No sooner had President Donald Trump spoken about the continuing threat of radical Islam in Saudi Arabia – the heart of Islam — a lone suicide bomber walked right up to a pop-music concert in Manchester, England and blew himself up along with 22 others, mostly children and teenagers, and wounded 119 more. Twenty of those injured remain hospitalized in critical condition, according to news reports.

The United Kingdom’s terror-threat level has been raised to ‘critical’ for the first time in 10 years. The rest of Europe is on high alert while President Trump continues on with his first foreign trip which started in Saudi Arabia, then onto to Israel to kick start Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The U.S. president left Israel on Tuesday bound for a meeting with Pope Francis in Rome then onto Brussels for a meeting with the NATO military alliance followed by a visit to Sicily to attend a G7 Summit of European leaders before returning to Washington late Saturday.

British authorities identified the dead bomber as 22-year-old English-born Salman Abedi, who had been known to local police as an “extremist.” Witnesses said there was little-to-no security outside Manchester Arena where 20,000 fans gathered inside to see pop-singer Ariana Grande. Apparently Abedi waited for the concert to end. As hundreds of young people began to exit the arena Abedi hit the button at just the right moment to assure maximum casualties as well as maximum shock.

Subsequent raids in Manchester have resulted in eight arrests and the seizure of bomb making items, according to news reports.

Radical Islamic extremists are now energized throughout the region and more than likely will attempt another strike as soon as possible. British Prime Minister Teresa May said Wednesday another attack may be “imminent.” There is so much wrong with this entire picture.

Where is the worldwide outcry from peace-loving Muslims condemning this attack and those that kill and destroy in the name of Islam? Where are the armies of Muslim-majority countries stomping out these barbarians? This fight against extreme Islamic terrorism is the Muslim’s fight, not the rest of the world’s but when others fail to act the true peace lovers are left with no choice other than to protect the innocent and go after these killers.

Some say that inside every Islamic Mosque in America, Europe and the Middle East there is an extremist element – however small — that is apparently overlooked and tolerated. It is a rare event when one Muslim turns in another Muslim who is planning a terrorist attack.

Many of these radical terrorists, who carry out the mass killings, are already known to local law enforcement — whether the crime occurred in the U.S., England or Europe, but not always. Some are under-the-radar-lone-wolf attacks while others involve a conspiracy. In the case of Manchester, Abedi apparently did not act alone seeing that related arrests have been made since the concert bombing. This investigation continues to yield new information including Abedi recently traveled to Libya and Syria unquestioned. Fox News reported Abedi’s younger brother was arrested Wednesday in Lybia.

But in those cases when the terrorist is already known by police to be extreme – these laws protecting the terrorist in the name of civil rights – need to change. Suspected extremists need to be put on a ‘watch list’ that is taken deadly serious preventing travel, the purchase of firearms and ammunition and any number of other restrictions or in some cases deport them.

‘Watch lists’ in the U.S. have frequently failed as was the case of the radical Islamic extremist that shot-dead 49 people inside the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando last year. The FBI at the time said this shooter was on a ‘watch list’ — but he legally purchased an assault rifle and ammo — just before the rampage.

In the past, England has been welcoming to Muslims and others from different cultures. Their citizens are proud of that and they should be. Abedi was a British citizen known by a local intelligence agency to be an extremist but due to police inaction – 22 other citizens are now dead plus the injured. Their lives are changed forever all because Abedi was not stopped before he could act.

Many may not agree on this, but there is one more victim of this tragedy and that is 23-year-old pop superstar Ariana Grande. This talented performer — adored by teenagers worldwide — didn’t ask for this stigma and did not deserve it. Yes, she has made anti-American statements in the past for which she apologized for. The Manchester concert was a sell-out. Grande was next set to appear in London, but she cancelled the remainder of her self-titled “Dangerous Woman” concert tour and returned to her home in Florida. Her life has also changed forever. Maybe she’ll become a crusader for peace and use her celebrity to bring hope and light to the world.

Undoubtedly, the United Kingdom will take further actions to seal their borders from outside extremists, but the real test is to drive out the radicals from within.

About the Author

Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.