This issue of Common Sense was to be about recent rioting in Bradford and Oldham as well as events in Palestine, but more dramatic happenings force a shift of focus. Whilst different in scale, there are, however, common strands to escalating violence in those far apart places. When things go out of hand, reflection is usually in short supply and emotion takes over, often making things only worse. Violence is a symptom of underlying causes, and if the causes are not addressed, the problem will perpetuate. Vendettas of old show how revenge and counter-revenge do not bring conflict to an end.

As with previous occasions where American installations were targeted, the administration and the media have been quick to point the finger at Muslims, happily aided by numerous and vociferous Israeli commentators. The British official response, for a change, was somewhat more considered, and whilst some TV commentators went as far as conjuring images of the crusades of old, feedback to the letter columns of print and broadcasting media indicated that the public at large did not see the USA as the purely innocent victim. The British National Party, of course, took its new strategy of targeting Muslims rather than Blacks and Asians as the enemy of Britain to new levels after having first put it to the test during the events surrounding the riots in the North.

Early investigations of the New York and Washington attacks have been characterised by lack of concrete factual evidence and an abundance of circumstantial material and speculation. Details of the fate of the planes which did not hit their targets were dropped from reporting. Much was made of the find of a Qur’an, Arabic flight manuals and an instructional video in a car. Taken to their logical conclusion one could assume that the amateur hijacker pilots crashed the plane near Pittsburgh because in their hurry they forgot the video which was going to tell them how to fly the plane. Totally ludicrous, such discoveries help, however, to create a scene of suspicion and give the impression that the law enforcement agencies are on to something. They desperately need to show successes, for the devastating destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Center is very much proof of their failure.

If Bin Laden was the key culprit, given that his organisation was, so we have been told all along, constantly being watched, why did not the CIA and FBI pick up some advance information? Their budget and powers already blur the distinction between a free country and a dictatorship. Allegedly, there have been some warnings from the Israeli intelligence service Mossad about an imminent terror attack outside Israel, so why was there no higher state of alert, and why did Mossad not share what they knew with their American counterparts? Many more questions need to be asked, first among them, who benefits?

Muslims are likely to be the losers, as they will be the targets of retribution. Israel has already used the shock of world opinion as a convenient smoke screen to move with tanks against Palestinian civilians, and nobody dare speak out. Tougher laws and increased police powers will be the inevitable result in the West, providing the pretence for a clamp down on hitherto legitimate opposition activities. The police state is on the doorstep.

There have been previous occasions where governments, including the government of the United States of America, engineered tragedies to stir up an otherwise disinterested populace into supporting their policies and wars. The suicide plane crashes were compared to Pearl Harbour, and if that comparison is accurate, than the American intelligence service had prior knowledge of the events. It is now established historical fact that they let Pearl Harbour happen to bring America into the war against Japan. They also dropped the Hiroshima bomb when it was already clear that the war was over. Little surprise, America has many enemies, and they would have more, especially at home, if the full truth was known. The now executed bomber of Oklahoma, Timothy McVeigh was no loner. Many American patriots are disillusioned with their own administration.

The direct hit of the World Trade Center also provided a new twist to the story of recession for which America was anyway heading. It now provides an outside cause for what until then would have been profiteering and irresponsible mismanagement. But given that one of the planes destroyed a large portion of the Pentagon, the United States’ military command centre, it was unlikely a Pearl Harbour like own goal. The attack must, however, had the support of influential people inside the American administration.

We are told that half a dozen planes were hijacked simultaneously, that control of the planes was seized shortly after takeoff, that the transponders which identify the planes on air traffic control radar screens were turned off, and that radio communication with air traffic control was lost. To the uninitiated this would seem like an uncontrollable situation. Yet, it is hard to believe that air traffic control would sit by idle and watch several planes go off their screens. When a transponder is turned off the plane does not disappear from radar, but as its identification is missing, alarm bells immediately go off in the control centre. If this happens with multiple planes and they all head for the same direction, even somebody merely on work experience could figure out that this was a real emergency.

At such times, order 761 comes into effect, which requires all facilities of the Federal Aviation Authority to follow the directions of the hijack coordinator in Washington. Military escort missions will be dispatched to track intercept the hijacked aircraft. So why did none of this take place?

If Bin Laden managed to disable the United States air traffic control emergency procedures from his distant hideout in the Afghan mountains, president Bush would be best advised to invite him as a security advisor, pointing out the loop holes of American intelligence. Highly unlikely.

At this juncture, the culpability of Mossad becomes, once more, a real possibility. The Israeli intelligence service has quite a history of friendly fire against American targets. With a long-standing terrorist and cynic, Ariel Sharon, at the helm it would be foolish to rule out this option. A published interview, dating back to 1982, shows how little respect this man has for humanity, including his own compatriots, boasting that he even wouldn’t mind blowing up one synagogue or two if that frightens the diaspora Jews and makes them rally behind Israel, makes them “hurry home before it gets really dark”.

The Israel led by this man despising humanity is a nuclear power with considerable influence in Western governments. It was only just at risk of losing the propaganda war of its atrocious occupation of Palestinian land. Now, everybody will once more pledge to support them in their laudable attempt to eradicate terrorism. Israel would only be too happy to pressure the US into a military strike against Afghanistan with sufficient collateral damage to disable Pakistan’s use of its “Muslim Bomb”.

As the hate mail arriving at our offices suggests, American patriots and many other so-called nationalists want to vent their anger at any Muslim they come into contact with. When watching Hollywood produced films they were always assured that their powerful state would protect them against the terrorist menace, no matter how close it came to home. In the disbelief that they were struck right in the centre, they forget that violence always begets more violence.