Unity Only Goes So Far

John D. McKinnon and Neil King Jr. write in the Wall Street Journal: "The bombings in London give President Bush an opening to rally anew support for his aggressive approach to fighting terror at a time when support appears to have flagged.

"Yesterday's attacks appear to validate Mr. Bush's repeated warnings that the war on terror will be broad and long-lasting. Among America's allies in Europe, that may bring Mr. Bush at least some renewed backing in the short run.

"But the bombings also are likely to fuel the debate over whether the president's approach has lessened the terrorist threat or perhaps worsened it by stirring up new animosities. In Europe in particular, the bombings suggest for many a continuing risk of allying with the U.S. in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as the United Kingdom has."

Guy Dinmore and Demetri Sevastopulo write in the Financial Times: "A constant theme of the Bush administration is that America and the world are safer because of the US invasion of Iraq and its anti-terror strategy.

"That argument prevailed during the US presidential election campaign last year, despite even official US evidence to the contrary, but may have been finally buried by Thursday's bombings in London.

"Experts in Washington said following the blasts that it was time for the Bush administration to re-evaluate its strategy."

Did the topic come up in the G-8 sessions?

Richard W. Stevenson writes in the New York Times: "During the day, Mr. Bush held informal conversations with some of his counterparts from other nations, and although his aides declined to be specific about what they talked about, they said it would have been natural for him to raise the issue of combating terrorism. . . .

"The display of unity may have masked what is sure to be a debate in Britain and elsewhere over whether Britain was attacked because of Mr. Blair's strong support for the invasion of Iraq. And there was little public talk here about the adequacy of international counterterrorism efforts nearly four years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon."

And what will be the domestic impact of the attacks?

Thomas M. DeFrank writes in the New York Daily News: "The horror of London's terror tragedy catapults President Bush's strong suit back onto the global front burner, but the political bounce is probably only temporary -- and more attacks might actually damage his standing.

" 'This helps him, but it has a short shelf life,' a Republican political consultant closely allied with the White House said yesterday. 'His numbers will go up this week but will drop back by next week.' "