Thoughts to London Bombs

[Margaret M.]

The Police say they will randomly search people's bags but many think the police should target people on racial grounds to maximise success rates

This is something I have very mixed feelings about -- when they started more thorough searches in airports after 9/11, there were many instances of very elderly women and small children getting a thorough going over. Many thought that it was a silly waste of time. In my opinion, and I know it is not politically correct it just makes more sense to profile. If my appearance matched the profile, I would certainly understand the need to be searched more than someone else. Once there is evidence that blue eyed blondes are bomb carriers then add them to the list for thorough searches. Why dilute the search effort by including elderly women, kids, etc. just so that it looks politically correct? I don't understand why profiling is considered such a terrible thing during a time of war.

If suicide bombers know which racial groups are being profiled then they will deploy one that doesn't fit that racial group.

I can see the memo now: "Every woman between the ages of 70 and 85 who has completed the al qaeda training must report for duty ASAP"

[katarina]

We were in london at the height of the IRA bombings, and WE seemed to be searched everywhere we went.
I didn't mind, because i know our accent sounds Irish, or maybe we looked as if we'd just come from the sticks!
The point is, we had nothing to hide, and we understood the need.
There is nothing racial about targeting the most likely suspects.

[bigjjuk]

I have lived as i said earlier in london my whole life, i have no problem with any race or religion. Fanatics on the other hand do not deserve to be in our country, the preachers who openly put down the british tactics in iraq or anywhere, and i quote as i have seen a few openly try to recruit for such as 7th july. Should be sent out of the country back to their homeland. Harsh i know but why are they in our country if they dont appreciate our values and respect our decisions. Freedom of speech is well and good, but not at the expense of human life

[katarina]

The guy who was captured came here as a teenager and as a refugee and has recieved thousands in benifits since then. Some way to repay the country who took him and his family in , saving their lives their lives, fed and housed him! Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!

[marion]

Suicide bombers are not new. I remember back during WW2 when Kamikaze attacks and Banzai attacks by Japanese military were the order of the day. I offer the following web site with comments from original U.S. Marines who suffered at the hands of the Japanese prior to and during WW2.

www.chinamarines.com

[fred]

A very valid point Marion.

How many Kamikaze pilots were there at Pearl Harbour? None, no amount of religious fanaticism would have persuaded a young Japanese pilot to commit suicide there.

The first Kamikaze pilot flew in October 1944 when a superior American fleet was steaming towards Japan. The name Kamikaze means "divine wind" and dates back to the 13th century when an army invading Japan was turned back by a typhoon.

The suicide bomber is and has always been a weapon of defence not attack.

[golach]

Well done the Police and Security Agencies for the quick capture of the latest bombers.
And the alert public for spotting and shopping them.
I am all for Identiy Cards for be carried and to be compulsary, the bleeding heart Civil Rights movement will no doubt disagree with me. I have carried some form of Identity on my person since I left school 50 years ago until I retired recently, and I never found it a infringement of my libereties, in fact more than once producing any of the the above when asked by any official has resulted in my quick identification and as a result I was sent upon my merry way.

[fred]

Then I hope that when identity cards are introduced they are voluntary so people who don't see having to fork out at least £100 and probably nearer £400 every time there is a change in their personal details as an infringement on their civil liberties can have one and those who do don't have to.

Identity cards wouldn't have prevented the London bombings, even the government abandoned that excuse.

[katarina]

[quote="fredThen I hope that when identity cards are introduced they are voluntary so people who don't see having to fork out at least £100 and probably nearer £400 every time there is a change in their personal details as an infringement on their civil liberties can have one and those who do don't have to.
[/quote]

That would so not work! I can't see too many illegal immigrants volunteering for identity cards, do you?

[fred]

No, I don't think they would be able to afford to, even at £100 that's ten weeks wages on Morecome Bay.