Anti-terror plans essential

In the Herald on Sunday, Martin Snedden says he had to deal with serious terrorism incidents or threats at least five or six times during his time as time as chief executive of New Zealand Cricket. But he says that it was the attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in March last year and the Togo football team in Angola only seven weeks ago that finally served to signal that sport can no longer assume that it will not be directly targeted by terrorists.

First, each circumstance needs to be examined and judged on its own merits. It is human nature for people to react to danger or the threat of danger by reactively deciding that to "do nothing" is the answer - ie, if there is a threat, don't go near it.

If everyone took that approach, no one would go anywhere and international sporting schedules would quickly descend into chaos. Hard as it might be at the time, it is necessary to give every individual situation its own considered analysis.