London, p.n. A metropolis in the southern part of the British Isles which, after surviving plague, multiple attempts at foreign invasion and the threat of nuclear annihilation, abruptly vanished from view on 7 July 2005:

2005 PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH Guardian 4 Jul. "Iraq is a part of this Global War on Terror .... [W]e've got a great ally in Great Britain .... I would rather defeat [the terrorists] there [in Iraq] than face them in our own country."

(Interview with British reporter Trevor McDonald, three days before multiple bombs detonated in the London public transport system leaving 52 dead and 700 injured)

2005 PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH Radio Address 9 Jul. "We are now waging a Global War on Terror -- from the mountains of Afghanistan to the border regions of Pakistan, to the Horn of Africa, to the islands of the Philippines, to the plains of Iraq. We will stay on the offense, fighting the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them at home."

(Delivered two days after the London transport bombings)