TERROR returned to the streets of London on Wednesday, injecting further tension into an already fraught series of debates playing out across the international stage. For countries such as the US, UK and many others in Western Europe, the balance between freedom and security may be tilting towards the latter. As counterterrorism measures have grown more sophisticated in those countries, the terrorists are turning to more rudimentary techniques. Unable to breach airport security or build large bombs without being detected, the terrorist has turned everyday items such as cars and knives into weapons of attack. That in turn is driving up suspicions in western communities against perceived foreigners and migrants, as so-called native populations react in fear to the threat the terrorist is spreading. So within those countries and between western countries and the Muslim world, there is a growing tension that can have enormously damaging consequences if left unaddressed. The starting point must be to not give in to fear and improve counterterrorism intelligence and resources in a way that can help prevent attacks without alienating entire communities.

Fundamental as the duty of every state to protect the public is, there is a sensible way to wage and win the fight against terrorism and there are more reckless ways. The new US administration appears to be more interested in the latter. Consider the decision to ban laptop computers and tablets from the carry-on luggage of passengers originating from several Muslim-majority countries. American airlines operating on the same routes have been exempted and it appears more than likely that the ban is part of a covert trade war that the US has launched against what are believed to be heavily subsidised Gulf and Middle Eastern carriers. The sheer absurdity of using terrorism as an excuse to help domestic airlines suggests that the Trump administration does not comprehend the interdependent, rules-based world the US has helped create. Better understanding between global communities and closer cooperation is the only way to defeat terrorism.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2017