A World to Win

The July 7 bomb attacks in London must be roundly condemned. They are cowardly and absolutely reactionary, as all such terrorist acts are.

The perpetrators set out to kill indiscriminately people unable to defend themselves. Not only were the bombs timed to kill and maim ordinary people on their way to work, but they targeted people in the one of the most multicultural cities of the world. Hospitals had to use the services of translators to treat the injured.

Those hurt or killed in the attacks have no connection with the government or the authorities. Far from striking a blow at the British government and the state, the bombings play directly into the hands of the authorities. As many have already pointed out, Home Secretary Clarke will use them to rush through new powers that will affect everyone and increase surveillance on all opponents of New Labour's policies.

As a Kent reader of The Independent wrote: "Aside from the human distress, these bombings have done more to ease the course of illiberal legislation through Parliament than anything else ever could. So, stand-by for more CCTV and satellite surveillance, black boxes in your cars, more stop and search, the hounding of ethnic communities, and yes, the compulsory issue of ID cards with heaven knows what information on them."

This comes only days after millions of people in Britain and around the world showed their hostility to the G8 leaders by supporting Live 8 and marching in Edinburgh and Gleneagles. Now the attention is switched away from these issues as a result of these despicable attacks.

Londoners took part in the biggest of all anti-war demonstrations in 2003, marking the city's opposition to the illegal occupation of Iraq. Now the same city has to pay the price of its government's policies.

Many people warned that Britain would become a target as a result of its endorsement of the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. An early warning came from singer George Michael, who said that sending British troops to Iraq made British people open to terror attacks. Many will be aware that governments, headed by Blair, Bush, Berlusconi and other G8 leaders, are imposing free market capitalism in Iraq through the barrel of a gun and are responsible for the deaths of 100,000 innocent men, women and children.

Those killed and injured on July 7 were not consulted by the government when it took the decision to invade Iraq. It is certain that the war against terror has made us more, not less vulnerable to terrorism. In addition, the government is proving incapable of defending its citizens from the consequences. Despite the brave actions of firefighters, medical staff, transport workers, and others, more than 50 people have paid with their lives.

Terrorism cannot be defeated by the "war on terror", which only deepens the problem because it refuses to address the causes of terrorism. All those opposed to these barbarous attacks should redouble their efforts to campaign for deep-going democratic political change towards a society free from exploitation and oppression, at home and abroad.

8 July 2005