Post-9/11, Europe’s weak spots make it a jihadist target

LISBON – In the 20 years since the Sept. 11, 2001 violent attacks successful the United States, a substance of homegrown extremists, geography and weaknesses successful counterterrorism strategies person combined to crook Europe into a premier people for jihadists bent connected hurting the West.

Europe watched open-mouthed arsenic the 9/11 attacks unfolded crossed the Atlantic. Life connected the Old Continent, too, would beryllium transformed by those events, with hundreds of radical killed and thousands injured astatine the hands of Islamic extremists successful the pursuing years.

Since 9/11, Europe has witnessed galore much jihadist attacks connected its ungraded than the United States. Why? A assortment of reasons, analysts say.

Over the past decennary oregon so, “what we’ve seen successful Western Europe is an unprecedented jihadist mobilization,” says Fernando Reinares, manager of the programme connected Violent Radicalization and Global Terrorism astatine the Elcano Royal Institute successful Madrid.

Evidence of that, helium says, is not lone the bombings, conveyance rammings and stabbings that person tormented Western Europe successful caller times, but besides the tens of thousands of European Muslims who felt compelled to articulation insurgent violent groups during caller wars successful Syria and Iraq.

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Western Europe has struggled to integrate important Muslim populations into mainstream society. Many Muslims are disadvantaged and consciousness disenfranchised, and immoderate harbor grievances against the countries wherever they live.

“There is simply a consciousness of alienation and a consciousness of vexation (that) jihadists are often latching onto,” says Peter Neumann, a prof of Security Studies astatine King’s College London.

“That’s not the aforesaid successful the United States,” says Neumann, the main advisor connected information argumentation for campaigner Armin Laschet successful the existent German predetermination campaign. “American Muslims are overmuch little hostile toward their ain state than European Muslims, and they’re overmuch amended integrated.”

And successful caller years, amid the increasing power of the Islamic State radical propaganda and promises, the soldiers returning from Syria and Iraq person felt inspired to people their location countries successful Europe, sowing alarm among European governments.

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As it turned out, 2001 was a watershed twelvemonth for jihadist panic enactment successful the United States and Europe. At the crook of the century, the United States “was the large prize for al-Qaida, not Europe,” says Olivier Guitta, managing manager of GlobalStrat, an planetary information and hazard consultancy steadfast successful London.

But erstwhile the United States toughened its information aft 9/11, helium says, al-Qaida went hunting for easier targets. In Europe, it took an opportunistic approach, recruiting networks of supporters successful Muslim communities to signifier spectacular attacks.

That strategy brought immoderate grim milestones for Europe. In 2004, bid bombings successful Madrid killed 193 radical and injured much than 2,000. A twelvemonth aboriginal London bombings, sometimes referred to arsenic 7/7, featuring coordinated termination weaponry attacks targeting the nationalist transport strategy that killed 52 radical and injured much than 700.

Later, the Islamic State radical became the main menace. It claimed work for a drawstring of notorious attacks, including 1 successful Paris successful 2015 that killed 130 radical and wounded hundreds of others — France’s deadliest unit since World War II. In 2016, nail bombs went disconnected successful Brussels, sidesplitting 32 radical arsenic good arsenic the 3 perpetrators and injuring much than 300 people. Later the aforesaid year, a motortruck drove into crowds successful Nice, France, sidesplitting 86 radical and injuring 434.

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Some critics person blamed that unit connected anemic links successful the continent’s defense. Intelligence capabilities disagree wide among the European Union’s 27 subordinate countries.

Daniel Benjamin, formerly the elder counterterrorism advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and present president of the American Academy successful Berlin, says that occupation is hard to debar successful specified a patchwork of countries of varying size and wealth.

“Inevitably," helium says, “there are going to beryllium stronger and weaker instrumentality enforcement and quality communities among specified a varied a acceptable of countries arsenic you find successful Europe, particularly ones with specified varied resources.”

Even so, Guitta of GlobalStrat says that counterterrorism practice among EU countries has improved considerably since the 2015 Paris attacks.

That whitethorn beryllium precious successful coming times. Reinares, of Spain’s Elcano Royal Institute, predicts that al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, rivalling for prominence, “will vie to signifier ample attacks successful the West.” And Europe indispensable beryllium connected defender due to the fact that it is an easier people than North America oregon Australia, helium told an online league Thursday.

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The continent, Reinares says, lies person to the jihadist bases and is much permeable, whether internally done the lack of borderline checks crossed 26 countries oregon done migrant routes utilized by tens of thousands of radical each year.

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