It's the West's fault - Sister Toldjah

So NOW we know where the blame should be put for Thursday’s attacks in London. Not merely Blair and Bush, but the entire West:

So far, Western governments, particularly the US, have sought to address the problem of terrorism by security measures. These have not been largely unsuccessful. Terrorism can only be defeated by addressing its deep causes. Its main cause is the sense of injustice that is keenly felt by Muslims everywhere. It is redressing this injustice that is certain to prevent future tragedies of the sort that took place in Madrid and London.

Oh, and those who will suffer the most, even more than the victims of terrorist attacks and their families? Why, the Muslim community, of course:

Dictatorial governments have always used some fabricated or isolated incidents to justify their tyrannical actions. In recent years, Western governments have shown that they are always willing to borrow a leaf of dictators’ book. Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and David Blunkett’s measures that were ruled unconstitutional by the British House of Lords are examples of such readiness. Do we see in the London bombings an act that will play into the hands of Tony Blair’s government? This is not to suggest that the government has any hand in the planning or execution of this crime. It is only likely that in the aftermath of the bombings, the Blair government may find it much easier to introduce some draconian measures of the type that was ruled unconstitutional, without encountering much opposition.

The real sufferers will be the Muslim community in Britain and in other European countries.

Australia’s senior Muslim cleric, in the meantime, will settle for blaming the US:

He mimics the worst of the Middle East’s tyrants in denouncing the US as aggressive and unjust.

“Ninety per cent of these terrorist problems stem from the Middle East where America has the solution,” is his summing up of the murder of Londoners travelling to work on public transport.

The solution, presumably, is America’s abandonment of Israel. It is to leave the likes of Iraq and Afghanistan in the cruel grip of dictators and religiously intolerant fundamentalists.

And speaking of ‘solutions’, this group of about 1,500 UK anti-war types held a ‘vigil’ Saturday to express sorrow for the victims of Thursday attacks in London and to, of course, demand British troops be pulled out of Iraq. One of the stars of this gathering of course was none other than ‘Respect’ MP George “blame Tony Blair for 7/7” Galloway. The organizer of this ‘vigil’ – Chris Nineham – had this to say:

“It is very important that the anti-war movement moves very quickly to make its statement, because it really is a case that peace is the only answer and as soon as troops come out of Iraq the better.”

For a reality check, we turn to the opinion page of the Jerusalem Post:

At what point, one wonders, would the appeasers consider that the Islamist extremist resort to terrorism was no longer understandable? If the West didn’t personify modernity ascendant? Would Londoners have the right, then, to take the bus without fear of being blown up? If the West did not promote women’s rights and civil liberties in the Muslim world? Might Londoners expect to be spared then? Or only, perhaps, were London ruled by a caliphate, as Islamists aspire â€“ perhaps only then would the indiscriminate killing of civilians be considered by terrorism’s apologists to be truly outrageous.

And finally:

Critics focus on what the West does. But the real “root cause” for Islamists is what the West is.

Indeed.

Also: Tim Hames at the UK Times Online reassures us that we will continue to win in the war on terror if we make sure that we don’t lose our nerve in the face of tragedy.

More from the Times Online: Leaked No 10 dossier reveals Al-Qaeda’s British recruits