The Camerons visit to the Twin Towers

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail....nd-Zero-memorial.html

/// The Prime Minister said the visit brought home to him forcefully the reasons why British troops are fighting in Afghanistan. ///

/// 'Here at the site of the Twin Towers, Ground Zero, here is the place to remember why what we do overseas is so important, so people are safe at home,' he said in a round of TV interviews. ///

Does he really believe all of this to be true?

[Gromit]

Are we any safer than we were in 2001?

Is the threat of a terrorist attack greater, less or the same because of the Afghan adventure?

Could Al Qaeda have been defeated without a full blown war?

Unfortunately, I do not believe it has made much difference.

[rojash]

"remember why what we do overseas is so important"

So, for example, if you set out to finance and exploit for your own ends, organisations like the mujahideen in Afghanistan, and then betray them in the name of political expediency, you shouldn't be too surprised if they generate an offshoot (such as al-Qaeda) who feel that they want to avenge themselves.

[jackthehat]

SamCam was in New York on 9/11.
For several hours DC had no idea whether she was dead or alive.
I think that was at the forefront of his mind during his visit to 'Ground Zero' yesterday.......

P.S. The twin towers aren't there, anymore........

[Zeuhl]

Surely not. He just inherited it from Gordon who inherited it from Tony .

This must be another contender for the title 'The Great Lie'

Alternative plan: build nice strong comfy outposts all over Afghanistan

Leave

When the Taliban return and nab the outposts for themselves, detonate the massive bombs hidden beneath them.

[anotheoldgit]

jackthehat

/// SamCam was in New York on 9/11. ///

/// I think that was at the forefront of his mind during his visit to 'Ground Zero' yesterday.......///

Become a David Cameron mind reader now have we, as well as being on casual address terms with Samantha Cameron?

No, The two excerpts that I pasted, made no reference whatsoever to Mrs Cameron.

[Zeuhl]

DC and Sam Cam have spoken about their personal perspective on 9/11 several times.

It's reasonable to suppose they were thinking of it this week

[naomi24]

Personally, I think a visit to Ground Zero does bring the horror home to people. We also waited for news of people caught up in the massacre on that terrible day - and all of them were dead. Additionally, having had the most anxious day of my life when I waited for news of my family on 7/7, I could well understand it if David Cameron's thoughts returned to his experiences on 9/11. Thoughtless sarcasm has no place here, AOG.

[DTCwordfan]

Agree Naomi. A crass remark to make about DC

I had two of my staff caught up in the mayhem - they were due for a meeting in the Windows on the World and were, so fortunately, ok. Also, one of my future partners had his offices there too and he was late to work as it was the 1st day of the new school year in NY - and hence why they didn't kill 5000+ - an hour later, and they would have.

I also disagree with Gromit on this....they, Al Qaeda and the Taliban, had to be tackled. An awful lot goes on in incident prevention that we do not know about and I think that this maybe one of the reasons that Cameron has been so accorded the reception that he and his wife have received from Obama et al.

[Gromit]

If anything, the invasion of Afghanistan made us more of a target. The al qaeda attacks on London and Glasgow and the Bali bombs were aimed at those who participated in the the war.

Al qaeda and the Taliban needed to be eliminated but that has not been achieved. A ground war was a big mistake.

[DTCwordfan]

So how are you going to eliminate them, Gromit, a nuke perhaps......

[cathfromsaron]

he said 'the site of the twin towers' ... indeed it is a cleared building site more or less!

[DTCwordfan]

or tea parties with beef-bacon sarnies and éclairs.

[anotheoldgit]

naomi24

Perhaps you should first focus your accusations of sarcasm on others on this site, who happen to be past masters at it.

The thread was not about what was on Cameron's mind, but on what he 'SAID'.

So before you accuse me of 'thoughtless sarcasm' please bother to read the question and make your remarks on that, and not on your own personal involvements.

Since you had a personal attachment with the devastating happens of 9/11, then perhaps you would have been better employed entering a thread of your own regarding the Cameron's visit to ground zero, instead of taking the opportunity to have a cheap dig at me. .

[jno]

aog, you did ask if he believed what he said! That's definitely a question about what was on his mind.

[DTCwordfan]

Yes, jno is correct.

Are you trying to imply that DC was not serious about what he said, AOG? If so, that is a disgraceful slur - and to the 3500 that died, never mind all caught up in it as rescuers, police or those that survived the appalling experience.

[jno]

erm, well, I don't know if it's such a disgraceful slur to imply that a politician says things he doesn't believe. As I said on another thread, it's just diplomacy; sleight of tongue is part of the job description. However, on this occasion I imagine Cameron does believe what he's saying.

[naomi24]

AOG, //Perhaps you should first focus your accusations of sarcasm on others on this site, who happen to be past masters at it.//

If focussing my accusations on others had been appropriate here, I’d have done it - and be assured, it was no ‘cheap dig’. I meant it. Where this subject is concerned, sarcasm can only equate to ignorance.

Your question was ‘Does he really believe all of this to be true?’ – and in answer to that – yes, I think he probably does.

[DTCwordfan]

well maybe a tad strong, but on this one, when close to home as to his concerns for his wife who was preggers at the time, of course he is speaking from his heart. To even question him on that is a slur on his character.

I leave for the Post Office with a slightly acrid taste in the mouth about this one.............

[rov1100]

More soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan that the Twin Towers so are we continually try to get revenge for past atrocities. By going there we have not changed their idealism one jot and in fact the size of the Taliban has increased.

Where is the monument in Coventry where we can worship the dead who were killed by the German Luftwaffe.

[jno]

right here, rov

http://www.bbc.co.uk/...warwickshire-15448584