[EDITORIALS]On guard against terror

An alarm about terrorist attacks has begun to sound for the global community again. In Iraq, numerous civilians are falling victim to terrorist attacks and occasional battles. And in Madrid, Spain, on Thursday, about 200 people were killed and 1,500 people injured by bomb attacks in which Al Qaeda, an armed Islamic group, seems to be involved. Such terrorist attacks against innocent civilians should be condemned in the name of the human race. And it should be remembered that if the world yields to terrorism, terrorist attacks will become rampant.
For South Korea, ready to send troops to Iraq, the terrorist attacks in Madrid are not just a disaster in a foreign country. Al Qaeda has declared that it would attack countries that sent military troops to join the United States in Iraq. Poland, Australia and Italy are being referred to as possible targets of the next terrorist attacks. If conditions continue to deteriorate in this way, Korea will not be completely free from terrorist attacks by violent Islamic groups.
The United States and European countries have already concluded that there will be follow-up terrorist attacks and have begun to take measures against them. The European Union will hold a high-ranking meeting to discuss anti-terrorist attack measures and the United States is tightening its watch on the security of public transportation, including trains and subways. Recalling the Madrid terrorist attacks, we should construct networks for consultations with allied countries against those attacks. We also should take more care to prevent terrorist attacks on public transportation utilities and major buildings and to reinforce the security of those facilities. In addition, we should take care of the military people we will send to Iraq in April. Especially in a transitional period after the president was impeached, we should take care not to show vulnerabilities in the military and the whole country.
Terrorist attacks cannot be accepted for any reason. We should not yield to such attacks. Most people of the world do not want a country’s government to change its foreign policy because it is yielding to the threat of terrorist attacks. We should join the war against terrorism and should have the courage to bring about the end of terrorist attacks in the global community.