The Great War on Terror started today...

Snickers Man

..97 years ago.

Today, June 28, is the anniversary of the unspeakable atrocity which sparked off a War on Terror. Initially a campaign of condign retribution against those held to be responsible, if only by means of incitement, for the brutal murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife in Sarajevo, it quickly metastasised into a global conflict which changed the order of power all around the world.

The Archduke and his wife were visiting the capital of Bosnia Herzegovina which the Austro-Hungarian Empire, ruled by the Archduke's uncle Franz Josef, had annexed just over five years previously. A gang of Bosnian Serbs, whose formation and general activities had been given at least tacit approval by elements of the intelligence and armed services of neighbouring independent Serbia, had plotted his death and following a botched attempt earlier in the day, succeeded almost by accident after the Royal car had taken a wrong turning.

Outrage was expressed throughout Europe. In the House of Commons, two days later the Prime Minister Asquith, a Liberal, proposed a motion of sympathy to be delivered to the Austrian Emperor which was seconded by Bonar Law, leader of the Opposition, and passed without dissent.

The Emperor, according to Asquith "..has never failed to attain the highest ideal of what..Kingship can be made to be.
He has been the unperturbed, sagacious, and heroic head of a mighty State, rich in splendid traditions, and associated with us in this country in some of the most moving and treasured chapters of our common history. ..
He and his people have always been our friends, and ....we respectfully tender to him and to the great family of nations of which he is the venerable and venerated head, our heartfelt and our most affectionate sympathy."

Bonar Law added: "the heart of the whole world is turned to-day in sorrow and in pity to the lonely desolate figure of the aged Emperor." and claimed " there is no Sovereign in the world who enjoys in fuller measure than he the respect, confidence, and love of his people."

One could think back to September 11 ten years ago (a Tuesday) and recall the outpouring of sympathy for the American victims of that day. The calling of a national Day of Mourning that Friday and the sight all through the weekend of queues of people snaking around the streets adjoining the American embassy waiting to sign the Book of Condolences.

Neither sentiment was to remain consensual for long. Within two months of the 1914 assassination, Britain was at war with Austria and her allies, outraged at the effrontery of the Austrians in wanting to hold the assassins' compatriots in Serbia to account. Doubtless the Austrians' had a "nicht mit uns ist gegen uns" attitude to those Serbians who were willing to co-operate with Austria up to a point in apprehending the rebels but who baulked at permitting the Empire's army access to their territory to do so.

Ditto 87 years later the scorn with which Mr Bush's "you're either with us or against us" attitude to his invasion of Iraq was greeted by many erstwhile American sympathisers around the world.

Look what happened to the mighty Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War One. It has since been split up into a mosaic of independent states including Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia and also ceding terriitory to countries as disparate as Poland, Italy, Rumania and Ukraine.

Wars on terror can be dangerous things.