Foiled Attacks Can Lull Public

By Michael Kraft

In looking at the linked articles on the right side of the blog, I was struck by the number of attempted major terrorist attacks in different parts of the world that were foiled and thus unlikely to register in the public consciousness.

If reported at all in the U.S press, the overseas news reports were relegated to the inside pages or a fleeting mention on the media. Thus, it is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security, that the international terrorism threat is receding.

Illustrative Items:
� In London, seven British Muslim men are on trial for attempting to blow up a significant target in the capital city.
One of seven was linked with efforts to obtain radioactive material from Russian mafia members in Belgium.

� In Spain, 32 men, mostly of Algerian background, were indicted by a judge for allegedly planning a massive truck bomb attack against the National Court building in Madrid, where many terrorist investigation records are housed.

� In Israel, after a dramatic chase between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, police arrested a vanload of 10 Palestinians and found a five kilo explosive belt in vanload of 10 Palestinians who apparently were planning to bomb a major target there. Israeli officials said they are dealing with at least 13 solid warnings of attacks as the country prepares for elections March 28.

� In France, a trial began this week of 27 persons accused of planning to attack the Eiffel Tower and a Paris shopping center.

� In Azerbaijan, officials said three army deserters were involved in plots to blow up major energy facilities.

Had any of these plots succeeded, there potentially could have been a large loss of life and massive destruction. In four of the countries, Britain, France, Israel and Spain, there are large numbers of American visitors, students and residents. One can easily imagine the flow of words from Congress and talking heads (with apologies to some of my colleagues) had the plotters managed to kill large numbers of persons, especially Americans. However, when the attacks do not succeed, no news in the American press is not necessarily good news. It is too easy to think that because major attacks have not taken place on American soil since 9/11, the terrorist threat -- outside Iraq -- is fading.

It is still out there. It is growing more dangerous because it is decentralized and can emerge from self starters who are inspired by al-Qaeda, live in the target country and are willing to blow up their neighbors. The next time the terrorists might be lucky and escape undetected, perhaps because some investigator could not connect the dots or get their superiors to pay enough attention, as an FBI agent testified in the Moussaoui case.

The international terrorism threat will not be effectively countered by speeches or resolutions. International cooperation is key to countering international terrorism. It is far from certain that the White House and Congress will do a better job doing the hard work of funding and effectively implementing nuts and bolts counterterrorism programs than it has in the past.

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