Bangladesh, Aug. 1 -- Counterterrorism efforts are rarely judged by the attacks that occur. More often, it is judged by what a society chooses to ignore before those attacks happen.

Bangladesh has spent two decades learning painful lessons about violent extremism. The coordinated bombings across 63 districts in 2005, the systematic assassination of secular bloggers and publishers, and the Holey Artisan "massacre" were not isolated security incidents.

They demonstrated how extremist movements evolve: first through ideological mobilisation, then through recruitment, and finally through violence. Their greatest advantage is not military strength but society's willingness to underestimate them until it is too late.

That is why recent deve...