On London Pride Being "Freedom's Pride" :: War on Terror

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July 9, 2005

On London Pride Being "Freedom's Pride"

Andrew Roberts, writing in today's "Opinion Journal," bi-lines with "Britain will respond to the attack with "disgusted resignation," not fear," and notes that "The cold-bloodedness with which the probably al Qaeda-related cell chose the four places to bomb, all of them nodal points on our subway system between different underground lines, or connected to overland stations, is testament to their(the terrorists) mentality."

And I would add, inhumanity.

Mr. Roberts, a historian, is the author, among others, of "Hitler and Churchill", and one sees in his piece that he has used his historian's perspective to look ahead on how history will most likely view the post 7/7 terror attacks:

[...]

"Here is Britain now burning with fear and terror," boasts the so-called Secret Group of al Qaeda's Jihad in Europe, the group that claimed responsibility for Thursday's attacks. A much more honest assessment comes from an American tourist friend who could not believe the calm and stoicism of ordinary Britons during the attacks. "They were well informed about what to do and no one panicked," she said about the people near her. "I was warned about secondary devices and told to stay behind solid buildings and away from glass. They seemed to take it all in their stride." After three decades of IRA terrorism these kinds of things become second nature to the inhabitants of a city that knows its very greatness always brings with it the threat of retribution.

To try to put the catastrophe of Thursday into historical perspective, one should consider the results of a single night's air raid in the London Blitz. An excellent book to be published next week entitled "The Longest Night: Voices from the London Blitz," chronicles the events of the night of May 10-11, 1941, when 1,486 Londoners were killed, 1,800 were injured and 11,000 houses were destroyed. On that one night alone, 36 firemen were killed and 289 wounded. The author, Gavin Mortimer, has interviewed scores of survivors for his gripping narrative, and his conclusion is that London emerged as "the symbol of the free world, bruised and battered, but unbeaten and as bloody-minded as ever." Nothing about that changed Thursday.

And it seems that this "London Pride" that Roberts has written about isn't limited to any particular geographical location or national boundary; it appears that "London Pride" may be more of a moniker for "Freedom's Pride." Heres a few of the comments related to this "Freedom's Pride," from within Britain and around the world:

Russian President Vladimir Putin - "The response to these inhumane crimes wherever they take place - be it London, New York, Moscow or other countries - should be absolute condemnation. All civilised countries should unite in the fight against international terrorism."

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso - This criminal act [is] not only against Britain, against the British people but against all civilised people in the world that do not tolerate these kind of crimes.

French President Jacques Chirac - "I would like to express the full horror I feel at the terrorist attacks which bathed the British capital in blood this morning." "I would like to express to all Londoners, to all of the British people, the solidarity, the compassion and the friendship of France and the French people."

Spanish PM Jose Luis Zapatero - (I have such disdain for this pitiful man of weak character and resolve, that cowtows to terrorists, and turns his back on the fight for civilization, that I consider whatever he says to be not worth repeating. But you can read his comments here)

Rudolph Giuliani, Mayor of New York on 11 September 2001 - "These are dastardly cowardly acts and the best way to react to them is to stand up to them and do everything we can to support the people that were affected by it, but not to let these terrorists affect our way of life."

Dutch PM Jan Peter Balkenende - "Terrorism is an evil that threatens all the countries in Europe. Vigorous cooperation in the European Union and worldwide is crucial in order to meet this evil head on."

Australian Prime Minister John Howard - "I express my horror and disgust at this cowardly attack on innocent people. These sorts of attacks will not alter the determination of free countries to do the right thing." "It's important that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our British allies at a time such as this."

More here...

US President George W. Bush - "The war on terror goes on."

Unidentified young British woman asked by Sky News about the unbandaged and bleeding wound on her leg - "This? This is nothing. Honestly."

London Mayor Ken Livingstone - "Whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail."

Tim Brown, an Australian working in London - "I am so angry these bastards have struck to disrupt a gathering of leaders which offers so much hope to so many. Once the buses and tubes are running again we all intend to use them."

London-based Europhobia - "I tell you what, if this is an "Islamic" terrorist attack, they're doing a piss-poor job. The pubs are all packed out, people sipping their pints happily, all a tad pissed off, but basically fine with it. Nice one, Al Quaeda - you profess to be from a teetotal religion, and you've given the pub trade a massive mid-week boost."

Australian Labor Party leader Kim Beazley - "This is an attack on our family."

Khaled al-Maeena, editor of Arab News - "Whoever did it, whether al-Qaeda or the animal liberation front, they are animals."

* Editorial in The Australian - "Just as the world united behind New York on September 11, 2001, this morning we are all Londoners."

Tim Blair also has some comments related to this "Freedom's Pride" from within Britain and around the world:

News.au.com has "Blasts evoke Middle east sympathy"

More ...

So, as we see, "London Pride" is more of a "Freedom's Pride" in terms of how free people empathize with and rebel against - terrorism. A free people will not kowtow to terrorism, but rather, join together and react with greater resolve(The Spanish apparently being an exception - they reacted by handing over to the terrorists everything that the terrorists wanted, including their cahones).

Andrew Roberts sums it all up in his Opinion Journal piece with:

"It is very unlikely that Londoners will behave in the same, frankly craven, way that the Spanish electorate did. A more bloody-minded, visceral, indeed atavistic reaction is the right one to expect from us, and it would be deeply out of character for Londoners(and other freedom-loving people) to want to appease their tormentors in any way. Indeed it is telling how many are saying that the authorities overreacted by completely closing the entire transport network in the aftermath of the bombings. There are also voluble criticisms of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair for ordering us only to make journeys "if absolutely necessary." If the elderly lady I overheard in a small crowd watching the events on TV through the windows of an electrical goods store in the King's Road, Chelsea, is anything to go by, the general attitude is: "It's ridiculous not being able to take trains home. If we didn't kowtow to Hitler, why should we to this lot?""

Robert's piece ends by wondering what Britain's response will be to the terror attacks of 7/11.

I offer that the free world has taken down bastards, villains, and mindless killers before, and we'll damned well do it again. History is filled with examples of tyrants, fascists, and terrorists trying to inflict their will on others, only to founder. And no matter how many of the Islamofascists that have to be killed in order to stamp out the cancer of Islamic terrorism, the people of the free world are more than willing to do what is necessary to make their world free - of terrorism and Islamofascism. The Islamic thugs that think and act like the pigs that they are, are going to lose, the question is only how many innocent lives have to be lost before the Islamists meet their end.

Posted by Hyscience at July 9, 2005 8:19 AM

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