Before everyone runs around proclaiming that the world's going to end, that we really have to have ID cards now, and abolish the civil liberties built up over centuries, can I just step back and point out the actual scale of yesterday's London bombings?
The death toll is going to end up in the region of 50 - about the size of your medium-sized rail crash, with perhaps three or four times that many people suffering long-term serious injuries, physical or mental. Now that's horrible for them and their families, but it is about the equivalent of one week's carnage on the roads.
Then there is the disruption in central London - "chaos on the streets" as the media proclaims. Well actually, the problems were in the same order of magnitude as is achieved quite regularly by a good semi-tropical storm, working in cahoots with the inadequate Victorian drains.
Perhaps we should look at this from the other end of the telescope, and realize that despite the endless scare stores about "dirty" bombs, chemical weapons, even nuclear bombs, this was all al-Qa'ida could achieve.
There will be endless post mortems, and indeed there are good questions to ask. I'll admit the advantage of hindsight, but wasn't London, on the day of the G8 summit, when Bin Laden's enemies were making at least a reasonable stab at portraying themselves as environmentally aware humanitarians, in a notably similar position to the Spanish just before their election?
Bin Laden, or at least those working on his model, have patterns that can, and should be checked and predicted, yet we're told London was on the lowest level of alert for years.
Accounts have it that 1,500 Met police are being rushed home from Gleneagles. Shouldn't they have been here in the first place, rather than tearing around Scottish fields trying to stop men in clown suits and women in tie-dye getting within shouting distance of George Bush?
Article comments
1 - Bennett
Thank you Nancy!
No to minimize the pain that the victims, and their families are feeling, but this was a relatively small deal.
Think Indian Ocean Tsunami. Think of one month's worth of killing in Iraq, remember the Spanish train bombing, the people on any of the three planes that were hijacked on 9/11.
Think of the suicide bombings in Israel. Why do we, as a news-driven society, not get our knickers all twisted up over the Tel Aviv cafe and nightclub bombings that kill and maim as many innocent folks as this event?
Please tell me, I'd like to know why this is so different.
Bennett
2 - Bennett
Fok, Did I write Nancy? THANK YOU NATALIE!
3 - theSliver
Generally I agree, proportionality is the current buzz word in all things. Today it appears that most people have got to work and got to work with more or less the same inconvenience as any other random day in the Capital.
There's only a couple of points I'd take issue with. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the lowest threat rating but rather that it wasn't the highest threat rating (which it may well be now), the threat rating system isn't the same as the US's traffic light one, it isn't even the same as the public building alert level which right now might be at red. The threat level is set by the Intelligence Service as an index as to how likely something is to happen rather than a vigilance level (which is what it gets translated into by public buildings).
Secondly, the officers moved up to Gleneagles didn't reduce the active force level in London because it was made up of people on leave or where shift patterns were rearranged to make sure there was sufficient coverage.
From everything I heard, read and had reported to me the emergency services, including the police, were up to strength and followed the Disaster Plan pretty much without fault.
4 - andy marsh
From what I heard on the news this morning...all the stations that were bombed yesterday are open today...I think that's outstanding!
I'm glad that's all these cowards were able to accomplish...a few very unfortunate deaths...but life goes on...it has to!
5 - Nancy
Bennett, I know you suspect we're 'soul mates', but didn't realize I was on your mind THAT much, lol! ;)
Having calmed down from my initial reaction yesterday - which was, as usual, mindless mouth-foaming rage (probably initiated by typical primate fear/fight or flight reaction), I do still think more should be done to round up and deport extremist-preaching imams & others of that ilk who inspire/urge this sort of thing. They really should have no rights to stay in countries with cultures they despise & intend to destroy if they can, and which are not theirs to begin with. To treat them as if they were legitimate citizens, with all the full benefits thereof, is just encouraging them & enabling the terror cells they inspire & lead.
That said, I still think this 'feels' to me more like a Karl Rove dirty trick. Odd that (at this point, at least) responsibility is being claimed by some group claiming Al Qaeda affiliation, and A.Q. hasn't acknowledged them or indicated they know them - & A.Q. is never shy about taking credit for this stuff.
6 - Bennett
Ahhhh... Nancy! I must admit that it may have been some deeply subconcious thing. Very deep as my lovely wife is truly my "soulmate".
All the great things, minds that have become so close that we think the same thoughts, and look forward to the same joys.
However, you are a special gal, and I like the way you think. ;-]
Salut!
7 - Nancy
Well, I appreciate the compliment, at any rate, sweetie. BTW, could it be your wife's name is Nancy? That would explain it....
8 - Natalie
The Independent reported the threat level was measured as the lowest since 9/11 - which may not be the lowest on the scale, but is surprisingly low given the geo-political circumstances.
I'd agree that one thing good that came out of it was the way the emergency services coped - people who needed help seem to have been reached as fast as could reasonably be expected, and management of information, traffic etc, was smooth given the circumstances.
That was fine; perhaps the analysis and use of commonsense in rating risk wasn't.
9 - Natalie
Further to the issue of the alert level, from The New York Times:
"The Joint Terrorist Analysis Center even reduced the threat level of a terrorist attack from "severe-general" to "substantial" early last month. There are seven levels to the security scale, with severe-general the third most severe and substantial the fourth.
The threat levels are not made public, but they reflect the intelligence on potential attacks and help officials to make decisions about staff levels. The alert level was not raised to coincide with the opening of the Group of 8 summit meeting in Scotland, officials said."
10 - Temple Stark
An Editors' pick of the week from the section editor. Thank you.
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