It is important in creating this kind of strategy of tension to have all the gory details immediately shown to the target community. This will create the anger which will either lead to retaliation or to a plausible claim that retaliation has occurred once the next attack takes place. Thus the violence is rapidly ratcheted up. People like Rudy and Bibi will be around to offer expertise on how to deal with the problem, expertise which can be sold for a lot of money, and which will only make the problem worse.

It appears that the Israeli technical advice involved in Operation Kratos is already in full force, and it is even possible that this whole incident, with so many duds, was just a training exercise for the British police. Asking Israel for advice on how to deal with this problem is particularly funny. I understand why Israel does what it does: it wants to create terrorism so it can use its state terrorism in 'self defense' to eventually drive the Palestinians off the Occupied Territories. But why would the British want to go down this sorry road? With each incident the problem is made worse, and it will take years and years to undo the damage. The domestic security measures taken to attempt to deal with the insecurity, up to an including murdering people who wear coats too heavy for the weather, make life worse for everybody (and the British problems just helped the Americans make the Patriot Act a permanent affront to American civil liberties). Wouldn't it be easier to get rid of Tony, pull out of Iraq, take some steps to alleviate the plight of the Palestinians, and start the process of mending bridges with the Muslim community? Is fighting the 'war on terror' so much fun that it is worth living in fear for the rest of your life?