the entire Western world.  This time, the attack of the network created by Osama bin Ladin did not even come close to that.  The attacks did not dismantle the G-8 summit and Great Britain’s chief of state seems to have gained strength domestically.  Economically, the attack affected some stock markets in Europe...but had no significant effect on U.S. markets....  For any terrorist organization...the key is to have media coverage of the human and physical destruction and the horror worldwide....  But in this case...the subway was readily closed off to the media, preventing it from getting these images....  This shows that it is more difficult for terrorist organizations to move its tentacles of death when there is a global community increasingly aware of these threats."

 

GUATEMALA:  "Terrorism Has No Rest"

 

Economic Siglo Veintiuno commented (7/8):  "[The attack] has sent out a message to the Western world that terrorist acts should not be disregarded; the curse of international terrorism is latent and does not rest....  For fundamentalist Arab groups, England is their second worst enemy in their holy mandate against the 'crusaders' or Christian enemies of Islam, and more importantly for their support to the U.S. in the invasion of Iraq....  And as expected, the terrorist acts have had repercussions in Europe and other continents.  Countries like Poland, Australia, Italy, and Denmark (all of which have soldiers present in Iraq), live with a constant paranoia because of the threat of a possible terrorist attack in retaliation of their support to Washington....  The world has definitely become a less safer place, but the western powers must not give in to terrorist threats precisely because it can be foreseen a terrible and prolonged war."

 

PERU:  "Repulsive Terrorist Barbarism"

 

Center-right, influential leading daily El Comercio noted (7/8):  "The barbaric terrorist attacks in London bring us back to a reality we can’t ignore:  democratic and civilized states are facing a difficult struggle against a small but insidious, dark and coward enemy that spreads fear, destruction and terror.   As formerly perpetrated in New York, Washington and Madrid, they attacked from the shadows killing innocents, Christians or Muslims, children or elderly, European, Asian, rich or poor.  The immediate answer from the free world was one of horror and repulsion, but firm and solidary.  In the face of the enemy’s intention to destroy the occidental world’s democratic values of peace and development, the answer must be firm, cooperative and united, with greater and better coordination among the democratic nations' intelligence services, judicial and security systems and citizens involvement.  An international response to global terrorism is urgent to combat it with the weapons of law and democracy."

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