Terrorist Attack in Egypt

At Least 25 Dead in Egypt Explosions By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer
7 minutes ago

CAIRO, Egypt - At least two large explosions rocked the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula early Saturday, killing at least 25 people and injuring 110, police said.

The blasts shook windows miles away, and smoke and fire were visible rising from Sharm's Naama Bay, a main strip of beach hotels, witnesses said.

One blast hit the Ghazala Gardens hotel, a 176-room four-star resort on the main tourist strip in the Naama Bay area of Sharm el-Sheik, witnesses said. A second blast was heard in the Old Market, another Sharm neighborhood.

"The hotel was completely burned down, destroyed," said Amal Mustafa, 28, an Egyptian who was visiting with her family and drove by the Ghazala Gardens.

Khaled Sakran, a resident, said he saw the first blast from the Old Market. "I saw the fire in the sky," he said. "Right after, I saw a light in the sky and heard another explosion, coming from Naama Bay." He said he believed there was also a third explosion.

A police official in Sharm el-Sheik said 25 were killed and 110 wounded in multiple explosions near several hotels. He could not say how many blasts occurred. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he gave the information ahead of any official announcement.

An update--more details.

45 Dead and 200 Hurt in Egyptian Blasts By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer
21 minutes ago

CAIRO, Egypt - A series of explosions, including at least four car bombs, struck the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik early Saturday, hitting several hotels packed with European and Egyptian tourists. Security officials said at least 45 people died in the deadliest attack in Egypt in nearly a decade.

As many as seven explosions in quick succession shook the city, beginning at 1:15 a.m. and rattling windows miles away. Smoke and fire rose from Naama Bay, a main strip of beach hotels in the desert city at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, also popular with Israeli tourists, witnesses said.

Dazed tourists milled about the darkened streets as Egyptian rescuers searched for dead and injured. Ambulances sped away with victims.

"There seemed to be a lot of bodies strewn across the road" near one cafe, British policeman Chris Reynolds, visiting from Birmingham, England, told the BBC by telephone. "It was horrendous."

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What the f*ck is wrong with this world?

The eyes of fear are wide open. Bigger locks, higher security, less freedom. Get used to it.

If you don't like that idea how do you suppose we handle the issue then?

When it comes to handling it, your guess is as good as mine. I'm just making a general comment on the fact that despite what we have been doing so far, terrorism is spreading. Terrorism works. The world is changing for the worse, and I don't see it getting any better anytime soon.

I think it is because we are handleing these people with kid gloves on. We need to be tougher and meaner in this fight. These people do not respect weakness.

We aren't that strong.

Actually, I take that back. Maybe we are that strong. I don't know. I must be tired. I'm going to bed.

But before I go, I'd just like to say that I don't believe terrorism will ever go away, at least not in our lifetimes. It's a weapon that works, and now that they've figured that out, people will use it. Civilians are now targets. There are some really bloodthirsty savages in the world, and we will all just have to get used to that fact.

The question is how to get tougher and meaner with terrorists without getting tougher and meaner with our selves. Can it even be done?

Starting a war - seding in troops - killing thousands = kid gloves.

It hasn't worked - never will. Blair said it best the other day. Freedom is the only show of force that will win over the hearts and minds of terrorists. Personally, in America, until 9/11 our track record of terrorist attacks was pretty damned good. I think what we were doign was mostly working - increased security at our borders is not out of the question - but starting two wars that have done nothing but increased hatred and made us an our allies a target is surely NOT working.

TF

p.s. I am sure this will be said to be oppologist - let it go. I abhor death dealing on any level - terrorists or not.

I can't imagine anyone thinking that our attack on Afghanistan wasn't necesary.

It's where the planners of 911 were hiding out with support from the government. We gave them opportunities to turn the 911 planners over to us.

If we'd left them alone as you suggest, don't you concede that would be our signal to them that they can do whatever they please to the free world and suffer no conequence?

I am not willing to allow them to do whatever the hell they please to innocent people and get away with it.

It seems they are attemping to ignite a religious war.

Understatement of the year.

Why let them get away with it?

I just think our information offensive should be as devastating as our military one.

Anwar Al Sadat made overt gestures of peace to Israel and wooed U.S. president Jimmy Carter into assisting with negotiations. The resulting peace agreement, the Camp David Accords, earned Sadat the 1978 Nobel Prize for Peace (he shared it with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin). He was assassinated in 1981 by Islamic fundamentalists who opposed the peace treaty with Israel.

Did you know that terrorism was a huge problem?

Yes, a gigantic problem, at the turn of the century.

Turn of the last century, that is.

But we survived through the myriad attacks. Just like we will survive these.

I think the classic wartime saying 'we have nothing to fear but fear itself' comes in handy here. We will survive and persevere onwards.

That being said, I think our current path is not good. Not that things can't get better; but we sure aren't doing anything to make them better.

Cycloptichorn

I can't imagine anyone here didn't know about Sadat.

But that Muslim atrocity was matched by an Israeli assassination of Rabin.

I'm not fearful of terrorists, but I am becoming frustrated at methods that aren't more devastating to them and their goals.

There was a neat interview segment on Fox of Americans in London. I was proud of them. They said they wouldn't have their plans changed by terrorists. There was a derisive snippet about an Italian soccer team canceling their plans to go to London....(by a British correspondant to FOXNews.)

Certainly, it wasn't unnecessary, but let's just say it didn't turn out as well as we had hoped. Perhaps if we had put a tiny bit more time into the attacks



Actually, we have no idea if they did come from Afghanistan. after all, the majority of the 9/11 bombers were Saudis, weren't they?



No, but we could have left the Taleban for a little while longer to get a more coherent invasion strategy. Not too long mind you, we of course wouldn't have wanted them to launch another terrorist attack, but just long enough to get a better plan to prevent Osama from escaping.

Still, I guess it was pretty good considering the time they spent on the plan.



You don't say?



We shouldn't really have a military one, but yes, our information offensive should be very devastating.

Odd that you and dys are acting so smug about my statement that the frigging Muslim extremists are trying to ignite a religious war.

You seem to always say they are trying to get us out of the ME, because of our evil presence there.

A religious war is for world domination.

Pick one.