When Islamist jihadists bring carnage to Washington, D.C., the city will be traumatized, but not entirely shocked.

Turns out many, many long-time residents are expecting it. When a Paris-style slaughter hits a Metro station or one of the city’s bright, bubbly-with-youth-and-ambition corridors of fun, or even the Capitol or the Smithsonian, the residents of the new Rome who are not dead or wounded, or the friends of those who are, will tell tales of how they had prepared for this event but still cannot believe the searing impact of the horrific scenes.