McGrath, if the US is to protect its citizens from acts of terrorism then it needs to address the issue of why, as a nation (although "as a Government" would be more appropriate), it is so hated in so much of the world. Unfortunately I see no sign of that happening.

The biggest danger - in humanitarian terms - in the US failing to address, or even to recognise, that hatred is the ease with which they confuse those who applaud the act with those who actively support it, or even organise it.

It is, of course, tragic that any human being could applaud human suffering - on this or any lesser scale. However those whose own lives have been largely dehumanised, and whose day-by-day sufferings are worse than most of un in the west can imagine, may not have quite the same perspective on humnanity . .

Changing tack, I find all this talk of the attack requiring some massive organisation behind it the most daft conspiracy theory of all . . . Given the human resources (however-many souls ready to give their lives for the cause) and the funds (not vast, compared, say, to the illegal funding going into some drug deals) I could have organised such an attack, as (I guess) could most members of Mudcat . . . Or, put another way, its organisational demands are no greater than those of some of the IRA operations on the UK mainland.

This tragic attack is something the US was wide open to. Perhaps it's understandable that it's reluctant to admit this fact . .

George