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I wrote this for a new blog I'm a part of. I figured people here could get some use out of it. I'd like to again extend my deepest sympathies to the British people for their loss and know that we will stand by you until the end.
What happened?: A timeline of events
8:51 AM local time - a bomb detonates on a commuter train one hundred yards from the Liverpool Street station. Seven people die in the attack.
5 minutes later - a bomb detonates on a train between Russell Square and King's Cross stations causing the deaths of twenty-one people.
21 minutes later - a bomb detonates on a train at Edgware Road station killing seven people
30 minutes later - According to witnesses, a suicide bomber kills two (possibly more) on a number 30 bus at Tavistock Place
Here is a map of the Attacks:
First hand accounts of the attacks:
one account
a second account
a third account
Who is responsible?
- UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the bombings had "the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda-related attack".
- An unknown group calling itself the Secret Organization Group of al-Qaeda of Jihad Organization in Europe had claimed to be behind the attacks in a statement posted on an Islamist website.
- Arabic satellite television station Al-Jazeera said it had received a phone call from the same group claiming responsibility.
- One U.S. counterterrorism official emphasized to FOX News that in previous Al Qaeda attacks, such as on Sept. 11, 2001, and the embassy bombings in Africa in 1998, there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
- According to the Northeast Intelligence Network "Preliminary reports from a source inside the Pentagon indicate that one of the operatives involved in this morning's bombings in London was recently released from the prison at Guantanamo." I have not been able to confirm this.
- From the Economist:
Reaction to the Attacks
Leaders and politicians respond to the attacks
-Prime Minister Tony Blair promised the "most intense police and security service action to make sure we bring those responsible to justice".
-"We know that these people act in the name of Islam but we also know that the vast and overwhelming majority of Muslims here and abroad are decent and law-abiding people who abhor those who do this every bit as much as we do," he added.
"It's important ... that those engaged in terrorism 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 and a desire to impose extremism on the world," a clearly shaken Blair told the world.
"Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilizations in the world." (full text)
-The Queen, who will visit some of those involved in the tragedy on Friday, said she was "deeply shocked" and sent her sympathy to those affected. The union jack flag was flying at half mast over Buckingham Palace.
- US President George Bush told reporters at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles "the war on terror goes on."
- Joint G-8 Statement:
- George Galloway, who has been accused among other things of accepting bribes from Saddam, has this reaction:
Other reaction
- "Whoever they are I don't think it takes great bravery to blow up large numbers of people on London Transport. None of these [injured] people have taken up arms against them or done them any harm." - From a first hand account of the attacks.
- "the English are actually very calm about it, they're more pissed off then anything" - A friend of mine, who was outside the one of the targeted stations, reports from London. (This is someone you all know BTW. I’ll let him go into it if he wants.)
- "It has all the earmarks of Al Qaeda," Dennis Ross, special Middle East envoy for Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, told FOX News. "This has probably been planned for a long time. They probably had some sleeper cells in the U.K. for some time. It really looks very much like an Al Qaeda operation, and I think we have to assume they're responsible."
- NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called the attacks "appalling."
Immediate implications
- At least 40 people are dead
- 700 are injured
- Many, many people, including people I know, who were there will feel the consequences for the rest of their lives.
- BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said he had been told by Whitehall sources that a "massive intelligence effort" was under way to find the perpetrators of the bombings.
- US transit system is at orange as a result of the attacks
- G-8 meeting will shift its focus to terrorism
- US markets weathered the attacks well. (CNBC)
- London's FTSE 100 Index was not so fortunate.
What happened?: A timeline of events
8:51 AM local time - a bomb detonates on a commuter train one hundred yards from the Liverpool Street station. Seven people die in the attack.
5 minutes later - a bomb detonates on a train between Russell Square and King's Cross stations causing the deaths of twenty-one people.
21 minutes later - a bomb detonates on a train at Edgware Road station killing seven people
30 minutes later - According to witnesses, a suicide bomber kills two (possibly more) on a number 30 bus at Tavistock Place
Here is a map of the Attacks:
First hand accounts of the attacks:
one account
a second account
a third account
Who is responsible?
- UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the bombings had "the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda-related attack".
- An unknown group calling itself the Secret Organization Group of al-Qaeda of Jihad Organization in Europe had claimed to be behind the attacks in a statement posted on an Islamist website.
- Arabic satellite television station Al-Jazeera said it had received a phone call from the same group claiming responsibility.
- One U.S. counterterrorism official emphasized to FOX News that in previous Al Qaeda attacks, such as on Sept. 11, 2001, and the embassy bombings in Africa in 1998, there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
- According to the Northeast Intelligence Network "Preliminary reports from a source inside the Pentagon indicate that one of the operatives involved in this morning's bombings in London was recently released from the prison at Guantanamo." I have not been able to confirm this.
- From the Economist:
It is not impossible that some hitherto unknown anti-capitalist or anti-globalisation group caused the explosions, timing them to coincide with the G8 meeting, but this seems very unlikely. A high level of organisation would be required to make the devices and set them off in such an apparently co-ordinated manner. The IRA has been on ceasefire since 1997 and also seems unlikely to have been involved; nor is it likely that one of its splinter groups was responsible.
Leaders and politicians respond to the attacks
-Prime Minister Tony Blair promised the "most intense police and security service action to make sure we bring those responsible to justice".
-"We know that these people act in the name of Islam but we also know that the vast and overwhelming majority of Muslims here and abroad are decent and law-abiding people who abhor those who do this every bit as much as we do," he added.
"It's important ... that those engaged in terrorism 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 and a desire to impose extremism on the world," a clearly shaken Blair told the world.
"Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilizations in the world." (full text)
-The Queen, who will visit some of those involved in the tragedy on Friday, said she was "deeply shocked" and sent her sympathy to those affected. The union jack flag was flying at half mast over Buckingham Palace.
- US President George Bush told reporters at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles "the war on terror goes on."
- Joint G-8 Statement:
"Those responsible have no respect for human life. We are united in our resolve to confront and defeat this terrorism that is not an attack on one nation but on all nations and on civilized people everywhere. We will not allow violence to change our societies or our values, nor will we allow it to stop the work of this summit," the statement read.
"The terrorists will not succeed. Today's bombings will not weaken in any way our resolve to uphold the most deeply held principles of our societies and to defeat those who would impose their fanaticism and extremism on all of us. We shall prevail and they shall not."
"The terrorists will not succeed. Today's bombings will not weaken in any way our resolve to uphold the most deeply held principles of our societies and to defeat those who would impose their fanaticism and extremism on all of us. We shall prevail and they shall not."
Statement on the London bombings by George Galloway on behalf of Respect
07/07/2005
We extend our condolences to the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives today and our heartfelt sympathy to all those who have been injured by the bombs in London.
No one can condone acts of violence aimed at working people going about their daily lives. They have not been a party to, nor are they responsible for, the decisions of their government. They are entirely innocent and we condemn those who have killed or injured them.
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.
We have worked without rest to remove the causes of such violence from our world. We argued, as did the security services in this country, that the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq would increase the threat of terrorist attack in Britain. Tragically Londoners have now paid the price of the government ignoring such warnings.
We 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.
* George Galloway, Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow
07/07/2005
We extend our condolences to the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives today and our heartfelt sympathy to all those who have been injured by the bombs in London.
No one can condone acts of violence aimed at working people going about their daily lives. They have not been a party to, nor are they responsible for, the decisions of their government. They are entirely innocent and we condemn those who have killed or injured them.
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.
We have worked without rest to remove the causes of such violence from our world. We argued, as did the security services in this country, that the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq would increase the threat of terrorist attack in Britain. Tragically Londoners have now paid the price of the government ignoring such warnings.
We 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.
* George Galloway, Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow
- "Whoever they are I don't think it takes great bravery to blow up large numbers of people on London Transport. None of these [injured] people have taken up arms against them or done them any harm." - From a first hand account of the attacks.
- "the English are actually very calm about it, they're more pissed off then anything" - A friend of mine, who was outside the one of the targeted stations, reports from London. (This is someone you all know BTW. I’ll let him go into it if he wants.)
- "It has all the earmarks of Al Qaeda," Dennis Ross, special Middle East envoy for Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, told FOX News. "This has probably been planned for a long time. They probably had some sleeper cells in the U.K. for some time. It really looks very much like an Al Qaeda operation, and I think we have to assume they're responsible."
- NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called the attacks "appalling."
"I know I speak on behalf of all NATO allies when I express our sympathy for and solidarity with the British people. There can be no justification for such heinous crimes," he said in a statement. "I condemn in the strongest terms these attacks, which underline the need for the international community and members of the alliance to remain united in the fight against terrorism."
- At least 40 people are dead
- 700 are injured
- Many, many people, including people I know, who were there will feel the consequences for the rest of their lives.
- BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said he had been told by Whitehall sources that a "massive intelligence effort" was under way to find the perpetrators of the bombings.
- US transit system is at orange as a result of the attacks
- G-8 meeting will shift its focus to terrorism
- US markets weathered the attacks well. (CNBC)
- London's FTSE 100 Index was not so fortunate.
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