There is a characteristically excellent post by Sunny on the Livingstone v Pipes debate at Pickled Politics:
He tore apart Salma Yaqoob though, who called 7/7 “reprisal attacks” against American aggression and firmly put herself into ’should think carefully before speaking’ category. If Livingstone had invited someone a bit more thoughtful like Maleiha Malik then the neo-cons may not have won the day.
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Overall, the debate was indeed a “pro-wrestling exhibition” and I wasn’t convinced by either side. Livingstone and Yaqoob tried to sell an idealised version of society without dealing with problems (both saw US foreign policy as the only problem, a point most Londoners have gone past I’d say), while Pipes and Murray identified the problem but presented a terrible solution.
The reason that Salma Yaqoob characterised 7/7 as “reprisal attacks” is because that is what she believes. I’d much rather she spoke her mind openly, than dissembled.
I’m going to keep comments closed on this post, because the debate is happening at Pickled Politics now. So toddle over to Sunny’s if you’d like to take part.
Just a small footnote – I would also very much like to hear more from Maleiha Malik, who I know and respect immensely.
