AP Wire:

A group calling itself “The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe” posted a claim of responsibility, saying the blasts were in retaliation for Britain’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The first, and leftiest thought is: I wonder if Blair will now see the error of his ways and pull British troop support from the coalition. It seems pretty safe to assume that the British people, who have been far more stalwart and serious in their opposition to the Iraq invasion from the jump, will be increasingly vocal now that it has cost them lives at home. Will Blair dare to diverge from Bush’s dictates? I must say that, despite my own (conflicted) opposition to the war, I fucking hope not.

I say this for one reason only: No matter how much you disagree with/loathe the president's belligerent approach to international affairs, his flagrant mendacity, his smugness, it is fundamentally wrong to make the leap that he or his (largely indefensible) policies are to blame for the attacks in London, or in Bali, or in New York, or in Washington, or anywhere. That seems like a distinction worth making, pre-emptively as it were.