EDITORIAL — Foiled this time

The soldiers of terror never sleep, they only bide their time. The world was reminded of this once again after Britain announced the other day that it had foiled "mass murder on an unimaginable scale" with the arrest of 21 terror suspects in London and Birmingham. British authorities said the plot involved blowing up as many as 10 US-bound planes using explosives concealed in hand luggage. Both Britain and the United States went on the highest state of alert and carry-on luggage was banned as new and tighter security measures were imposed in the two countries’ airports.

The plot reportedly involved assembling explosives from liquid components kept in separate containers in hand luggage, with a triggering device to be fashioned out of ordinary consumer electronic devices. The report prompted security authorities to ban airline passengers from bringing laptops and even iPods and mobile phones in their carry-on luggage. Liquids including contact lens solutions are also banned. Passengers with infants may bring milk on board, but they must first taste the milk in the presence of security personnel.

Security officials said they saw the hand of al-Qaeda in the plot, which could have caused death and destruction on the scale of the suicide attacks in New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001. Since 9/11, terrorists have launched at least one major attack every year in different parts of the world, always going for soft targets such as trains and nightclubs and aiming for the highest body count. The world saw this twice in Bali, Indonesia as well as in Madrid and London. We saw it in Manila, where the Abu Sayyaf, together with Jemaah Islamiyah militants, bombed a ferry in Manila Bay, leaving over 100 dead or missing.

Reports yesterday said British intelligence agents managed to infiltrate the terror cell, enabling security forces to thwart the attack. In the war on terror, the focus is on prevention. Governments have rushed to stay a step ahead of those who are using violence and fomenting fear and hatred in their efforts to destroy a way of life. In recent years Britain, like the United States, has passed tough laws to improve the state’s capability to prevent terrorism. Similar efforts in the Philippines have been stalled by the corrosive political warfare in this country. We will see the consequences when terrorists strike again.