Reactions

ent and individual religious freedom.

Assuming the al-Qaeda’ group’s claim is genuine, the greatest challenge to their aims would be the spread in the Muslim world of democracy, and this would most immediately originate from the few democracies in their midst, ie, Israel, Iraq and Afghanistan. The fundamentalists’ aim is to stop the democratic ideal spreading, first by mounting continuous terrorist campaigns in these countries to destroy the democratic institutions and the will of the people, and secondly by eroding the resolve of the Western democracies without whose support they are unlikely to survive.

This latest attack, coupled with the Madrid bombing, demonstrates how strong their determination is to succeed. Any weakness now in our will to support these vulnerable countries will grant the fundamentalists the victory they crave.

And the inevitable smug bastard:

Sir, It seems that Tony Blair’s illegal Iraqi chickens have come home to roost — with predictably appalling consequences.