Two explosions near the finish line of the famed Boston Marathon seem to indicate that terrorism attacks continue, with large, high-profile events in the United States the favoured targets.
At the time of writing, there was no proof that terrorists had planted the two explosions. At least one other explosive device was found near the scene and was detonated by authorities.
There were at least two fatalities and very serious injuries, and the exact toll won’t be known right away. There were also reports of people losing limbs near the site of the explosions.
It is almost certain that these attacks were well-planned, and this was no accident. Anyone who pays attention to American culture knows that the Boston Marathon is among the most prestigious races of its type, and attracts major media attention.
This is tailor-made for terrorists, who crave publicity. Their purpose is to scare large numbers of people, bring attention to themselves and show the United States and other major countries that, no matter how hard they try, they can’t completely stop these types of attacks.
Terrorists seek, more than anything else, to disrupt the way of life that most people in North America and Europe and a few other parts of the world enjoy. They want to disrupt democracy and bring chaos, confusion and death to others — often claiming that they are simply paying back western countries for past misdeeds.
The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, of course, were the worst terrorist attacks in living memory — but there have been others, in Bali, London and Mumbai. The culprits are a varied lot. While many attacks have been attributed to Al-Qaeda, the Oklahoma City bombings on April 19, 1995 were the work of a group of Americans angry at their own government.
Canada, while it has escaped serious terrorist attacks, has had a number of near-misses. Several years ago, a large group of young people were arrested outside Toronoto, and they had definite plans to set off explosions and conduct high-profile kidnappings.
Just recently, it has been learned that two of the extremists who attacked an Algerian gas plant in January were from London, Ontario. Two other young men from that city have also been linked to extremism.
Terrorism is a sad fact of life in our modern age.
