11 Jul 05. As the FT reported that the three main UK political parties had joined in a rare show of unity to condemn last week’s outrage, the prime minister said the government would continue with plans to introduce a new Prevention of Terrorism bill next spring.
Whilst the debate was continuing in the House of Commons, BATTLESPACE Editor, Julian Nettlefold was honoured to be present on the day that the deaths of the four Navy SEALS, ITCS (SEAL) Daniel R. Healy, STG2 (SEAL) Mathew G. Axelson, MM2 (SEAL) Shane E. Patton and QM2 (SEAL) and LT Michael P. Murphy, and their rescue team killed in the Chinook crash in Afghanistan were being remembered at the National Memorial Cemetery at the Punchbowl in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The inscription on the Memorial Plaque says it all
IN PROUD MEMORY OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF HER SONS AND IN HUMBLE TRIBUTE TO THEIR SACRIFICES.
THIS MEMORIAL HAS BEEN ERRECTED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
THESE MEN WERE PART OF THE PRICE THAT FREE MEN HAVE BEEN FORCED TO PAY TO DEFEND HUMAN LIBERTY AND RIGHTS
TO THESE MEN WE OWE A DEBT TO BE PAID WITH GRATEFUL REMEMBERANCE OF THEIR HEROISM
Later that day the Editor and his son went to visit the poignant USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor where 1773 men lost their lives during the Japanese attack in a matter of a few seconds in a huge explosion which destroyed the ship. The fitting memorial to these men can be viewed by boat and is an eerie reminder of the sacrifices made by ordinary men and women in conflicts around the world.
It seems like yesterday that Tony Blair decided that appeasement not confrontation was the way forward to combat terrorism in the UK. We hear that the BBC is now using bombers not terrorists for these men. The release of the IRA criminals in 1999 did nothing more that put more criminals on the street, the 2005 muddle over terrorists led by liberal judges and politicians appears to have done the same, change is required urgently, not by the Spring as stated below otherwise more innocent men and women will lose their lives. BATTLESPACE sends its condolences to those families in the UK affected by those cowardly bombings
But Mr Blair told MPs that – if the police and intelligence services so demand – new laws to prosecute people planning terrorist acts could be subjected to an “accelerated timetable” and reach the Commons in the next few months. Mr Blair addressed the Commons five days after the London attacks, in which some 52 people are now known to have died. He said the investigation being mounted into the bombings was “among the most vigorous and intensive this country has ever seen.” His comments came as leading politicians from across the political spectrum backed the government in a manner rarely seen on the floor of the Commons.
Michael Howard, the Conservative leader, dropped his call for an immediate government inquiry into the bombings, saying: “Now is not the time for a discussion on detail.” Instead, Mr Howard paid tribute to the prime minister for “the calm, resolute and statesmanlike way” in which the government responded to the attacks. The Rev Ian Paisley, leader of the Democratic Unionists, and so often a thorn on the government’s side applauded Mr Blair: “The whole country can salute you today,” he said. Gordon Brown, the chancellor, also threw his weight behind the prime minister in a speech in Blackpool. He said: “I promise we will do whatever it takes and spend whatever is necessary to protect the people of this country to ensure that terrorism is defeated.” In London, police continued their search for the bombers with no apparent major breakthrough in their investigation. “I appeal to everybody to give us time,” said Sir Ian Blair, chief of the Metropolitan Police. However, progress is understood to have been made in identifying an individual suspected of direct responsibility for the explosion on the bus near the capital’s Tavistock Square.
“I think we are