The new normal

ON THE streets of Brussels they had been dreading the next attack. But when Islamic State (IS) eventually struck, on March 22nd at Zaventem airport and then, just over an hour later, in the city’s metro system, anticipation did nothing to diminish the shock or the suffering. As we went to press, the death toll was over 30; at least 200 were injured, some of them critically (see ). Belgium’s prime minister, Charles Michel, called the bombings “blind, violent and cowardly”.Over the coming days Europe will once again pass through terrorism’s stages of grief: despair over innocent lives cut short; anger towards the young men and women (some of them citizens) who kill in the name of ; questions about the grip of the police and intelligence services; and eventually, as news bulletins and headlines subside, a weary resignation.