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Why London Was Bombed - meeting Sandinos, Derry, Wednesday 8.00pm

Saturday 13th August 2005

Did the London tube-bombers have a point?

That's the provocative question being raised in Derry next Wednesday at a meeting hosted by the Derry Anti War Coalition.

The meeting, at Sandino's at eight o'clock, will hear a talk by researcher David Morrison, whose paper, "Why London Was Bombed" has been widely quoted on both sides of the Atlantic. Respect MP George Galloway has acknowledged Morrison as one of his prime sources on the Iraq war and the bombing campaign.

Publications as diverse as the Spectator in Britain and Hot Press in Ireland have published "Why London was Bombed" as the definitive account of the bombers' thinking.

Said Derry Anti War Coalition spokesperson Roderick Cobley: "What emerges very clearly from David Morrison's work is that the bombing has far less to do with religious extremism than with the occupation of Muslim countries by western forces. Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine are the most relevant areas. The demands of the bombers could be summed up in the slogan, 'Troops Out!'

"It follows from this that the Blair Government is evading the main issue when it declares war on 'Islamic extremism" and persists in denying a link between the bombing and the occupation of Iraq. Blair is using the bombing in a totally cynical way to justify a crack-down on civil liberties and to pander to racist opinions on asylum and immigration.

"We need an informed discussion of what's happening and rational debate about the way forward. Anyone who has read David Morrison's work will know that it provides a good starting point.

"To say that the people who bombed London tubes and buses have a point is not to support the wanton killing of innocent people. Socialists no more support the London bombings than we would support the destruction of Fallujah. But we won't find a solution which doesn't involve bombings if we refuse to admit what the problem is.

"We invite all who would like to discuss these ideas further to attend and listen to David Morrison at Sandino's on Wednesday night."





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