Revolutionary Moderation

London

Almost all terrorism is a form of political jiu-jitsu in which the weaker side (the terrorists) tries to trick the stronger side (the government, the coloniel power, etc.) into an overreaction that really serves the terrorists' goals.
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...the guerillas or terrorists are never trying to win a victory on the battlefield. They can't; they don't have enough force. Instead, they are using the very limited amount of force at their disposal in ways that will goad you, the army, into using your overwhelming force in ways that help their cause and hurt yours.

The struggle will be decided, in the end, not by who wins the battles but by which way the mass of the population jumps, into their camp or into yours.

-Gwynne Dyer, Future: Tense

In the wake of the bombing of the London Underground, we will all do well to heed that lesson. Prime Minister Blair already deserves some praise for not allowing the tragedy to derail the entire African anti-poverty effort at the G-8. He will deserve much, much more if yesterday's bombs result in a criminal investigation, arrests, and trials, rather than aimless overseas military adventures which only make matters worse.