"I think the aim is psychological impact. And that's why it's important for the United States to develop collective resilience here. It seems to me that we have become too jumpy. We have reacted in a knee-jerk fashion to these threats. And we need to build up a sort of Dunkirk spirit."

JEFFREY BROWN: Which means what?

"Which means that, collectively -- and I don't mean just mean as individuals, but, collectively, as a society, we need to become more resilient. We need to be able to react better to these kinds of threats..."

Developing a thicker psychic skin, that does seem a useful thing. We hear about so many terrible things going on in the world, and it's so easy to get shell-shocked. How can we deal with all the calamities, and not become frightened, confused and exhausted?

(A helpful url I received gives clue to the most flexible, useful attitude of 'relaxed awareness', for in the state we can notice the things that are a possible danger, but not be too tense. 'Relaxed awareness' is the best state for a mindful life, anyway, a life in which we don't dose away the precious moments.)