THURSDAY’S ‘bomb attacks’ – which did not cause a single serious injury but caused widespread alarm and panic – not least amongst the security services who were ordered to shoot to kill suspected bombers – illustrate the way that the US-UK imperialist wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have completely destabilised Britain.
The University College Hospital was invaded by hundreds of armed police hunting a ‘fugitive bomber’ – who was never found – while none of the ‘four bombers’ has been apprehended, as yet.
It is a fact that Al Qaeda’s bombs have a habit of going off, while Thursday’s efforts, where allegedly the detonators failed to ignite the explosives, were, if this is the case, amateurish in the extreme.
It is not yet known what the concrete connection is between the July 7th bombings and last Thursday’s events; whether Al Qaeda was involved and would attempt a replica attack, taking into account the much heightened transport system security, or whether the July 7th attacks have inspired others to attempt the same; or whether opportunists, for their own separate reasons, copied the appearance of the July 7th bombings.
However, whatever the concrete connection is, the episode shows that the capitalist state is now having to struggle to keep its grip on society, and is increasingly demanding more and more draconian powers to deal with ‘disorder’.
The position that Prime Minister Blair holds as to the source of the July 7th and 21st attacks, is absolutely untenable. It is at odds with the warnings of his own intelligence services as to the dangers that war with Iraq would bring, and also with the recent Chatham House report.
The Blair position is that these attacks would have taken place even if Britain was not one of those countries leading and taking part in the assault on Afghanistan and Iraq.
Further, that the source is not a physical one, the imperialist drive to dominate the oil bearing regions of the planet; but a mental one, that of a perverted interpretation of Islam which is unaccountably gripping sections of young people in Britain and other countries and turning them into suicide bombers.
His conclusion is that while he intends to step up the war against terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is up to the Muslims to deal with this perversion of Islam, that is allegedly the source of the London bombings.
What will be done to the Muslim community if it does not succeed in this Blair-set task, is being left unsaid for the moment, but no doubt will be revealed shortly.
Blair assumes that there are going to be more terrorist attacks on Britain but insists that they are nothing to do with him or his policies!
Meanwhile, millions of people are told to remember that they are British and to soldier on, as if nothing were happening.
However, these millions are already well aware that Bush and Blair’s policies and actions are the source of the London bombings. The issue is what to do about them.
The only way to resolve this crisis is to eliminate the cause of terrorism, the imperialist assault on the Arab and Islamic peoples.
The first step must be for the trade unions to take action to bring down the Blair government and bring in a workers’ government.
This must withdraw all British troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and carry out a policy of expropriating the British bourgeoisie at home.
This will allow fraternal relations to be established with the Arab and Islamic peoples in place of the current predatory, master and slave relations.
There is no doubt that this will constitute a decisive step in smashing capitalism and imperialism and in the advance to a terror free socialist world.
This is the only policy that will resolve the crisis in favour of the working people of the world.
