UK - BBC: Bombing Manchester was a good thing

That's what this BBC article seems to imply.

"Manchester changed the day a white transit van, packed with 3,300lb of explosives, blew up on Corporation Street on 15 June 1996.

The IRA blast left a deep crater in the heart of the city as it tore apart Marks and Spencer, the Arndale Centre and the Corn Exchange.

But ten years on, Manchester bursts with civic pride.

What was once a bombsite is now a stylish hub of ultra modern glass buildings and designer shops.

The regeneration has attracted big names such as Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Heals and Louis Vuitton.

Without the bomb, Manchester may not have had such a dramatic opportunity for rebirth, funded by private investors and government cash."

Without the bomb over 200 people, seven of them seriously, wouldn't have been wounded by flying glass.

The BBC make the same argument in a sidebar to this article.

The immense damage done to buildings in the city centre led to a total regeneration - it could be argued that without the bomb, Manchester may not have had such a dramatic opportunity for rebirth, funded by private investors and the government.

Well, there's no aruging that those 200 people wouldn't have suffered horrific injuries without the bomb. Maybe the BBC should ask the victims.
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