More London Bombings as Congress Debates the Patriot Act

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Entered in Database : 2006-01-31 00:00:00
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London today experienced what police call"attempted" bombings with eerie similarities to those of two weeks ago, but this time, there were no deaths and only a single injury. As police investigate possible links, Prime Minister Blair is urging Londoners to get on with their lives. Today's incident comes just as the Congress considering possible amendments to the Patriot Act, passed just 45 days after September 11, with"sunset" provision that will go out of effect unless they are re-enacted. How do officials explain today's events at a time of heightened alert and warnings of more to come? Will another attack on a trusted ally have an impact on the Patriot Act debate in Congress? We hear from journalists, historians, experts in international security and criminal justice, and a former terrorism official from the US Justice Department.Making News: Two Weeks Later, London Suffers Second Attack
In Trafalgar Square this morning, Londoners met to remember the four transit bombings that killed 56 people exactly two weeks ago, but at lunch time, there were four more attacks--three in subways and one on a bus. Police Commissioner Ian Blair declined to say that the attacks were directly connected. Stryker McGuire, London Bureau Chief for Newsweek magazine, says there are, however, troubling connections.Reporter's Notebook: British Government to Bar Terrorist Sympathizers
For many years, Britain has seen itself as a haven for political refugees and a bastion of tolerance for people from different cultures, but the transit bombings two weeks ago have led to reappraisals of both immigration policies and the tradition of free speech. Civil libertarians are concerned about overreaction. Ben Chu, Assistant Comments Editor for London's Independent newspaper, details the provisions and protests.

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