The Terrorists Are Winning

You will readily recall that after 9/11 we were exhorted to go on with our daily lives because otherwise, “the terrorists win.” It was decent advice in the sense that it allowed us both to mock and defy the terrorists. My favorite was the New Yorker cartoon that showed two guys at the bar: “If I don’t drink this martini, the terrorists win.”

But is it such a joke any more? Consider these news items out of Europe:

Germany to tell people to stockpile food and water in case of attacks: FAS

BERLIN (Reuters) – For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the German government plans to tell citizens to stockpile food and water in case of an attack or catastrophe, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper reported on Sunday.

Germany is currently on high alert after two Islamist attacks and a shooting rampage by a mentally unstable teenager last month. Berlin announced measures earlier this month to spend considerably more on its police and security forces and to create a special unit to counter cyber crime and terrorism.

“The population will be obliged to hold an individual supply of food for ten days,” the newspaper quoted the government’s “Concept for Civil Defence” – which has been prepared by the Interior Ministry – as saying.

Or this, which is even more shameful:

Tense France: famed flea market canceled on security concern

PARIS — France, on edge with fears of a new terror attack, continues to cancel festive and sports events for security reasons, most recently the famed an annual flea market Braderie de Lille and a European cycling competition in Nice.

Lille Mayor Martine Aubry announced on Friday the cancellation of the Sept. 3-4 flea market, which draws visitors from around France to the northern city to hunt for bargains and eat mussels, a regional specialty.

The European Road Cycling Championships scheduled on Sept. 14-18 in Nice have also been cancelled, Nice’s mayor Philippe Pradal announced Friday.

Make no mistake: The terrorists are winning.

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