Europes Nightmare: Terror Threats Both Large and Small Associated Press (01/09/15) Katz, Gregory Security experts say the military-style attack in Paris has made it obvious that Europe faces a more complex terror threat, one that is an Internet-driven rage against Western society felt by radicalized Muslims that can burst at any time. Andrew Parker, director of the domestic British security MI5, warns that stopping terrorist attacks has become increasingly difficult because agents must disrupt plans of small groups with little to no warning. Already, he says approximately 600 Britons have gone to Syria to join extremists there, 550 Germans have done the same, with about 180 known to have returned. About 1,200 French citizens have left for Syria, and many have learned how to kill. Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism specialist with the Swedish National Defense College, says a new generation of Muslim youths has grown up in Europes cities in the post 9/11 era and has to a degree embraced the al-Qaida view that the West is at war with Islam — first in Afghanistan, then Iraq and now in Syria as well. At the same time, he notes, the Islamic States brazen proclamation of a caliphate has caught the imagination of many young European Muslims, who want to go to Syria to join the battle and then bring it back home. The sectarian tensions in the Middle East are mirrored in our cities in Europe, he says. There is more strident activism in Muslim communities. He adds that many Muslims feel segregated in disadvantaged communities on the fringes of major cities and are willing to fight back.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 17:45:03 +0000
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