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Greens Condemn Attacks on London Friday, July 8, 2005 Contacts: The July 7 bombings were consistent with warnings that the invasion of Iraq would fuel anti-West anger and make the world less secure from terrorism. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders condemned
the July 7 attacks on the London transit system, and expressed
sympathy for the families of the murdered, for the hundreds of people
injured, and for all those shaken by the bombings. "Greens reject the use of violence for political ends. Green Party members who live in the New York City and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas who acutely remember the pain of 9/11 know the terrible sense of sadness, loss, and disruption that the British people feel right now. All Greens share the same sense of tragedy, outrage, and compassion for the victims and their loved ones." Greens called Thursday's attacks consistent with predictions -- from CIA analysts as well as opponents of the war -- that the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and especially Iraq, which had no connection with 9/11 and virtually no al-Qaeda presence before 2003, would lead to further terrorism. "The invasion of Iraq didn't impede terrorism. On the contrary, it fueled resentment in the Muslim world against western nations, increased support for fundamentalist Islamic leaders who seek to turn their nations into repressive theocracies, converted Iraq into a training ground for groups like al-Qaeda, and distracted from the need to bring Osama bin Laden and the kind of thugs who struck in London to justice," said Peggy Lewis, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States. "Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair have made the world less, not more, secure from terrorism." Greens drew a connection between the civilians killed in attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Bali, Madrid, and now London and the civilians killed in the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq -- tens of thousands who were supposed to be liberated, but were instead killed by American bombs and bullets. "Let us not forget that what Londoners experienced on Thursday morning is being experienced by Iraqi citizens on a daily basis," said Joe Lombardo, New York Green, member of the Green Peace Action Committee, and co-founder of Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace. "It's time to end the military occupation of Iraq, not because we're intimidated by threats from violent religious militants, but because the invasion of Iraq was wrong and was based on oil, empire, and Bush and Blair administration deception. The murder of innocents always deserves our revulsion and condemnation." MORE INFORMATION Green Party of the United States
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