Boston bombing reveals a new American maturity toward insecurity

Louise Weisbloom, a mother of two from Battersea in south London, acknowledges that the rhythm of life in London includes the threat of terrorism. "But I'd never leave because of it," she says.

"Living in London, security issues just become ingrained," she adds, noting that 7/7 was a reminder of the need for vigilance. "If someone followed me into work and didn't sign into security, I would say something, whereas maybe 10 years ago I wouldn't, because we probably didn't have security."

As a Londoner, Ms. Weisbloom has also come to accept the fact that she is probably being watched anytime she steps outside her door. Britain has deployed more than 4 million closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras nationwide, and those cameras were crucial in identifying the 7/7 bombers, officials say.

Now, Americans might have to decide if they are willing to put up with the same sort of surveillance for the security promises it affords. After all, the Boston bombing investigation was compelling evidence for how blanket surveillance gives terrorists no place to hide. Although most of the "surveillance" at the marathon finish line was civilian pictures and videos, the suspects were also caught by department store and restaurant surveillance cameras, and those images were described as a major break in the case.

The idea of greater surveillance on American streets might not be so tough a sell, despite America's strong streak of civil libertarianism. Some 77 percent of Americans said they would approve of government or police agencies installing video surveillance cameras in public places to prevent possible terrorist attacks, according to a 2009 CBS News poll.

For now, the mandate seems to be to ramp up security, but in ways that don't unduly disrupt daily life.

It will be up to law enforcement agencies whether to raise the level of security, says Martin Reardon, vice president of The Soufan Group, a security consultancy. He points to CCTV cameras, as well as more K-9 patrols and police sweeps at big events, as potential ways forward.

Security is not always obvious

Discreet security is a lesson Spain has internalized in its decades-long struggle with terrorism. Before the 2004 attack by Muslim radicals against a Madrid railway hub, which killed 191, the country faced a half century of bombings by the Basque separatist group ETA, which killed 800 people before agreeing to a cease-fire in 2010.

Security in Madrid is intense but not noticeable, aside from X-ray machines in some public buildings and the video cameras above the streets.

"A big part of the security we feel has to do with discreet prevention," says Mikel Buesa, a terrorism expert at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. "Of course security is there, and significant resources are invested. But it's not routinely made public, which makes its perception nil."

Working with quiet restraint has meant "infiltrating organizations, gathering intelligence, and sharing information with other countries," says Francisco Javier Elzo, a sociologist and professor emeritus of Deusto University.

Creating connections with communities that might have members susceptible to radicalization is one of the lessons from the sarin gas attack in Tokyo. On the morning of March 20, 1995, five members of the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo boarded subway trains carrying commuters into the capital's political and administrative centers. Minutes later, using umbrellas with sharpened tips, they punctured bags filled with liquid sarin – a nerve agent developed by the Nazis. The gas killed 13 and shattered the public's confidence in their country's reputation as one of the safest in the world.

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