BushCo: Blowing Covers is Our Business
The worst attacks in London since WWII. I love London. I went to school there. I love the Tate, Portobello Road, the Groucho Club and Covent Garden, the bookstores on Charing Cross Road, Rough Trade records and the lingerie department at Marks & Spencer's.
This just sucks.
Juan Cole reminds us of events in August 2004, when the British had managed to turn an Al Quaeda operative in Pakistan into a double agent who was "one of the most important assets inside al-Quaeda that the US ever had." All that was lost when a "senior Administration official" (sound familiar?) leaked the man's name, forcing the British to arrest members of an al-Quaeda cell for fear they would flee before they had gathered all the information they needed.
As Cole notes:
Why in the world would Bush administration officials out a double agent working for Pakistan and the US against al-Qaeda? In a way, the motivation does not matter. If the Reuters story is true, this slip is a major screw-up that casts the gravest doubts on the competency of the administration to fight a war on terror. Either the motive was political calculation, or it was sheer stupidity. They don't deserve to be in power either way.Cole believes that the pre-election intelligence tip-off was probably related to Smirky McFlightsuit's need for a credible reason to pump terror alerts up to Raging Fuscia for the inevitable dead cat bounce he always got. Although I would be somewhat amazed to discover he thought he needed a reason.
Cole also believes the present bombing probably has something to do with the trial of Abu Hamza al-Masri, which began in the UK on Tuesday.
George Bush let it be known that only those who supported his war in Iraq would be allowed to take part in carving up the bootie of the country post-invasion. Tony Blair sold the security of his country out for a few pieces of silver.
Says George Galloway:
We argued, as did the security services in this country, that the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq would increase the threat of terrorist attack in Britain. Tragically Londoners have now paid the price of the Government ignoring such warnings.Let's hope the British heed Galloway's words and don't take the route of their American brethren, who foolishly let opportunistic blackguards manipulate their fear out of their own rapacious lust for money and power.
[snip]
No one can condone acts of violence aimed at working people going about their daily lives. They have not been a party to, nor are they responsible for, the decisions of their government. They are entirely innocent and we condemn those who have killed or injured them.
[snip]
We urge the government to remove people in this country from harms way, as the Spanish government acted to remove its people from harm, by ending the occupation of Iraq and by turning its full attention to the development of a real solution to the wider conflicts in the Middle East.
(hat tip to Steve Soto)
posted by Jane Hamsher @ 7/07/2005 01:42:00 PM
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