Why London is a target

London is a target because of present and past British governments’ support for American imperialist wars. It goes right back to The 1970′s (and earlier, really) with Margaret Thatcher’s agreement to allow american controlled cruise missiles to be deployed on american bases in Britain. She built a relationship based upon uncritical support for then president Reagan which successive British leaders have continued, to the detriment of the safety of Londoners and millions of other people around the world.
Prime Minister John Major (conservative) allowed Britain to be used as an aircraft carrier for US bombers raiding Libya. He was then instrumental in building an alliance for the first Gulf war, and Tony Blair (new labour) continued the tradition by serving up Britain as America’s closest ally in the invasions of Afghanistan, the second Gulf war and the continued occupation of Iraq.

Terrorism and Imperialism support each other in that the one provides justification for the other, and so on. When the smoke from the explosions finally clears, and when minds clear, some hard questions will have to be asked. It was clearly only a matter of time before the terrorist madmen would attack London. By his actions Tony Blair has placed his people in the front line of this madness. The result was entirely predictable.

The latest atrocity may seem to demonstrate the efficacy of the methods of terrorism. A small group of fanatics with bombs can paralyse a great city. Yet in the last analysis, the terrorists cannot succeed. These insane and barbaric acts only serve the interests of imperialism. Terrorism and imperialism feed off each other. The barbarities of the one serve as the pretext for the barbarities of the other. And it is always the ordinary people who pay the price.

The mass media will now have a field day. Blair and Bush will use this atrocity to try to justify their policy in Iraq and at home. But when people begin to reflect calmly on these events they will draw very different conclusions. The war on terror has not been won. The invasion of Iraq has destabilized the whole Middle East and made many new recruits for terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda. And the world is a far more dangerous place than it was before the invasion of Iraq.

No one can condone acts of violence aimed at working people going about our daily lives. The innocent victims have not been a party to, nor are they responsible for, the decisions of their government.

The loss of innocent lives, whether in this country or Iraq, is precisely the result of a world that has become a less safe and peaceful place in recent years.

It was argued by many that the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq would increase the threat of terrorist attack in Britain. This was well known to ordinary people, and to the security services but tragically, Londoners have now paid the price of the government ignoring such warnings.

We should now urge the government to remove people in this country from harms way, as the Spanish government acted to remove its people from harm, by ending the occupation of Iraq and by turning its full attention to the development of a real solution to the wider conflicts in the Middle East.

Only then will the innocents here and abroad be able to enjoy a life free of the threat of needless violence.

( For many comments and discussions inspired by this same article crossposted on Metro Blogging London please see here )

London Bombings