An awful scenario

By Jason Moore WHEN the bombings in Madrid took place my first reaction, judging by their scale, was that it could never be the Basque Seperatist Group, ETA, because I doubted that Spaniards could carry out such an outrage on fellow Spaniards. The Spanish government initially blamed ETA, but hours later the attacks were claimed by Al Qaeda. In Britain it is now clear that last week's London bombings were carried out by Britons who also gave their life for their “cause.” The fact that British born suicide bombers are now willing to attack their own countrymen is a very alarming state of affairs and one which gives a new dimension to the so-called war on terrorism. The threat has always been there but it is disturbing to discover that in some ways the “Enemy is Within.” The people of Leeds woke up yesterday morning with the allegations that three young men born in the area had travelled to London last week and carried out one of the worst terrorist attacks in British history. How do you deal with a scenario like this? It is almost impossible and it is so complicated that it is even more worrying. It is said that up to 3'000 Britons have trained in Afghanistan and are allegedly ready to strike. During the blitz in the Second World War at least the people in London knew who their enemy was; during the IRA bombing campaigns they knew what the aims of the terrorists were, however barbaric. But this is a new type of terror and it is far more serious. Britain is now in the frontline in the war of terror and as the police admitted yesterday it is just a matter of time before there are further attacks. What an awful scenario.