By Fareed Zakaria
Saturday, April 10, 2004

On March 30 the British government foiled what it believed was the largest terrorist plot ever in that country. Police arrested eight men and seized a half-ton of ammonium nitrate, enough for an explosive five times as powerful as the Bali bombs that killed 202 people.

The most striking aspect of the episode, however, is that the authorities see no involvement by al Qaeda. In fact, not one of the suspects is foreign-born or had spent any time in the Afghan training camps. These are British, middle-class Muslim suburbanites who the authorities say became terrorists.

Most terror attacks over the past two years have been planned by groups like this one. They are inspired, not directed, by al Qaeda, and draw their support from various, mostly private sources. Tackling the threat they pose is the key to security in this age.

Terrorism today doesn't need government backing, because it is fueled by three broad forces: the openness of free societies, the easy access to technologies of violence and a radical, global ideology of hatred. It can be stopped only by responses at each level.