Opinion

Terror, again

Once again, innocent American citizens going about their business on American soil have been targeted for attack. On a Marathon Monday in spring, Boston joined the grim roll of American cities and sites bloodied by terror: New York, Washington, Oklahoma City, Shanksville, Ft. Hood and so on. And it’s not over, given that the numbers of dead and wounded continue to mount.

The question on every American mind yesterday was the obvious one: Who?

Looking back at how wrong speculation has proved before in attacks from the DC sniper to the Times Square bomber, it’s worth waiting for the facts to come in. Better to place our confidence in the men and women in our law-enforcement and intelligence agencies. So long as they are allowed to do their jobs, we have no doubt that they will find out the truth of these attacks.

In the meantime, this bombing does refocus attention. Whether the subject is “assault rifles” used by homegrown killers or the nuclear weapons sought by terror-supporting states such as North Korea, too often the focus can be on the weapons rather than those wielding them. The Marathon bombings in Boston remind us that the operative factor is always the evil that lies at the heart of any man willing to launch an indiscriminate attack in a public place.

So we pray. We pray for those wonderful first responders, who treated the wounded. We pray for the brave members of law enforcement, who at risk to themselves helped disarm the unexploded bombs. We pray for those who lost life or limb, and their families and loved ones.

And finally we pray President Obama will indeed bring down to those responsible “the full weight of justice.”