Advertisement

Editorial: Don't let terrorists compromise American values

 
People mourn at a makeshift memorial in Nice, France, where a man drove a truck through Bastille Day fireworks crowds, killing at least 84 people. France has extended a national state of emergency by three months.
People mourn at a makeshift memorial in Nice, France, where a man drove a truck through Bastille Day fireworks crowds, killing at least 84 people. France has extended a national state of emergency by three months.
Published July 15, 2016

Another week, another apparent terrorist-related attack with massive casualties. From Belgium to Bangladesh, Orlando to Turkey, and now back to France. As the details unfold about the motivations of a Tunisian driver who used a delivery truck as a weapon to kill at least 84 people Thursday night in Nice, the nation and the world must not waver in fighting terrorism at its core. Retreating behind more walls and more religious discrimination would play into the hands of terrorists and fail to keep us safe in the long run.

Authorities on Friday were sorting out the details of the truck attack after a fireworks display celebrating Bastille Day. The driver aimed the rented truck at the crowd, weaving back and forth for roughly a mile before he was shot and killed by police. At least 10 children were killed, and with more than 200 injured the death toll is expected to rise. It is exactly the type of attack at an ordinary event attracting thousands that strikes particular fear in the United States and around the world, and the Homeland Security secretary visited Cleveland on Friday to review security for next week's Republican National Convention.

The massacre in Nice, which cost the lives of at least two Americans on vacation, reflects the challenges of fighting terrorism. Tremendous harm can be inflicted by a single individual, whether he acts with an assault rifle at a nightclub in Orlando or with a truck at a holiday celebration in France. And those individuals are increasingly not high on the radar of the intelligence community. The gunman in Orlando had been investigated twice by authorities and deemed not to be a threat. The truck driver in Nice had a record of petty crime but was not on any terror watch list.

Even heightened security at large events cannot thwart every threat. There were plenty of police on the streets in Nice, and there were barriers across the streets. But there apparently were no barriers along the wide sidewalks the driver used to gain access to the crowds. Questions were raised Friday about how the driver could cover such a distance before he was killed, but there are not enough walls and officers to guard against every possibility wherever crowds gather. And no American wants to live in a police state.

As Secretary of State John Kerry emphasized, the Nice attack underscores the need to continue to root out the Islamic State at its core in Syria. The terrorists' messages can be muted and their attention diverted if the United States and its allies continue to coordinate their efforts. Sharing intelligence information and lessons from previous attacks also should remain a priority.

But even with the world on edge, the United States cannot abandon its core principles. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called for deporting everyone in America with a Muslim background who believes in sharia law. The U.S. Constitution bars discrimination based on religion, and even Gingrich was forced to acknowledge later that the government cannot revoke anyone's American citizenship. The very idea of testing every Muslim's beliefs or the religious beliefs of anyone on American soil is repulsive. Yet Gingrich was considered by Donald Trump as a potential running mate and will have a key speaking role at the Republican convention.

President Barack Obama appropriately responded Friday, declaring the discriminatory targeting of a particular religion "repugnant'' and an "affront to everything that we stand for as Americans."

Spend your days with Hayes

Spend your days with Hayes

Subscribe to our free Stephinitely newsletter

Columnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

"We cannot give in to fear or turn on each other or sacrifice our way of life,'' the president said. "We cannot let ourselves be divided by religion, because that's exactly what the terrorists want. We should never do their work for them."

That is exactly right. As we mourn the loss of lives in another apparent terrorist attack, the United States must remain focused on the difficult task of fighting terrorists abroad, identifying potential threats at home and combatting the radicalization of the disenfranchised. Americans cannot let fear and anger erode the very values the terrorists are attacking.