The Bombing and the Olympics
Posted on July 8th, 2005 in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
You can’t help but wonder if the two were related; if the murderers in London weren’t trying to send a particularly horrific message to England that, so soon after its great joy, they could bring great terror.
If so, you have to also think that they’ve terribly miscalculated. They haven’t just attacked London now; they’ve attacked an Olympic city, and in that sense they have attacked the world.
Sometimes, as with 9/11, you think, These bastards combine deep cunning with total nihilism, and what a terrifying combination that is.
Other times….
Yesterday’s attack is tragic and appalling, of course. But if the terrorists were trying to achieve some strategic objective, the bombings were just stupid. They accomplish only one thing: to drive home just how isolated and out of touch with the world these terrorists are.
We in the U.S. feel a special kinship with England, certainly. But London is now playing host to the world. I have a feeling that even from the terrorists’ warped point of view, this bombing is going to be a serious mistake…..
2 Responses
7/8/2024 12:54 pm
Leaping to the wrong conclusion again. You know nothing about terrorism, Rich. This act had to be planned at least a year in advance. The announcement of London as the home of the 2012 Olympics had just been made the day before.
7/8/2024 1:51 pm
I disagree. It’s true that I’m no expert on terrorism. However, I don’t see why there couldn’t be a connection between the choice of London for the Olympics and the timing of the attack. For all we know, these bombs were simply left on the Tube and the bus—possibly by suicide bombers, possibly by terrorists who left the bombs and walked away. While the planning for that surely required some time, why couldn’t the specific date be flexible? If I were a terrorist, I’d *want* the date to be flexible, because that would make the plan stronger, more viable, than picking one specific date. After all, why couldn’t you be flexible when all you’re talking about is leaving four packages on four modes of public transportation? Different from the WTC/Pentagon attack in that way….
In any event, my point was that, coincidental or no, bombing London one day after its choice as an Olympic host would backfire by uniting the world against the terrorists.