Terrorism – the battle has just begun

IT may not be possible yet to conclude who was responsible for the horror blasts which ripped through four packed commuter trains in Madrid last week, but whether it was Basques or Islamic extremists will make little difference to the tragedy and cost in human suffering.

Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility and there is evidence enough to take them seriously. Only months ago a threat thought to be from terror chief Osama bin Laden included Spain among hit-listed countries. As an ally of the United States in Iraq, Spain became an automatic target. The attack on the eve of Spanish elections may well have been designed to punish the ruling party which took the decision to support the US.

It is also interesting to note the parallels between the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington and the Madrid horror. On September 11 four passenger jets were simultaneously hijacked and used as massive guided missiles. In Madrid, four passenger trains were ripped apart by simultaneous explosions.

Both attacks were extremely well orchestrated and precisely executed.

Since September 11 it has become clear that international terrorism is not being carried out by some rag tag organisation but a sophisticated foe with an irrational hatred for the major powers and their influence over global events. There can be little doubt that huge funding backs an integrated and broad-based extremist movement headed by a shadowy brains trust.

Madrid has been a wake-up call. The US, Europe, Britain and Japan and others are becoming acutely aware of the ongoing threat and have beefed up internal security. And finally world leaders are calling for a unified front. Let us not be mistaken – the battle has only just begun.

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New ambulances but same slow service

NEWS reports have made it plain that there is something very wrong with health services delivery in this province – not least with the facility which should be prompt in getting emergency cases to the hospitals: ambulances.

Last week we reported on the death of a woman in the magistrate’s court lavatory 90 minutes after a call was made for an ambulance.

Should this be happening after the arrival of the 13 new ambulances were allocated to the metro last month?

Could the problem be in any way related to Buffalo City’s? On February 19, we reported that new ambulances allocated to that local authority were not being immediately put to use because minor modifications were necessary.

Surely it is not too difficult to get so vital a service running promptly and efficiently.

So why such slow responses in a service which is there to save lives by stabilising emergency patients and getting them to hospital as safely and speedily as possible?

With justification, DA safety and security spokesman Bobby Stevenson has called the tardy service a danger to society, citing three high-profile cases in our metro where ambulances have fallen short of the mark. In one case the patient had to wait six hours and in another 90 minutes.

He makes a good suggestion. Call in private services when our own can’t cope. Every life is precious.