International concern about terrorism has been ratcheted up further by alerts over potential attacks on targets in the United States and Saudi Arabia. In the past week alone over 100 people have been killed in Morocco and Saudi Arabia, including citizens of the US, France, Spain and Italy.
Pointing this out in Dublin last night, Mr Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy representative, said the problem threatens all of our citizens and all of our societies. That means there is a vital and continuing need to discuss its causes and how best they should be tackled.
The war against Iraq was presented as part and parcel of a worldwide struggle against terrorism by the Bush administration and its coalition partners. This was despite the lack of direct evidence connecting the Saddam Hussein regime to organisations such as al-Qaeda, which yesterday issued another bloodthirsty warning to western interests that more attacks are planned against them. Voices are now being raised in the US political mainstream asking whether the war was necessary. "We are paying for what we did in Iraq because when you see al-Qaeda come back that is the price we pay for taking our eye off the ball", said one of the Democratic presidential candidates, Mr Howard Dean.
While Mr Bush never pretended the war would put an end to terrorist attacks, he cannot but be discomfited by such a resurgence of them. It reminds us of cautionary warnings made in the Middle East that a war could exacerbate and not resolve the problem. The very slow progress made in reconstructing and restoring order in Iraq, and the bleak prospect facing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, add to such concerns. A much more determined effort on both fronts is essential if the conditions giving rise to such movements are to be removed.
So are efforts to reform Arab societies such as Saudi Arabia and Morocco, where the latest attacks have been made. Political immobility and social inequality are endemic in the region. These atrocities have once more given voice to reformist demands for more political and legal openness, an easing of state repression and convincing plans for political change. This will not come easy, given the rooted conflict between existing regimes, political reformers and religious traditionalists - and is certainly not in line with the naive expectations set out in the call by the Bush administration for democratisation of the Middle East. A critical test will be the regional goodwill they can generate by exerting US pressure on the Sharon government to adhere to the agreed road map.
Enhanced security and preparedness are essential means to protect our societies from such threats. But unless they are accompanied by political engagement and determined efforts to encourage social and economic development, military-led counter-terrorism policies will fail. European states can play an important role in developing alternative approaches, by prioritising poverty and good governance, as Mr Solana argues.