Stripes letter: Britain sets right example

[lebkuchen]

Britain sets right example

Don’t you just admire the British authorities and the London police for their quick work in identifying and capturing the terrorists who bombed their city. Within days of the bombing, they had identified the terrorists, discovered where they lived and started after them. A couple of days later the British arrested some of the participants, and a week later many more were in jail. Now that is justice as justice should be.

The London police did not (and do not) mess around, as one poor unfortunate individual found out when he tried to run from the authorities.

I wish American agencies had been as efficient, focused and determined to get the terrorists who destroyed the World Trade Center towers. Instead the U.S. went off and declared war on two countries while the New York terrorists scattered to the far corners of the Earth. And guess what, we still have not caught them.

I am sure we have a lot of folks who feel good about what we have accomplished in Afghanistan and Iraq, but it still irks the hell out of me that Osama bin Laden is still walking around free, planning other attacks. Instead of chasing those responsible for the WTC disaster, we are busy violating everyone’s civil rights, making getting from one city to another an absolute nightmare and fostering several simultaneous wars that are ruining our national budget.

It would seem appropriate for our own federal agencies (FBI, CIA, etc.) to visit London and learn now to chase down and capture terrorists. Or, we could ask the British to come to the U.S. and help us out. I am sure the British will have their terrorists under lock and key in short order and will then have the time to show us how they did it.

The British have done a great job, and the whole free world needs to applaud their efforts. Their determination and steadfastness have a long and prestigious history. The British politician and novelist Benjamin Disraeli once said: “Your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.”

Clifton J. Jester
Kadena Air Base, Okinawa

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=30869


Question: Was the guy the British police shot and killed innocent?

[mrfrapp]

1. Yes

Yes to your question and just to be clear he was more than "unfortunate" IMO.

on edit:

I appreciate the letter writers sentiment but I want to address this excerpt.

"A couple of days later the British arrested some of the participants, and a week later many more were in jail. Now that is justice as justice should be."

That isn't justice by any definition. In Britain we have a system of due process where people are arrested and tried and only then found guilty if the evidence is sufficient. I'm a little nervous that people think it's acceptable to consider someone guilty simply because the police have arrested them.