Still not shutting up about the lack of 7/7 Public Inquiry
Annie Mole on her fabulous London Underground blog Thursday Dec 15th entry with some very useful links.
Kirsty and me have made our thoughts known to the BBC as have other survivors and members of the public.
Ringverse at Blairwatch and Quarsan at Blairwatch are on the case
and MatGB from Great Britain not Little England is on it too.
If you have blogged about it, let me know in the comments and I will link to your post.
The public were bombed. The public are targets. The public have questions. Not just about what happened - but WHY? What can we learn from this? When the next bomb goes off, when more ordinary people passengers, shoppers, workers die and are injured and terrified, what could we have done to prevent it, how can we help to lessen the risks, improve the response, manage the after-care? What was done in our name before the bombs, what is being done in our name after the bombs? How can our present suffering help others in the future?
Do these questions not deserve time and attention? Do we, you, all of us not deserve answers?
Let your MP know what you think, by getting in contact through this easy-to-use service at writetothem
SIGN THE PETITION -
http://www.petitiononline.com/July7th/petition.html
And please link, please pass this on - we can make a difference if we want to. Get vocal. Go postal. Make your voice heard.
Thanks
Rachel North, and some of the Kings Cross/Russell Square passengers from 7th July
Kirsty and me have made our thoughts known to the BBC as have other survivors and members of the public.
Ringverse at Blairwatch and Quarsan at Blairwatch are on the case
and MatGB from Great Britain not Little England is on it too.
If you have blogged about it, let me know in the comments and I will link to your post.
The public were bombed. The public are targets. The public have questions. Not just about what happened - but WHY? What can we learn from this? When the next bomb goes off, when more ordinary people passengers, shoppers, workers die and are injured and terrified, what could we have done to prevent it, how can we help to lessen the risks, improve the response, manage the after-care? What was done in our name before the bombs, what is being done in our name after the bombs? How can our present suffering help others in the future?
Do these questions not deserve time and attention? Do we, you, all of us not deserve answers?
Let your MP know what you think, by getting in contact through this easy-to-use service at writetothem
SIGN THE PETITION -
http://www.petitiononline.com/July7th/petition.html
And please link, please pass this on - we can make a difference if we want to. Get vocal. Go postal. Make your voice heard.
Thanks
Rachel North, and some of the Kings Cross/Russell Square passengers from 7th July
posted by Rachel at 10:17 am
I don't believe that the war in Iraq is the only thing that caused the 7th of July attacks. Poland has got troops in Iraq and they have not been attacked nor do they think they well.
Why ? What is different between Poland and the UK ? Better police or something else ?
Blair and the UK are much more high-profile supporters of Bush, maybe?
The UK has far, far more troops in Iraq and is much, much more committed than Poland is?
When you think of Bush's allies, do you automatically think of Tony Blair , or Aleksander Kwaśniewski?
I don't think the war in Iraq 'caused' the London bombings. I am saying it was a major factor in increasing the public risk to such attacks. The security services agree, and briefed the government to this effect in Feb 2005. The think tank International Institute for Straegic studies says the war helped Al Quaida recruit,
I am making the point thatTony Blair has said that Iraq was not connected to 7/7. The chances are high that an independent enquiry would disagree, and he could not survive that. Ergo, no independent enquiry.
But what do YOU think, anonymous? ( You can leave a name, you know!)
I have just put some thoughts on my blog:
http://somerandomreflections.blogspot.com/2005/12/listening-to-public.html
Not that I feel particularly qualified to comment - and my thoughts kind of developed as I was writing it. Anyway, I would be interested to hear people's thoughts.
Poland has more troops in Iraq than Spain did.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4436165.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3736897.stm
Yet Spain was attacked and Poland not. Why was that ? I think we should have a public inquiry to find out about the bombings and this should be another question to answer.
You are probably right that the war made it more likely we were going to be attacked, however there must be another factor.
If the enquiry is to establish better ways of dealing with any further attacks, i.e. doing something practical and useful, all well and good.
If it's just going to be a mud-slinging match, then I can think of far better things to spend my taxes on. Who cares if Iraq was a factor? What's done is done; we are there now and all the enquiries in the world are not going to alter that.
To be honest, London has been bombed an awful lot, by the IRA mainly, and I imagine that responses were pretty good. Therefore any enquiry is going to be a mudslinging match, combined with a bunfest for lawyers.
DK
You can find my expansion on this theme here:
http://devilskitchen.blogspot.com/2005/12/lawyers-bun-feast.html
DK
Rachel,
First off I'd like to offer my heartfelt sympathy for all all you and your fellow passengers have endured.
Sencondly, I also totaly empathise. My own brother still carries the scars of terrorism. He was in the Aldershot barracks bombing, quite some time ago.
But, thirdly, I'm confused. As, having first read your blog via blairwatch, I spent considerable time composing a blogpost [with many pertinent links] espousing the need [and entitlements] for a public enquiry.
Today, I read how you have no interest in any political agendas/statements/whatever. Also that this blog is pretty private project, for victims' self help.
The result was that I felt I would be intruding to go ahead and publish what I worked on. I fear others in my postion may have found themselves similarly 'puzled'.
For it is politicians alone who are denying you your [well deserved] public enquiry. And, it is politicians alone who have the power to grant your wish.
I sincerly wish you all well, but as I mentioned, I am now so confused that have scrapped my intended piece altogether.
Once again, I wish you well, and I hope your can see both the sincerity - and savvy/insight - of this message I'm sending.
I am not sure what purpose an enquiry would serve. But if people such as your self are demanding one then the government should agree, it can not help any one to feel there is some 'kind of cover up'.
They will not of course because it will not be possible to have such an enquiry without bringing Iraq into it.
But his is the same government who are only too willing to use the bombing victims when it suits there political purposes.
Gut churning stuff.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Start again with better spelling...
Thanks for all th ecomments so far.
Richard M, I am really thrilled that you felt moved to write and sorry my lack of clarity made you hesitate.
Let me explain.
I should be clear, myself and all the people I have quoted want a public enquiry. Very much.
I am part of a group called Kings Cross United - survivors from the Piccadilly train.
Many of us felt strongly about the public enquiry, so I published my thoughts and the thoughts of my fellow passengers who were exercised about it.
But because not ALL the survivors feel this way, I was asked by the group to put the thing in about 'Kings Cross United' ( KCU) not being a political group ( it isn't). KCU is just a group for anyone on the train run by survivors for survivors - - anyone of any religion, background, politics is welcome. We decided NOT to be political, in case that put fellow passengers off joining and getting support.
So I did a preamble that was meant to show that these views are INDIVIDUAL views and not representative of all victims.
Having said that, I , and the other victims who contributed, can go back to asking questions. Hooray!
We're ordinary people, all of us. So are you, reading this.
You,anyone could just have easily been on that train. So if you feel moved to speak out, as a member of the public, do so, it was an attack aimed at the public and if the public want answers, they should get them. Whether they were on the train or not.
This is my personal blog. It's for anyone who wants to drop in. I am passionate and political, more so since 7th July.
The blog is not a survivor project, though it was for a while, and came out of my survivor diary for the BBC post 7th July. The survivors of the Piccadilly line train have their own private survivor website, but this is not it.
This is just me. Hello, welcome. Thanks for dropping in
Rach x
So having said that, can we all start re-agitating for a public enquiry?
Yes! Please do!
About 70% of the survivors I have spoken to wan tone.
the other 30% think it will be white wash.
But we all want to see if we can do anything to improve safety, response to disaster, victim care - and so YOUR SUPPORT IS DEAD IMPORTANT!
THANK YOU!
I am a journalist for the Evening Standard and have been involved in several stories covering the harrowing events of 7/7.
Tomorrow 11 survivors are talking to the Review committee about lessons that could be learned from the attacks in terms of communication.
We are very keen to speak to these people, without naming them if necessary, and publicising the talks.
If anybody can help please call me on 79387537 or email katharine.barney@standard.co.uk.
Many thanks
Katharine
Oh dear, I see that conspiracy theorists have got to Wiki again.
Page duly reported. This sort of thing isn't helpful. One of the reasons I'm pushing for a full inquiry.
I've heard all the State terrorism/Gladio/false flag/synthetic terror arguments, looked into them in detail, and am still of the same opinion; they're missing the point.