War on terror is a marathon

It's two days after the Boston Marathon bombing, which left three people including an 8-year-old boy dead and 176 wounded, and we still have no idea who was behind the attack.

The improvised nature of the bombs makes me think that the attack might have been the work of a radical right-wing group in the United States; but the twin devices themselves — explosives encased in pressure cookers containing ball bearings and nails — is reminiscent of roadside bombs used in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Was this an Islamist attack? The FBI has yet to uncover the identity of the bombers. The world is watching.

The Boston terror attack reinforces the biggest lesson that the war on terror never stops. This terror attack reminds us, once again and for the umpteenth time, that the homefront is just as dangerous as the front line. The U.S. was looking out for a North Korean missile and was hit by two blasts in Boston instead. Could they be related? Terror does not RSVP.

U.S. President Barack Obama decided to end the global war on terror declared by his predecessor, George W. Bush. If this terror attack proves to be Islamist, will he declare a new one? Even if the attack proves to be the work of a homegrown terror cell, Obama will still have to change his priorities. The world is far less friendly than Washington would like to believe. Russian President Vladimir Putin shares that view, which is why he offered the U.S. Russia's help in the investigation, just as he offered it to Bush after 9/11.

Eight-year-old Martin Richard's only crime was that he wanted to cheer his father on as he ran the marathon. But terrorists do not see children in their mind's eye. They see targets. Some 28,000 people ran the Boston Marathon on Monday — 28,000 targets. The U.S. was forced to learn once again that even the No. 1 world power is not immune to terror; and this time it did not strike in Iraq or in Afghanistan, it struck home. It struck Boston.

The Americans have not felt as helpless since the attack on the World Trade Center and even if the two attacks cannot be compared, the collective feeling of helplessness as bombs go off is the same. The U.S. does not like to look weak or vulnerable, especially not in Boston, where American patriotism was born.

The image of 78-year-old Bill Iffrig, who was knocked to the ground by the first of two blasts during the marathon, has come to symbolize the American spirit in the face of terror. But not as a victim — as a hero: Iffrig got up and kept on walking until he crossed the finish line. He refused to give up, just the way America likes it.

That is the only way to defeat terror, with resolve; by not giving up. The war on terror is not a 100-yard dash. It is a marathon, just like in Boston.

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