It's the same old story

Two letters from the Irish Independent:

Sir - The articles by Conor Cruise O'Brien and Bruce Arnold (July 9) concerning the London atrocity were so painfully predictable that they bordered on self-parody. It seems that these writers have a standard article which they pull from their archive after different al-Qa'ida attacks. After New York, Bali, Madrid and London, the same article seemed to appear the following Saturday.

The main premise of their analysis seems to be that if it wasn't for the IRA, Sinn Fein and Gerry Adams, then none of these events would have happened!

O'Brien takes on the appearance of a revisionist Einstein who has just cracked a new theory of relativity: 'All evil incarnate = Gerry Adams (squared).'

Bruce Arnold resembles a neo-unionist celebrity chef who's speciality recipe is two parts obsession, one part imagination - half-bake for two decades and reheat when necessary. It is very sad to observe two obviously intelligent men being reduced to mere farce by bitterness and vindictiveness.

Gordon Kennedy,
Ballsbridge,
Dublin 4

* Sir - Tony Blair and George Bush decry the bombings of innocent Londoners as barbaric. I couldn't agree more. The perpetrators should be brought to justice and punished to the full extent of the law. What shall we do to those who bomb innocent Iraqi citizens?

Leo Brady,
West Roxbury MA 02132