WASHINGTON, D.C. Mar. 23 (DPI) – Yesterday’s terrorist bombings in Belgium triggered now-familiar outrage, political posturing and calls to action. But the frequency of attacks – San Bernardino in November, Paris in December, multiple attacks in Africa this year, and now Brussels – is beginning to de-sensitize westerners from the threat, today’s media coverage suggests.
The political comments were predictable: Donald Trump called the latest attacks “outrageous” and reiterated his get-tough position on ISIS, and Republicans criticized President Obama for not changing his travel plans in Cuba and Argentina in the wake of the Brussels bombings, which killed 34 and wounded 200.
Indeed, that Obama continued with his itinerary underscored that terrorist attacks may be become a routine part of life for the US and Europe. Over the last year the response to ISIS has been to try to contain it with drone strikes and through support of local allies – but not through direct boots-on-the-ground military intervention.
London-based columnist Roger Cohen today pointedly declared that “the West’s ponderous wait-them-out approach to the murderous fanatics of the caliphate looks like capitulation.”
But there was little indication that either the U.S. or Europe would change their response to the terrorist threat anytime soon. And there were few calls to action in the US press today.
The inaction by the West is especially jarring given that the digital age has made terrorist attacks happen almost in real-time – for everyone the world over. Social media presents slide shows of the attacks within hours, sometimes minutes.