Warning sign: Paris attack another example of why terrorism is a threat

There are some people who think that just because we pulled out of Afghanistan and that there is not that much talk about Iraq, that there is no reason to be worried anymore about terror groups.

Fast forward to this morning's attack on a Paris newspaper office, and you will see what a naive and short-sighted view that is.

No one wants to be in a war in Middle East. After all, we have lost thousands of servicemen and women trying to bring peace and stability to that region.

But whether we like it or not -- and whether or not the president and Washington are willing to admit it -- we are still at war. And it is a dangerous one.

No country or military can prevent random attacks. There will be lone wolves and other terrorists who will continue to wreak havoc on western nations. That is the new reality.

We can't stop them any more than we can stop the crazies who commit such heinous crimes here.

But as we move into the new year and a new leadership takes over, we need to think long and hard about what our next step should be.

We don't need to sit back and to wait and to watch. We don't need to cripple our military under the false hope that we are "done."

We need surveillance, intelligence and a warning system that is spot-on.

We need resolve and strength.

What happened in Paris could have happened anywhere. And we need to never forget that.

Published in Editorials on January 7, 2015 10:52 AM