Attack in India shows terrorists still active

The United States was fully introduced to the realm of terrorism on Sept. 11, 2001 ? a day this country will never forget.

As we creep toward the five-year anniversary of the tragedy that altered the lives of so many Americans, terrorist strikes have not disappeared. Yesterday proved yet another grim reminder that despite billions of dollars, and thousands of U.S. soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice, terrorism still exists as a very real danger.

Eight bombs exploded on seven commuter trains in Bombay, India in what authorities say was a well-coordinated terrorist attack. The death toll reported yesterday was 147, with hundreds more injured.

It?s the latest sign that terrorists have not yet satisfied their appetite for destruction ? and they likely never will. These heathens are determined to murder innocent people and it doesn?t matter if they kill themselves in the process.

The United States and India are not the only countries who have made their way into the terrorists? gun scope. Russia has felt the pain and suffering of one of the cruelest terrorist acts when bombs and gunfire at a school gymnasium resulted in at least 335 deaths ? over 160 of them children ? in September, 2004.

When innocent children become terrorist targets, it shows how merciless these people are ? evil to the core. They take lives, shatter families and show no remorse.

Before that, the citizens of Spain were victims of a March, 2004 train bombing in Madrid that killed 191 people and left more than 1,400 wounded. The sole purpose of the Spain train attack, like all terrorist strikes, was for people to perish.

Although terrorists have yet to attack the United States in nearly five years, we can’t allow a feeling of complacency to settle. Sept. 11 was the most deadly attack on American soil in this country?s history. Nearly five years removed, the images might not be as gripping as they once were, but we can?t allow the message fade.

That message is we were ? and still are ? vulnerable to a terrorist attack. In fact no nation, no community, is safe.

Terrorists, for whatever reason, may decide to bomb a federal courthouse in Chattanooga. They may try to crash a plane into the Bell South building in Nashville.

That?s not to suggest we should live in fear. But we do need to maintain a certain awareness that a terrorist strike is possible. Clear-cut clues should not be ignored under the flawed assumption terrorists would never target Middle Tennessee.

The reasons a terrorist group would murder over 160 school children can never be understood by rational people. It shows just what type of hate-filled individuals there are in this world.

And it shows Americans should not be lulled into a false sense of security and believe we are free from terrorism?s destruction.

Yesterday only reinforced the need to continue our persistence in the war on terror.