Fighting terror a fight to save civilization

Tragic. Horrific. Devastating. No adjective can describe what happened in Brussels on Tuesday. Just like no adjective could describe the Paris attacks on Nov 13.

Indeed, no security is secure enough to stop people from blowing themselves up in the name of religion, albeit driven by the blatantly wrong interpretation of faith. The world, from New York and London to Mumbai and Beijing, has seen what youths under the influence of self-proclaimed protectors of religion can do.

The so-called war on terror has been raging since the Sept 11, 2001, attacks. It started against al-Qaida. Before al-Qaida it was the Taliban that was the scourge of humanity. And even before Osama bin Laden was gunned down in Pakistan's Abbottabad in May 2011, Boko Haram was wreaking havoc in Nigeria and other African countries.