When Will the West Care About Terrorism in Pakistan?

European and US media devoted far more coverage to the March 22 terrorist attacks in Brussels than those in Lahore on Easter Sunday. Coverage of attacks anywhere is generally shallow, alarmist and more descriptive than analytical. Aaron David Miller, a vice president at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, criticizes the media and government response in the West by comparing casualty numbers, the places and types of people targeted by each attack. He also points out that terrorism is more common in some countries than others. The vast majority of 2015 attacks occurred in five nations – Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria – and safety of journalists is troubled nations, too. “Extremist Islamist ideology is thriving in some ungoverned spaces; in others, local conflicts and sectarian tensions are creating openings,” Miller concludes. Tendencies for terrorism are rooted in places with poor governance and can spread anywhere with resentment, marginalization, and lack of education and economic opportunities. – YaleGlobal