We Are All Britons Today

Photo By Reuters
A Smart Democracy Can Render Terrorism Futile
The news from London isn't good. Many people have been killed and injured in a massive terrorist attack in the British capitol on Thursday. Britons will bounce back--they've been through worse--but my hope is that they won't follow the US example after 9-11. Although I don't think Tony Blair is about to invade a country [surely Bush have told him about Syria and Iran, right?] but I hope that his government is a quicker study of present-day terrorism.
The US president has often said, "We are fighting these terrorists with our military in Afghanistan and Iraq and beyond so we do not have to face them in the streets of our own cities." Obviously this hasn't worked all that well. Perhaps we've been lucky here in America and haven't had an attack by Al-Queda, but all the experts say it's a matter of time. Our infrastructure is very vulnerable, and our government hasn't done enough to secure the rail system, our chemical & nuclear plants, and screen the ships filled to the brim with containers from overseas. On Tuesday we learned that major terror attacks tripled in 2004. The White House raises the terror attacks to 3,200.
It's worth remembering that the terrorists are fighting us because of our foreign policy in the Near/Middle East, and because of our way life. It's religious fanaticism at its worst. They despise our freedoms, our "godless hedonistic culture" [wait, I've heard the same from our American Taliban], our emancipated women, the freedom of & from religion, our scientific methods that debunk the superstitious and the supernatural, and our refusal (still) to subjugate the state to the religious dogma.
The terrorists and all those perverse ideologues don't have to score a military win, take over our country to claim victory. If they make us change our way of life, take away civil liberties, become isolationists and intolerant, then, in effect, they would indeed have won. There is a creeping totalitarianism in our country and we must fight it. We have our own extremists here and they shouldn't prevail. Urge your elected representatives not to expand the Patriot Act. There is a bipartisan effort in the House to bring the Patriot Act within the lines of our Constitution, so it's good to see reasonable Republicans on the side of reason. Click here to push for the reform.
Read this article by an "alleged terrorist" who says, "I'm being accused of a serious--even treasonous--criminal intent by a faceless bureaucracy, with no opportunity (that I can find) to refute any errors or false charges. My ability to earn a living is threatened..." If you think it doesn't affect you, think again. If senator Ted Kennedy was put on the list and was prevented from flying on a couple of occasions, you can be next. Secret government and a system without checks & balances is bad, really bad.
We are all Britons today. We are all against the terrorists and anyone whose hatred and small mindedness drives him to commit crimes against humanity. Yet, although people can react in different ways to the horror and the shock of bloodshed, we can certainly find a common thread in compassion and our love for life.

Edited later: I just watched Frontline's "AlQueda's New Front" on PBS. I suggest you check it out and follow the links. PBS will be rebroadcasting it this week in light of the attacks in London. It's an eye-opener on AlQueda's work in the West.