Uncowed In London (Anne Applebaum On Western Resiliency In Face Of Terror Alert)

The Washington Post ^ | 07/03/2007 | Anne Applebaum

[goldstategop]

More important, though, the London bomb plot failed because open Western societies are more resilient than we sometimes think they are. One of the Piccadilly car bombs was discovered because an ambulance crew, responding to an unrelated call, saw smoke seeping from a car trunk and alerted the police. The other car was illegally parked, and London's super-vigilant, much-hated traffic wardens towed it to a parking lot, where someone noticed that it smelled of gasoline and alerted the police.

That Britain has functional ambulance services and working traffic wardens, all of whom are civic-minded enough to call the police when they suspect something is amiss, may not sound extraordinary.

[goldstategop]

Anne Applebaum thinks the West's greatest asset is its civic-minded spirit and openness. That allows it to quickly counter Islamofascist terrorists. There is a Western resiliency that the West's adversaries are slow to appreciate. Even as war is waged against us, we go on with our lives.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[PetroniusMaximus]

“...observed by one of central London’s multiple video cameras... open Western societies...”

Anyone see anything ironic here???

[Cacique]

Yep, we used to call it a non sequitor.

[Axlrose]

All the cameras are in public places i am told. There is no expectation of privacy in a public place. We should have more of them here.