Terrorism fight needs broadening

London’s euphoria in landing the 2012 Summer Olympics was obliterated the next morning by barbaric terrorist strikes on its crowded commuter system. To civilized people, the attacks are senseless, but they make perfect sense to those who carry them out. Why? That question lies at the heart of what makes terrorism so frightening.

Competing opinions will flow into this vacuum of uncertainty, but we can never be sure which ones are right. That frustrating truth collides with the intense desire to do something in response.

Prime Minister Tony Blair of Great Britain and President Bush tell us that the terrorists are trying to destroy the freedoms of Western civilizations. They said the same after the attacks on the United States and Madrid.

Critics of the war in Iraq say the latest strikes are in response to the invasion and occupation of that country. That’s the claim made by the Secret Organization of al Qaeda in Europe, which claims “credit” for the London attacks. But authorities aren’t certain who carried out the attacks, so the reason remains murky.

The gulf between Western and Islamic nations contributes to the confusion and uncertainty. In the West, talk centers on the extremist philosophy of Islamic terrorists and their intolerance for personal freedoms and other religions. In the Middle East, Central Asia and other Islamic-dominated countries, the discussion centers on the West’s purported imperialist desires and its relative indifference to the plight of the Palestinians.

And while both sides talk past each other, terrorist alerts are issued, code colors change, and we are left wondering whether any of that matters.

There is no excuse for terrorist attacks. Free nations must maintain their resolve to combat them, but part of that determination should be directed toward finding an international consensus on what to do. On Thursday, the United Nations passed a resolution condemning the London attacks. Like the terrorists care.

Even after the devastation of Sept. 11, 2001, the attacks on Madrid and London came as total surprises. That’s a bad sign for the current strategy. A smarter, more coordinated effort is needed to battle such determined barbarians.