All quiet on the western front?

It’s quiet at the moment. There’s stuff going on, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in Europe there haven’t been any big attacks for a while now. So why does it seem so quiet? One explanation is we’re getting good at thwarting their plans. Indeed, there have been some very successful arrests. Also, security awareness is much tighter than it was.

The disruption of a number of terrorist cells has certainly averted some very serious killing. Back in 2007 the German police prevented what could have been Europe’s deadliest attack when they busted a gang planning to ram huge car bombs into airports, nightclubs and bars. Prior to that, the Danish police rounded up another group: chemicals used to make explosives were found and they were recorded discussing potential targets.

Counter-terrorist operations such as these, and many others like them, have hindered the terrorists and minimised a lot of death and suffering. But we can’t just leave it at that. The security services can’t foil every plot: sooner or later there’s bound to be another attack. The Director General of MI5 reckons that in the UK there are at least 2,000 people involved in terrorist-related activity. Moreover, the government has said that it’s aware of  200 terror networks, and that 30 plots are under investigation.