Complacency & Terrorism

David Aaronovitch’s column in the Times today is a curious beast indeed. Some sub-editor has given it the headline Complacency has crept up on us (yet again) which seems curious since the partially-successful prosecution of the men accused  – and guilty – of plotting to use “liquid bombs” to blow up transatlantic airliners would seem to suggest that complacency has not in fact crept up on us and that, quite rightly, the security services are doing the job they’re charged with.

Now Aaronovitch is not responsible for the headline, nor for the sub-deck arguing that No amount of handwringing about civil liberties should distract us from the very clear and present danger of terrorism.  Nonetheless, this doesn’t seem an unfair summary of his column. Yet why must concerns about civil liberties be considered “handwringing” and upon what evidence is it presumed that it is impossible to be concerned by the terrorist threat and by the erosion of important civil liberties?

Aaronovitch begins his column:

Dick Cheney is a hard man to like.