Editorial: Bomb horror must harden resolve

The horrific bomb attacks in Madrid raise an equally awful question: has anything really been achieved by President George W. Bush's "war on terror"? It is difficult to answer strongly in the affirmative when terrorists are able to penetrate a European capital and carry out an operation of some sophistication. It is even more difficult when signs point increasingly to the likelihood of that operation being the work of al Qaeda. The Muslim extremists were undoubtedly wounded by the response to the outrage of September 11, but appear to have delivered graphic evidence that even after defeat in Afghanistan, and even in a slimmed-down form, they are as dangerous as ever.

Al Qaeda has also demonstrated that it retains a particularly deadly characteristic: the ability to select targets that will effectively promote its ambitions. The attack on the World Trade Centre was designed to extract an extreme reaction from the United States that would alienate the Arab world - and, ultimately, provide the catalyst for a pan-Islamic state. That alienation was duly promoted when the US abandoned the high moral ground by blundering into Iraq.

Spain, of course, was, along with Britain, the strongest of supporters of that invasion, even though most of its people were against it. Some Spaniards had already paid the ultimate price for that stance last year when al Qaeda bombed a Spanish social club in Morocco. The Madrid attacks will ensure the country's support for the US does not waver. Coming just three days before a general election, they will serve to fortify the ruling centre-right Popular Party.

That may well have been al Qaeda's ultimate intention. Better for it to have Spanish backing for President Bush's bristling blunderbuss approach, with all its misconstructions and misjudgments, than Spain joining the likes of France and Germany in urging a cooler, more calculated response to terrorism. To demand such an approach does not mean a softer approach to the scourge - or a relaxation of the hunt for Osama bin Laden. On the contrary, it would entail a full international focus on the true source of terrorism, devoid of the distractions and divisions created by Iraq, and designed not to offer sustenance to al Qaeda by cultivating new Arab grievances.

As it is, the Madrid bombings will have the unfortunate effect of encouraging many Governments to impose greater constraints on the freedom of their citizens, and of visitors. This year's Athens Olympics will be as much about security as sport - even though the long-serving but recently toppled Greek Government was noted for anti-American posturing. Other Governments that supported the US in Iraq have far more reason to be wary. Spain was probably a soft target compared to mainland Britain, but al Qaeda has shown that its reach remains intimidating.

Even before Madrid, of course, there had been warnings this was the case. Last year, several Governments issued terror and travel advisories and boosted security measures. And over the Christmas-New Year period, the US announced it was on "orange" alert, and sought far-reaching increases in airline security. Now its concerns have been recognised, but in Madrid, rather than Milwaukee or Minneapolis. This, however, should not be the catalyst for measures that impose unreasonable constraints on people's daily lives, and their freedoms. To do so would be to surrender to fear.

A consequence of the Madrid bombings is that the US and its allies again occupy the high moral ground. It is theirs to hold if their response is utterly rational, and unencumbered by prejudice or panic. There must be a renewed resolve to fight terrorism. Not to do so would be to dishonour the victims of Spain's September 11.