The improvised car bomb that was found and defused by the local police at Times Square in New York on Saturday once again highlights the daunting challenge that the international community faces in terms of tackling terrorism. An SUV was found loaded with explosive propane canisters attached to a timer in the middle of Times Square popular among New Yorkers and tourists. It was discovered when a local T-shirt vendor saw smoke coming out of the vents of the car and alerted a policeman on duty. The entire area was evacuated and the bomb squad called in to defuse the car bomb. Reports suggest that the bomb was powerful enough to blow up a building — had it gone off it would have surely resulted in a significant number of casualties. It would have also been the first terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11. Although it is yet to be ascertained as to who was responsible for this attempted terror attack — the obvious aim here was to create panic and mayhem — it is interesting to note that an Islamist website has put up a statement allegedly by the Pakistani Taliban, claiming responsibility for the failed bombing. The statement says that the terror plot was in response to the killing of two Islamist 'martyrs' — former Al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Hamza al-Muhajir and the head of the Islamic state of Iraq Abu Omar al-Baghdadi — who were killed last month in a security operation in Iraq. If this is indeed true, it would mean that the global jihadi network has found a way to get past the stringent security systems that were put in place post-9/11. Those systems have done their job so far. But terror groups are constantly innovating and pushing the boundaries. There is no telling how many terror sleeper cells exist in any country battling jihadi terrorism. These cells are cultivated over long periods of time and there is no easy way of identifying them — the case of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba operative David Coleman Headley is a perfect example of how profiling of terrorists might not work.
Today we live in a dangerous world and exceptional circumstances need extraordinary responses. Our security agencies need to constantly keep up with the advances and techniques of terrorist organisations. Plus, it would not be wrong to say that the people are also expected to do their bit by giving up certain conveniences. For example, going through full-body scans at airports should be seen as a small price to pay if it means avoiding a major catastrophe. Similarly, maintaining a DNA database of a country's population should not be seen as a Big Brother policy. If we are to win the war against terror, personal sacrifices need to be made.
