Alerts, alarms and threats: how much should the people of Europe be told?

Statements calling attention to international terrorism such as those made in September of 2010 by some Ministers and senior European security officials, some of which were repeated in October, should not be construed as exercises in political manipulation. While avoiding alerts like the one issued by the US State Department on 3 October, which can be misinterpreted because of the diffuse and non-specific nature of their contents, and with no need to alarm people by providing details that are not strictly necessary, the reasonable thing to do is to inform people –in the right measure– about a threat that is real and cannot be completely erased over the short term but which can be contained and lessened, as has been done over the past five years through adequate government policies and optimal cooperation between governments.