Once again, the evil spectre of Osama Bin Laden, or some other copycat, has belched itself upon an unsuspecting, and undeserving populace. Last weeks attacks were shocking, more so than the bombings in Madrid barely over a year later. Shocking, because up to now the British have been some of the strongest supporters of the anti-war movement in Europe. 4 bombs, ripped apart dozens of lives, and left a psychological hole in hundreds of others that will never be repaired. In the words of a rescuer,

I don�t know what heaven looks like, but I have now seen hell.

What I struggle with though, is the motive behind such attacks. Why does cowardly organisations such as al Qaeda attack innocents like they did in 9/11, Madrid, Bali, and now London? If you believe Osama, it is to punish the West for their so-called Zionist policies and the killing of innocents in Iraq and Afghanistan. Furthermore, Bin Laden has promised more attacks against Western countries unless they change their policies pronto. Sounds reasonable, doesn�t it? Well, reasonable is not the best choice of words; it sounds plausible doesn�t it? Sure, the term terrorist can be used to define a person or group who wish to achieve a certain political end or for a purpose of extortion.

Under that context, we can then ascertain that Osama Bin Laden and others, are committing acts of terrorism abroad to achieve a political goal. Now, who actually believes this? I mean, who actually believes that Osama�s goal is to get the West to change their policies? Now, I�m sure some of you will point out that the Madrid bombings DID result in a radical shift in foreign policy. Well, to that, I can only say that al Qaeda got very lucky. Who knew the Spanish would be so utterly spineless? I would use harsher words, but I do not wish to disrespect the people who gave their lives in Madrid.

So in Madrid, we have an instance where a bombing served a political purpose. But, could you imagine ANY other country in the world where this would have happened? In other words, for a group to murder hundreds of people, then said group to publicly say why you were bombed, then for the new government to essentially give in to whatever demands the group made. Let me be clear here, in no other country in the world would this have happened. There is an old saying in terrorist negotiation, never give into terrorist demands. If you do, every group from here to Basra will be coming to town. Why did the Spanish give in? Only they can answer that.

The problem with terrorist violence can be directly compared with street gang violence. Simply put, you kill one of them, they kill one of you. You retaliate; they do the same, and so on, and so on, and so on. Pretty soon, you forget whose death you are retaliating for. The one thing you never do is stop. Because not retaliating, is a sign of weakness. 9/11 proved a lot of things, but one of them was that Americans would rattle their sabre and try to go on the offensive (well, Osama is still alive and free, but you get the idea). Australia has not missed a beat since Bali, and of course there is now the English. Forget the myths of the stiff upper lip, good show �ol chap, pip pip, and oh it�s tea time dear, British. This is the British of Dunkirk and the Blitz. They will respond, at least I hope so. Once again that leads us back to the Spanish, the Spanish who entered the war, but ran back to their siesta�s as soon as the bombs struck home.

But once again, there is the question of why. Why did Bin Laden bomb Spain and the UK? Both countries held massive, and I mean massive rally�s denouncing the war/invasion. At one point, opinion polls across Europe showed the vast majority of citizens were against action at all. So why go and bomb the very people that are supposedly on your side?

The World�s media, and much of the Middle East, will have you believe that Bin Laden serves a political purpose. I believe they are right. What they are wrong about, is WHICH political end game they seek. Is it peace in the Middle East? No. Is it to free the Palestinians? Hell no, the sad joke is most Gulf Arabs keep Palestinians as servants, so why should they care (this of course, is another article altogether). Is it to end Zionist oppression everywhere? No, while I don�t have any proof of this, I think adding Zionist to any list of grievances, gives you instant street cred in the Middle East, regardless of whether you believe it yourself.

So what is it then? I believe that Bin Laden�s single, ultimate end-game, is the eventual overthrow of the House of Saud. Since his excommunication by the country, and later his family, Bin Laden has stoked the anger and the rage of the countries middle class. While Saudi Arabia is fabulously wealthy, they also have chronic and rampant unemployment. Most of his followers and patrons come from this class of disenfranchised Saudi�s. With violence on the rise, there is a very strong chance that the Kingdom of Saud could be overthrown within a matter of years. Maybe even less.

When you look at this theory again, it starts to make sense. Bin Laden never hoped to achieve any political gains with the bombings in the west. However, what he DID hope to achieve was something closer to home. Each bombing, was splashed across the news and across the papers. The Arab street, probably loved seeing their so-called oppressors in pain and agony. So for each bombing, Bin Laden no doubt probably saw in increase in funding. And more funding, meant more bombs. And more bombs meant more funding, more sympathy.

Don�t believe me? I know, the threads can be a bit tenuous. But consider this, where has been the outrage from the Arab street? Where has been the rage from the imams and the mosques (in the Middle East)? Where are the people upset that once again, the bombers have desecrated gods will by doing something no imam can truly state is allowed under the Koran, the killing of innocents. There is a reason you don�t hear it, some are afraid for speaking up, some believe we got what we deserved, and others quietly support what he and others are doing. None of this, of course, gets directed at their authoritarian regimes. Incredibly, a good deal of postings on Middle Eastern websites point the finger of blame for the bombings to the Israelis, the CIA, and even Tony Blair himself.

I�ve lived in London for over 4 years now. Not until now, have I considered myself a real Londoner. I�ve been very ill and confined to bed rest for the last month. If I had been healthy, I could have died a Londoner too. My only hope, is that someone, anyone, brings this coward to justice so we can show the world who he really is.