The timing of the recent London terrorist attack, according to café babel’s Chris Yeomans, is a threat not only in the practical sense of what terrorism means to people living on British soil, but also because it diverts aid and energy away from other key concerns.

…[T]he attacks could not have come at a worse time for Blair. Hosting the G8 in Gleneagles and at the start of the UK six-month presidency of the European Union, Blair’s mandates to increase aid and debt relief to Africa and for European reform may well fall by the wayside as the powerful nations, especially the United States, become more insular and refocus their efforts on the bellicose notion of a ‘War on Terror.’

Further, as Yeomans points out, energy spent on the “War on Terror” is an investment in the “politics of fear” which “gives credence to the state to further curb the liberties of its citizens.” In case anyone needs a refresher on the “politics of fear,” Matt Stone’s animated sequence in Michael Moore’s 2002 film, Bowling for Colombine, illustrates the concept brilliantly.

Italian politicians might do well to consider Yeoman’s call to place careful thought above reactionism, in the case that Italy does wind up as the target of the next terrorist attack.

However tragic the London attacks have been, we must not opt for a knee-jerk reaction, for if we erode our own democracy then we are doing the terrorists’ job for them.