The London Attack – Lessons Learnt

The July 7th terror attack directed at the London transportation system has brought again to the public eye the issue of terrorism and what can be done against it on the local level. What new (or long-existing) insights has this attack produced? How (if at all) should this attack affect the programs and preparation of local authorities in the war against terror?

First and foremost, unhappily, the slogan "Terror is here to stay" has proven to be correct again. Periods of quiet should be viewed solely as intermissions between terror acts. Those periods of lull are misleading in view of the fact that since 9/11 there have quite a few suicidal terrorist attempts and attacks, most if not all them were perpetrated either by Al Qaida or by groups affiliated with Al Qaida. Since 9/11 there have been almost a dozen attacks around the world, in Kenya, Singapore, Bali, Morocco, Saudia Arabia, Jakarta, Istanbul, and Madrid. This list does not include attacks in Chechnya and Iraq, nor does it include many of the planned attacks which were thwarted or foiled by more vigilant authorities or due to operational or technical failures by the perpetrators.

Secondly, no scenarios should be disregarded or eliminated. Attacking the underground transportation system has always been the nightmare of security officials. Well – it has happened. Likewise, scenarios of "easy" targets that would amplify a terror attack such as hotels, shopping centers, etc. are real and any local authority or business in these areas should treat these scenarios as real threats.

Thirdly, it has been proven again that "simple" bombs can create extensive damage and havoc. There is no need to mount a chemical attack on the underground system – regular bombs work just as well, they are easier to handle and operate, and above all – the terrorists have extensive experience in their activation.

Fourthly, the importance of preparedness, training, and exercises has been proven again. Certain aspects of the recovery worked smoothly: the Police reaction, ambulance and emergency services, hospital preparedness – all seem to have worked well, and as one emergency worker said on television: "We have been training for months for exactly this type of incident". Having said that, certain activities were not as efficient as expected: identification of the bodies, collecting the evidence, clearing the tunnels – all these seem to have worked very poorly and the emergency system was certainly not prepared as well for them as the other issues.

Last but not least, we see again that the local authorities can do very little to prevent acts of terror which is up to the national organizations and to intelligence (both national and local) gathering which certainly failed in this case. It has and still remains for the local authority to mitigate the results of an attack and get the community back to normal life as soon as possible.

For the past three years, the TIX Group has provided seminars and consulting to local authorities and businesses in the US and Europe on "The Israel Experience in Homeland Security". All relevant issues are discussed in two days of seminars, workshops, and face to face meetings which are tailor made to each and every location. We feel that the lessons drawn from the Israeli experience on these issues are relevant to all societies and communities as they are all facing the threat of terror without borders.