Mon 07 Jul 2007The UK attacksTwo years ago the 7/7 bombings in London presaged a long war
against terrorism and there was both a terrible inevitability to
the abortive attacks on London and Glasgow over the last few days
and a terrible inevitability to the likelihood that next time there
will be serious casualties.The timing of the outrageous attacks, a baptism of fire for the
country's new prime minister as he took office, have the hallmarks
of al-Qaeda to which Gordon Brown yesterday linked them; although
the bungled attempts may also suggest both that the terrorists were
home-grown and, perhaps, unwilling to sacrifice their own lives.
The speed with which police have made arrests in Manchester and
Liverpool provides some comfort.