The US and its allies in Europe cannot let these cowardly suicide attacks become the new normal.
It started off with the same gut-wrenching familiarity—news tickers on TV and social media sites announcing an explosion in another well-known area of a westernized country. Accusations, questions, and a sense of loss all seeped through the fog of the unknown in the immediate aftermath of the blasts. Another attack in another western city on another nondescript day as innocent people went about their lives.
The headlines announced the activities that took place and identified what would end up being a total of 22 casualties and several more wounded. It seems like an all-too-familiar rerun in this day and age—one that threatens to desensitize us to what is happening. In many ways, this sadly felt normal. Yet, in the hours and days that followed, this latest attack in Manchester, England also feels different. As does the reaction to it.
Perhaps it was the target itself—a pop music concert where children likely outnumbered adults in attendance. They were there to see a female artist who, although American herself, had previously decried her homeland. Unfortunately, we need not look too far back into history to know that the UK is vulnerable to such attacks, as are its allies (like the US and France). But this target in particular, with the children and one of the celebrities who has questioned tougher approaches to countering extremism, feels different. Was this intentional by the enemy to send—or underscore—that they are at war against anyone who thinks differently than they do, regardless of age, gender, or political beliefs? Or did the target simply present itself as soft and an opportunity for another notch on the terrorist belt? This is the constant concern of intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
This might feel different, too, because of the mixed signals being sent to us about ISIS, the leading brand in the extremist industry. We know that military gains in their former strongholds of Mosul and Raqqa have the group’s core leadership on its heels. But does any of that matter to Ariana Grande fans in Manchester on that night?
To further the confusion, the ISIS claim of responsibility—which has become ubiquitous following these kinds of attacks in recent years—was fraught with inconsistencies about the event. What does this say? Did Manchester signify the next escalation in the group’s strategy for its disciples to go forth and multiply? Does the involvement of core ISIS leadership matter anymore?
And what about the now-reported connection to Libya? While intelligence services have long tracked and identified the tumultuous country as the next ISIS stronghold, Manchester marks the first time that Libyan-based extremists associated with ISIS received top billing. What does this mean moving forward? Does Libya now become the focal point of our vigilance?
But maybe the differences that matter most lie in the reactions to the attack. Both in the immediate aftermath and in the days that followed, the voices from the peaceful Muslim communities speaking against our shared enemy sounded louder. Many of them calling Manchester home have responded in a way that their neighbors in the west have thirsted for.
The political pundits who make good livings disagreeing with one another find common ground that while the threat and motivations of the enemy are the same, this one feels different. These talking heads cannot deny the problem and the threat, and diminishing or discounting it is not a viable tactic to achieve its defeat.
In every story of war and its respective battles, there are turnings of the tide—events that provide the clarity needed to understand and reveal fully what is at stake. And for westerners, while we have battlefield successes to tout in the traditional military sense, this war rages on. The enemy is among us. All of us. And Manchester should be a reminder of its global power—a power that can make what is an otherwise insignificant day eternally significant. Manchester feels different. And it is important that we see it as such. That’s how we keep our enemy’s way of life from becoming our normal.
