rvg, some couple of years later?

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

"Not worrying too much about it." That's your strategy? So, suppose tomorrow (God forbid) 7/7 get repeated, only this time the body count is in the thousands, do you shrug it off and keep going as if nothing happened or do you take measures to prevent it from reoccurring?

9/11 and 7/7 were both the result of incompetence and complacency, what has stopped them being repeated is that the threat has been recognised.

Do you think it's happenstance that they haven't been repeated?

[rvg]

9/11 and 7/7 were both the result of incompetence and complacency, what has stopped them being repeated is that the threat has been recognised.

Do you think it's happenstance that they haven't been repeated?

You seem to be evading my question. Suppose the security measures fail and 7/7 happens again. And again. Do you adjust your strategy or do you keep on keeping on? Explosives are cheap, mind you.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

You seem to be evading my question. Suppose the security measures fail and 7/7 happens again. And again. Do you adjust your strategy or do you keep on keeping on? Explosives are cheap, mind you.

If it happens again?

That'll be another failure of the security services, twice in a decade is pretty good, and if people keep coming at you you'll never catch them all.

Strategically speaking, I wouldn't be bothered. I'd put it down to bad luck.

Here's the thing you don't get: as long as they hate us, they will keep trying to kill us. The nastier we get, the more they hate us, the harder they try.

So the bald answer, if it happened again I wouldn't do anything differently - if successful attacks were carried out on a large scale every year, I would begin to worry. My first question would be to ask where the recruits were coming from.

[rvg]

if successful attacks were carried out on a large scale every year, I would begin to worry. My first question would be to ask where the recruits were coming from.

Suppose the successful attacks are carried out every 6 months. Then what?

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Suppose the successful attacks are carried out every 6 months. Then what?

You find the cause, you don't keep restricting civil liberties or locking up anyone who might be a Muslim.

[rvg]

You find the cause, you don't keep restricting civil liberties or locking up anyone who might be a Muslim.

Okay, I'll give you the cause. Suppose, the terrorist group is fighting to establish islamic caliphate across the globe. Their demand is simple: convert to islam, establish sharia or the bombings will continue.

Your response?

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Okay, I'll give you the cause. Suppose, the terrorist group is fighting to establish islamic caliphate across the globe. Their demand is simple: convert to islam, establish sharia or the bombings will continue.

Your response?

I still need to work out why all these young men are blowing themselves up. If the pattern holds, they'll be a majority from British Pakistani, so I'd look at what it is about the British communities in Pakistan that makes them want to kill the people they live next door to.

I know what you're doing, you're trying to get me to say there's a point at which I have to kill them all. There isn't, there are a few ideaological loons, but the majority of the footsoldiers will be disenfranchised young men. You enfranchise those young men and the support will dry up.

This is the same principle as Northern Ireland and South Africa.

"It's the economy, stupid."

Look at Libya and Egypt, you think people weren't angry before last year? Of course they were, but they had more to lose by fighting than not fighting. You need to offer people a better life than one they can get by violence if you want to have peace.

[Papewaio]

Okay, I'll give you the cause. Suppose, the terrorist group is fighting to establish islamic caliphate across the globe. Their demand is simple: convert to islam, establish sharia or the bombings will continue.

Your response?

Certainly not to invade a secular nation whose leader is on the wannabe caliphates hit list. That would be an absolutely stupid move to attack my worst enemies enemy.