London Mayor Ken Livingstone, in a statement this afternoon:
Finally, I wish to speak directly to those who came to London today to take life. I know that you personally do not fear giving up your own life in order to take others – that is why you are so dangerous.
To be fair, the rest of Livingstone’s speech was forceful and defiant in the face of terror. But I can’t help but wonder if he meant to stroke Al Quaeda’s egos with that statement, or if it was just an accident.
In the meantime, here’s CNSnews on why Livingstone is no Guiliani (via Israpundit):
London Mayor Ken Livingstone’s previous support of a Muslim cleric who advocates suicide bombings may cause him some embarrassment as he now must speak for the city in the wake of Thursday’s terrorist bombings.
Despite Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi’s support of suicide bombings and the targeting of American allies, Livingstone dubbed him a “man of peace” and a “moderate.”
The mayor invited Al-Qaradawi to London’s City Hall last year as an honored guest, and Livingstone appeared in a video shown at a solidarity conference for the sheikh on Feb. 17 of this year in Doha, Qatar. Livingstone has publicly defended the sheikh against critics in the media and various grassroots organizations.
Attacking Livingstone now may appear to be in bad taste. But in the coming days, as more people crawl out of the woodwork with their conspiracy theories, it’s useful to remember that appeasing terrorism can only ever lead to disaster.
“…As Ye sow, so shall Ye reap” or words to that effect. I’ve been trying to find that famous (apparently not) quotation of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s regarding not taking a stand in the face of persecution of others and then noting that when ‘they came for him, there was no one left to protest’ or as I said before, words to that effect.
The smug self satisfaction of Canadian politicians in their earnest proclamations of how they’re doing everything possible to protect Us rings totaly hollow. A news item yesterday revealed that a recent Urban Warfare exercise by the Cdn. Forces required that the troops involved had to rent paintball equipment as the forces were out of special low velocity ammo designed for the purpose.
Way to go, Mr. Prime Minister!
Attacking Livingstone now may appear to be in bad taste
You got that right.