Terror and another test for the West

What can be said after this week’s carnage in Barcelona? More to the point, what can be said that hasn’t been said already about Paris and London, Berlin and Brussels, Istanbul and Manchester, or, closer to home, Ottawa and Orlando?

The terrible footage from the scene of the attack that left 14 dead and at least 100 injured is painfully familiar: the panicked crowds, command post, or a war-sustaining industry. The target was families and tourists out for a walk on a beautiful day.

As hard as it is to imagine the hatred behind such acts, it’s even harder to imagine how a public square can ever truly be defended or “hardened,” to use the bleak vernacular of the security officials tasked with our protection. Spain has known such attacks before, and can certainly count on its equally motivated allies (including Canada) for help. Security officials there have made a series of arrests and apparently disrupted a second attack just hours after the first, in Cambrils. They killed five suspected terrorists. With luck, they will soon find and neutralize any remaining threats.

But that will only delay the next inevitable day of despair and heartbreak. Europe’s increasing inability to control its borders, and the expected influx of hardened jihadists who will flee the collapsing Islamic State, leave the continent vulnerable to further such attacks. Intelligence and security patrols and border enforcement are all vital. None will ever be enough.

This means that the last part is up to us, the citizens of the Western world. We must find the courage to carry on not just with our daily lives, but in line with our finest democratic traditions. This is never easy, especially when bodies litter our streets. But it’s never been more important.