Footnote to the preceding

Relevant fact:

The four young British men, all thought to be of Pakistani origin, are believed to have blown themselves up with rucksack bombs on Thursday, killing at least 52 people. ...

The four men, including one teenager, all from Leeds and Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, were not considered Islamic extremists and were not thought to have significant links with terrorism.

That from The Independent (UK), July 13.

Relevant quote:

Meanwhile, "blowback," the spooks' version of "what goes around, comes around," is the buzzword of the day and some people have commented on how the Taliban was a recipient of US aid and support when it was a useful tool in "the global East-West conflict" during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Some even have noted how US insistence on stationing troops in Saudi Arabia angered conservative Muslims - including Osama bin Laden. But perhaps unsurprisingly, I've seen nothing giving consideration to how what we're doing now could blowback in the future. What new converts to the cause of the most radical, reactionary forms of Islam are we creating, what new volunteers for suicide bombings?

That from me, October 18, 2001.