Britain must get a grip on it.

Get a grip on what? On some type of anti-terrorism program which involves more than rhetoric from the government and politicians and more than the outmanned police forces running around looking for needles in haystacks. When a government minister begins talking about invoking old laws against treason and the top gun of the jihadists almost immediately flees the country, that should tell you something. Or rather, that should tell the British government something.

Let's look at the American reaction to 9/11 versus the British reaction to 7/7, so far.

0 hrs (9/11) - 3000 people died in the Pentagon, the twin World Trade Center towers, and a field in Pennsylvania.

24 hrs. (9/12) - Bush's staff began discussing a retaliatory attack on Iraq and Afghanistan

48 hrs. (9/13) - 18 of 19 hijackers identified. #19 followed the next day.

48 hrs. (9/13) - Overwhelming evidence produced that bin Laden was responsible.

72 hrs. (9/14) - The US Congress adopts a joint resolution that determines that "the president is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons." Congress also states that the "grave acts of violence" committed on the US "continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to [its] national security and foreign policy."

96 hrs. (9/15) - Bush meets with Tenet of CIA and is briefed on 4 years worth of CIA planning for move against bin Laden.

144 hrs. (9/17) - Bush signs off on Afghanistan war plan and includes Iraq.

216 hrs. (9/20) - Bush tells Taliban to turn over bin Laden and all others we want or kiss your asses goodbye. Also warns world that you are either with us or agin' us - there is no neutral ground.

216 hrs. (9/20) - Bush announces new cabinet level department - Homeland Security - and Ridge as Secretary - largest government reorganization since Truman.

The 9/11 event killed some 3000 people in New York City, Washington DC and a field in Pennsylvania. We suffered some 20 billion dollars in immediate property damage and 47 billion dollars more in longerlasting economic damage to the country. Yet, in the space of 9 days, we had formulated and set in motion war plans against those harboring the attackers and were formulating additional war plans against those we believed posed a longer term threat to our people; announced who was responsible, what we wanted, and from whom we wanted it as well as the price that would be paid if we didn't get what we wanted; and added a cabinet-level position and announced the largest government reorganization in 50 some years. No moss was gathering on this rolling stone.

And our good friends, the British? Well,

0 hrs. (7/7) - 4 suicide bombers blow themselves and 58 people away, 3 in the London subway and a 4th in a double decker bus.

24 hrs. - (7/8) - Sir Ian Blair, London Metropolitan Police Commissioner says police have an "implacable resolve" to track down those responsible for the bombings.


48 hrs. (7/9) - Police announce that the train bombs exploded within 50 seconds of each other and the bus bombing took place at 0947 BST.

96 hrs. (7/10) - Police appeal to the public to hand over mobile phone images or photographs taken after the attacks.

120 hrs. (7/11) - The first victim of the London bombings is named as the confirmed number of dead reaches 52.

144 hrs. (7/12) - Some details emerge as police finally begin a series of raids in Leeds and London and explosives are found.

168 hrs. (7/13) - Two of the bombers are named by police and a third is named by newspapers.

192 hrs. (7/14) - A two-minute silence is held in memory of victims.

336 hrs. (7/21) - 4 more bombs explode but fizzle on the subways.

360 hrs. (7/22) Police shoot dead an innocent Brazilian in the subway.

That's about it folks, except for all the speechifying by the likes of London Mayor Ken Livingstone and MP George Galloway blaming all of Britain's problems on Tony Blair, the British people (that would be, of course, the Anglo-Saxons), the British government, George Bush and the American people. So, within 14 days of the original attacks, 4 bombers struck again. Why not?


TAGS: London, terrorist, bombing, investigation, British response