I imagine my headline set to the tune of a phrase from the Wizard of Oz, the old ‘lions and tigers and bear, oh my” line from the scary walk through the woods. Say it with me now, to get a feel for what I’m thinking.

London attacked by Al-Qaida, oh my!
London attacked by Al-Qaida, oh my!
London attacked by Al-Qaida, oh my!

And it seems fitting, because that’s where we are at, nationally and globally. We’re all walking through some dark woods, letting our worst fears prey on us and set us on edge. We’ve been hoodwinked and bamboozled into believing that armed might can overcome the power of faceless, formless fear. We’ve been sold on the notion that billions of dollars spent in Iraq will make us safer. Somehow, I don’t think the British people are in agreement with that.

Tragically, now Britain comes to understand the risks of allying with America in the “war on terror”. Up until now, it’s all been about the global spotlight. The Prime Minister rubbing shoulders with the President as he agreed with everything Bush said or did, almost, in the run-up to the war. But will it all have been worth it, now that Britain is the target? Bush has seemed awfully stingy with support given back to countries that have given it to him. Even before this attack, Blair couldn’t seem to get Bush to agree to any sort of assistance from America for the global poverty problem. Tony Blair should be questioning right now whether the sacrifice of his country will be worth what he gets in return.

London itself will be fine. Simon Jenkins at The Huffington Post points out all the reasons why. This is nothing new for London. They’ve lived through decades of bombings and attacks by the IRA. If only, and this is such a huge if only, America could respond the same way. If only we could exhibit a tenth of the steel in London’s spine. No, we are a country that will collapse its own airline industry in fear of terror. We’re a people that will boost the sales of duct tape and plastic sheeting by 1000% based on off-the-cuff remarks by some Homeland Security fathead. We’ve invented a color-coding system for how likely a terrorist attack is on any given day. This is how to fight back in a war on terror?

Let me point out what is wrong with this “war on terror” and why Britain is paying the price that they are today. Guns don’t solve violence. Missiles don’t cure political unrest. “Boots on the ground” don’t create peace of mind in an occupied population. Security checkpoints only point out that some people are denied access. This war seems to be about America trying to keep what it considers its own while maintaining the right to indiscriminately take more and more and more. Al-Qaida doesn’t want American soil. They don’t want to occupy our lands, take our women, and move in while we flee elsewhere. They want us out of their land. It’s that simple. No more bases in Saudi Arabia. No more support of pro-US regimes that suppress their own people and throw human rights out the window so as to be able to ship oil across the ocean in greater and greater quantities. This is not unreasonable. Ann Coulter would call for my head just for thinking that we should actually consider what their real demands are and entertain the idea of making concessions, as if mutual understanding were the hallmark of Satanic possession. Attempting to understand someone that hates you is not crazy or treasonous. It’s only the reasonable, rational, peaceful thing to do.

To Britain, I offer my sympathies. No one deserves to be blown up as they go about their innocent day. But let’s recall how many British troops are in Iraq right now, compliant in a war and occupation that has killed so many Iraqis. Let’s also remember how long Britain helped enforce the “no-fly zone” over Iraq. There is no better way to become an enemy of a people than to participate in actions that cause them harm. Britain has been doing this in Arabia for decades now, really. So while the victims of the attacks have my compassion, they cannot say that they should be immune from this type of action. Karma is a boomerang, so be careful what you throw out there. Deal out death and destruction, what else would you expect in return?