Straw regrets terrorism delay By Toby Helm and Anton La Guardia (Filed: 20/03/2004) The international community could have prevented September 11 and other terrorist attacks by acting far earlier against al-Qa'eda rather than "turning the other cheek", Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, admits today. In an interview with the Telegraph on the first anniversary of the Iraq war, Mr Straw says that despite the attack on Madrid which killed 202 people, the world is winning the war on terror. But he expresses his deep regret that international leaders "turned the other cheek" for so long, ignoring for eight years "very,...