Casualties of terror
Leader
Thursday February 26, 2004
The Guardian

The victims of terrorism are not confined to those whom the bombers kill, maim and traumatise. Terror's lasting victims also include the principles and habits that make human society cherishable. Too often these include the legality that is the basis of trust and justice, the debate that is the root of democracy, and the liberties that are the guarantees of our self-respect as free peoples. More than two years after al-Qaida's attack on America prompted a rash of new emergency anti-terror legislation, many people in Britain are only now beginning to wake up to how much is at risk, not just now but for years still to come.