London Calling Once Again

Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D.

The recent London bombings reminds us that the West must become increasingly diligent in responding to the brazen nature of the perpetrators. And no matter how irrational their acts may be, how specious their logic as they attempt to link civilian deaths with military actions thousands of miles away, we must stop them before they lash out again. In doing so, we cannot lose faith in our principles. Democracy and civil and human rights must be preserved. Anger must be tempered. And the larger picture, e.g., the whole of the Arab world, must be clearly seen.

The recent bombing reinforces the fact that Europe, along with countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, are now some of the foremost ‘fields of jihad’ for radical Islamists. What makes this recent attack all the more incomprehensible is that there is considerable security in London, more so than in most advanced industrialized democracies. Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) is pervasive in London, as is access control in and out of the city. Almost all vehicles entering London have their license plates photographed and compared to central data bases. The Brits have considerable experience with anti IRA terrorism during which these protocols have been developed. To be sure, many terrorist events are thwarted, and the public does not hear about them, because of ongoing investigations and a desire to smoke out the rest of the cells. But the attacks, like those in London, demonstrate that most experienced anti-terrorist forces cannot provide security all the time in open democratic societies.


The London bombings mean that we must continue to harden our societies against terrorist attacks, and expand our efforts domestically and internationally to take disrupt terrorist networks. We need to protect vulnerable targets, improve cooperation with our allies, and minimize or address grievances held by groups that have difficulties with the United States, Great Britain, and their allies. This includes increasing transatlantic cooperation in a number of key areas such as penetrating terrorist organizations, arresting or eliminating terrorist operatives, destroying the links between transnational crime and terrorism, and halting recruitment into terrorist organizations or providing realistic alternatives to young men susceptible to these groups’ appeals.

The London bombing, much like last years’ Madrid one, requires a rational response. Targets and society must be hardened without abridging basic human rights. This approach seemed to be abandoned as a reaction to 9/11, and we have paid a huge penalty for it. Hopefully the leaders of the G-8 countries will respond in a rational fashion and not advocate policies and practices that unnecessarily violate human and civil rights any more than they currently are. With the G-8 meeting underway and the UK’s presidency of the EU just one week old, the timing of these attacks may accelerate EU cooperation on counter-terrorism. Indeed, British political and police reaction seems muted. Perhaps Blair is trying to put on a happy face in light of the announcement that Britain will host the 2012 Olympics, and currently sponsoring the G-8 summit. Indeed, troops and security personnel have been mobilized, but Blair is not saying they're in a state of war or a new war.

Nor is the Arab world seething with anger toward the West -- just parts of it are. Focus our attention on those areas before they force us to compromise Western values like protection for human rights and equal protection under the law, to the point where we're no better than they are. Diligence is what we need now, the kind of rectitude and principled decision-making that Roosevelt and Churchill exhibited during World War II. What's occurring here is nothing like that in terms of scale or consequence. But applying our collective wisdom now, as we appear to be entering a new phase in the conflict, could prevent this terror campaign from growing wider and deeper.

Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Division of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Social Policy, University of Baltimore. His book Political Terrorism: An Interdisciplinary Approach will be published by Peter Lang in January 2006. Ross’ website is www.jeffreyianross.com.