[Reading Skills] 9. 인터넷을 통한 영어학습법(5)

이번에는 최근 발생한 런던 테러에 대한 기사를 다루고자 한다.


'제2의 9·11참사'라 불리는 '7월7일 런던 테러'는 2012년 올림픽 유치 성공과 스코틀랜드에서 열린 G8(서방선진 7개국 및 러시아)정상회담이라는 행사가 맞물려 있는 와중에 터졌다.


테러의 진정한 의도에 대해서는 아직도 여러 가지 추측이 난무하고 있다.


이번 기사는 영국 가디언(The Guardian)지의 영문 사이트(www.guardian.co.uk)에 게재된 것이다.


테러주의자들이 정부 주요 인사나 상징적인 장소를 테러 목표로 삼지 않고 일상의 삶을 살아가고 있는 무고한 민간인들을 대상으로 자행한 의도를 알아보고자 하는 기사다.


참고로 영국의 가디언은 더 타임스(The Times)와 함께 영국의 양대 일간지로 잘 알려져 있다.


논조의 공정성과 문학 예술에 대한 참신한 보도,비평 등으로 유명한 신문이며 미국의 영문사이트만 편식(?)해온 우리들에겐 영국식 영어와 유럽적 시각을 맛볼 수 있는 좋은 기회라 할 수 있겠다.



The strategy behind yesterday's attacks was to hit "soft" targets and cause maximum casualties rather than aim for high-profile locations or public figures.


As with the Madrid train attacks, rush-hour commuters were the target, the aim being to cause as many deaths as possible but also to allow the bombers to operate undetected.


There was no immediate indication that suicide bombers were involved.


"There is nothing to suggest anything other than conventional explosives," said Brian Paddick, the deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police, in response to the question as to whether the dead included al-Qaida members.


With about 1,500 police officers and senior security personnel sent to Gleneagles for the G8 summit, there was a shortage of specialist terrorism officers in the capital. This left 31,000 other Metropolitan police in London, but the bombers would have seen that the police in the capital were stretched.


No bomb warnings were given, a pattern seen also in Istanbul in 2003 when the British consulate and a bank were attacked, and in Bali in 2002, when bombs exploded in a busy nightclub area.


While a few commentators speculated that London had become more of a target after its successful bid to stage the 2012 Olympics, it seems clear that the G8 meeting presented the prime target.


The bombings would appear to have been planned far in advance with a specific date in mind, much in the way that the IRA planned for months before the 1984 Brighton bomb attack. Al-Qaida's method is not to give warnings, nor to claim responsibility at first. While the IRA used to give warnings so that a limited evacuation could take place, al-Qaida has always tried to cause as many casualties as possible.


The IRA used a code known to the police to claim responsibility for attacks, but al-Qaida's claims have been more difficult to authenticate, not least because a variety of different groups with ever-changing names have made claims.


David Capitanchik, a terrorism expert, said the rush-hour explosions bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida. "There's no doubt in my mind that this is the work of al-Qaida or one of its nodes. They would never target a military base or the G8 summit. They choose the soft targets, ordinary people going about their everyday business, to cause maximum terror."


"Their philosophy is: why attack a tiger when there are so many sheep? We saw this in Bali, in Madrid and, of course, [on] 9/11. Coordinated attacks on a grand scale with ruthless disregard for human life -- it's absolutely typical of al-Qaida and their allies. They don't even need to use suicide bombers for this type of attack because it's so easy to get on and off a bus or train leaving a bag with explosives behind."


Jonathan Eyal, director of studies at the Royal United Services Institute, said: "The attacks in London were highly coordinated and executed with some precision, the two hallmarks of al-Qaida. We do not know yet whether any suicide bombers were involved… but it is plainly evident that scores of terrorists were engaged in planning, identifying the targets, and detonating the explosives at… rush hour."


"The second difference is in the apparent political intent of the operation.While in Madrid the terrorists sought, and ultimately obtained, a change of government by timing their attacks precisely on the eve of the parliamentary elections, the aim of those who struck at London appears much more nebulous."


"It is therefore likely that the planning for the London attack started well before the British elections."


Al-Qaida has also discovered through its attacks in Bali and Madrid that killing large numbers of members of the public has as powerful an effect in propaganda terms as hitting the levers of power.


Police sources indicate that the threat level now remains high but that al-Qaida usually concentrates on one large attack and then goes quiet in that area for a long time afterwards.


김기훈 대표 cedu@ceduenglish.com


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