There is no good answer. After terrorist attacks, chaos, fear, mourning, anger and resolve follow. This is the natural sequence of human reactions to inhuman acts. We then offer all manner of contradictory calls for a response—vengeance, tolerance, security, freedom, airstrikes, negotiation, war, peace. But really, what can and should we do?

We cannot make ourselves invulnerable to such amoral acts of barbarism, because vulnerability is an inherent part of civilized society. No multitude of security services, eavesdropping agencies or intelligence-sharing efforts can stop every attack. Obviously.

And no military effort alone can eradicate this cult of death that has spread like a virus. It will take a multinational and multifaceted mobilization of resources—military, yes, but also political, economic, ideological, legal, humanitarian, diplomatic, religious, cultural and cyber. It will take the entire world.

Vulnerability
is an inherent
part of civilized
society.

There were almost 300 terrorist attacks worldwide in 2015, including in the Sinai Peninsula on Oct. 31, Beirut on Nov. 12, Paris on Nov. 13, Nigeria on Nov. 17 and Mali on Nov. 20. More will follow. The vast majority of them have been by Islamic extremist groups: Al-Qaida, Taliban, Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, al-Nusra Front, etc. One third of them were perpetrated by or inspired by ISIS. Terrorism in the name of Islam has entered an undeniable new phase.

Pope Francis says we are in a “piecemeal Third World War.” Presidents Hollande, Obama, Putin and others have ramped up airstrikes and other military measures. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has instructed Harjit Sajjan, the Minister of National Defence, to “end Canada’s combat mission in Iraq and Syria, refocusing Canada’s efforts in the region on the training of local forces and humanitarian support.” This means that more of our military personnel will be on the ground, potentially in harm’s way. So once again, Canada is creating a new legion of soldiers who need and deserve the best support and care possible, both while engaged in this evolving mission and on their return home.

The newly elected federal government has promised to end the tension between those who have served in the armed forces and those at Veterans Affairs Canada who oversee their care. Lifelong pensions are coming back, VAC offices are re-opening, and other thorny issues are being addressed. In his mandate letter to Kent Hehr, the Minister of Veterans Affairs, Trudeau said “veterans should not have to fight their own government for the support and compensation they have earned,” and instructed him to “ensure that our government lives up to our sacred obligation to veterans and their families.”

Our veterans risked or lost their lives fighting against nationalism in the First World War, Nazism in the Second World War, communism in Korea, and extremism in Afghanistan. They are doing it again in Iraq and Syria, and may be called on elsewhere. One thing we can and must do, without doubt or hesitation, is support them.