I want justice!

When something bad happens, it's human nature to demand that someone is held responsible.  Two stories in the news illustrate this from two different perspectives.  Firstly there is anger that two Iraqis put on trial for the murder of a group of military policemen in 2003 have been acquitted - indeed one newspaper speaks of "betrayal".  The brutal fact is that if the evidence is not there you can't convict, and in a situation of mob violence - unless someone is prepared to blow the whistle - it will always be extremely difficult to determine exactly who did what - remember PC Blakelock?.  Then there is the inquest which has opened on the July 7th bombings in 2005.  Here we know exactly who was responsible - problem is, they're dead.  So we search for someone else to pillory - in this case it's the police and/or the intelligence services who will find themselves subjected to "wise after the event" scrutiny.  Pretty pointless really, but like I say, human nature.