ALGERIAN VIEWS ON LONDON BOMBINGS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ALGIERS 001410

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2015
TAGS: PREL PTER KISL AG
SUBJECT: ALGERIAN VIEWS ON LONDON BOMBINGS

Classified By: Ambassador Richard W. Erdman,
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

SUMMARY AND COMMENT
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1. (C) Algerians, judging from comments made to Embassy
staff, press commentaries and other press reporting since the
London bombings of July 7, have drawn three main conclusions
about these terrorist attacks. First, the bombings should
come as no surprise and were a natural consequence of the
United Kingdom's sheltering of Islamist terrorist elements
over recent years, despite Algeria's provision of information
about specific individuals linked to Algerian terrorist
groups. Second, if the West wants to end terrorism, it must
address the core causes of Muslims' grievances, namely the
Palestinian situation and the continued violence in Iraq.
Third, many innocent Muslims living abroad -- especially
those in Britain -- will suffer for the acts of a malignant
few.


2. (C) We note that many Algerians continue to believe that
the West recognized the dangers of terrorism only after the
September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. Having felt
abandoned by the West (and by the Arab World) before 9/11,
Algerians view these most recent attacks as a natural
consequence of British failure to get tough on terrorism
sooner, along with ongoing British and U.S. intervention in
Iraq, and what is perceived as inattentiveness in Western
capitals to resolving the Palestinian issue. That Algerians
living in Britain and elsewhere may suffer guilt by
association from the bombings in London further underscores
Algerians' continued sense of alienation, frustration, and
victimization. (End summary and comment.)


BOMBINGS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A SURPRISE
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3. (C) In remarks over dinner with DCM July 10, retired
Colonel Mohammed Tabet, military attache to the Algerian
Embassy in Washington during the height of Algeria's 1990s
decade of terrorism, said the GOA had been telling the
British Government for years that the Salafist Group for
Preaching and Combat (GSPC) and Armed Islamic Group (GIA)
members granted asylum during this time period in the United
Kingdom were very dangerous. He commented that it was common
practice for extremists wanted in Algeria to raise money for
terrorist causes in London's Hyde Park. The colonel noted
that Britain had not been alone in pursuing lenient policies
toward terrorists. He mentioned the case of Anouar Haddam, a
former professor and Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) spokesman,
who was granted asylum by the U.S., where he continues to
live. Haddam, said Tabet, was perhaps best known for
regretting the deaths of innocents in the bombing of civilian
targets, but justifying them as a necessary price and
consequence of the Islamic struggle in Algeria.


4. (U) In a public statement carried in July 10 press
reports, Algerian Police Commander Ali Tounsi accused Britain
of "leniency toward Algerian terrorists," claiming there was
an effective agreement between the British and members of the
Armed Islamic Group (GIA) residing in Britain, which "gave
terrorists the opportunity to promote, in London parks, armed
activities perpetrated in Algeria, as long as they did not
engage in violence on British soil." Tounsi's remarks gave
credence to the widespread belief here that Britain had
reaped the seeds it had sown in adhering to a lenient policy
toward Islamic extremists. Tounsi underscored this by
pointing out that the British "should have expected blasts of
such magnitude."


5. (C) Continuing on this theme, one FLN member of
parliament privately told us: "What happened in London is
dramatic, but did the English consider the risks of allowing
'Londonstan' to develop? Was giving shelter to terrorists a
good solution? The British thought that sheltering
terrorists was a good solution, but they did not realize that
one can never align oneself with the devil, and they did
precisely that for years and years."

ROOT CAUSES LIE IN IRAQ AND PALESTINE
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6. (U) In a July 9 editorial, the French-language daily
L'Expression summed up the view of many Algerians:
"...Religious extremism, which...is not the expression of a
nation, even less of the Muslim nations, is the desperate
manifestation of a feeling of humiliation and a perceptible
Western contempt toward the two major issues for Muslims,
Palestine and Iraq...." A separate July 10 editorial in the
leading French-language daily El Watan stuck up the same
theme: "...Islamists...feed the violence against innocent
civilians on five continents. The first (issue employed) is
the Palestinian issue. Young Arabs and Muslims are
scandalized by the injustice that has been done to the
Palestinian people....(Second,) the invasion of Iraq by the
Americans is going to give new strength to Islamist
terrorism. There the latter will find a new pretext to
mobilize young people who are disappointed, marginalized, and
without points of reference....(Last,) the absence of
democracy in the Arab world is another factor that
contributes to the emergence of fundamentalism. The Arab
regimes have set up systems that stifle all freedoms. The
only places they are not managing to control are the
mosques."

ALGERIANS ABROAD WILL SUFFER FOR THE ACTS OF A FEW
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7. (U) The mother of a young Algerian living illegally in
London told us: "It's terrible to think about what happened
because hundreds of Algerians who aren't in Britain legally
will live a nightmare. I am truly afraid that a massive wave
of Algerian expulsions is about to occur (in Britain)." A
young physician, commenting to us that many Algerians had
left Paris for London because it was so much easier to find
affordable housing in the British capital, said, "Now Britain
will be closed to us. These terrorists ended the dreams of
many young Algerians who wanted to try the English
adventure."

ERDMAN