More Terror in Paris

Paris was once again the scene of a series of deadly terrorist attacks as radicals believed to be linked with the Islamic State militant group carried out their second such series of attacks this year on the French capital.  The death toll from this latest series of attacks stands at more than 150 and is likely to continue to rise, making this the worst terrorist attack in France in many decades.  Moreover, these attacks appear to have been well coordinated, covering a large area of Paris.  In fact, this is just the latest in a series of attacks in recent days by militants linked with the Islamic State that included the bombing of the Russian airliner in Sinai that killed 224 people and a two suicide bombings in Beirut that killed 41 people.  What is clear is that Europe is more exposed than ever to the threat of terrorism emanating from the Middle East and North Africa and that it will take unprecedented actions to deal with this worsening threat to European security.

It appears that these attacks were carried out by members of the Islamic State (IS) militant group, or by small groups of people inspired by the IS.  Over the coming days and weeks, the identity and the background of the attackers is likely to be discovered, but it is likely that at least some of the attackers were trained in the Middle East to carry out such attacks.  It does appear that these militants had some training as they were able carry out suicide bombings and gun attacks on a series of soft targets across France.  So why has France been the target for these militants twice this year?  For one, France is a relatively easy target, given the fact that so many French citizens have joined the Islamic State and that Paris is home to such a large Middle Eastern and North African population.  Moreover, France, like the rest of continental Europe, is a relatively easy place to reach for militants from the Middle East, and there are certainly significant numbers of such militants in France and in many other European countries.

What is certain is that Europe has failed to adequately deal with the threat posed to the region’s security by terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.  Moreover, European leaders have failed to formulate a policy designed to protect Europe from the fact that the region sits adjacent to some of the most dangerous areas in the world, leaving Europe exposed to a variety of risks such as terrorism and uncontrolled migration.  For example, Europe, particularly German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has naively allowed more than one million asylum seekers to flow into the region this year alone, without creating adequate controls to research the backgrounds of these migrants.  Moreover, countries such as France and Belgium have failed to prevent thousands of their citizens from travelling to the Middle East to join the Islamic State, and as these terrorists hold European Union passports, they are able to travel to and around Europe with impunity.  Finally, the Schengen Accord that eliminated borders within much of the European Union has allowed potential terrorists to move around the region with ease, further enabling them to carry out attacks across the region.

In the wake of this latest atrocity, one wonders whether or not France (and the rest of Europe) will move to take major steps towards cracking down on potential terrorist attacks.  The first major change could come with regards to border policy, as France has already announced that it is closing its borders.  As this comes in the wake of a number of border closing related to Europe’s migration crisis, it is the Schengen Accord itself that is in question and the future of the European Union’s open borders is in severe jeopardy.  Meanwhile, the backlash against the wave of migration from the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia is likely to intensify and questions will certainly be raised about the presence of huge numbers of asylum seekers from these regions now in the EU.  This is likely to benefit the region’s far-right and anti-immigration political movements; as such political parties were already on top of polls taken in a number of European countries and are likely to see a new surge in support in the coming months.  For Europe, this could mean that the dream of a fully integrated Europe is coming to a crashing end, unless the European Union moves quickly to formulate a program to deal with the rising threats emanating from around Europe’s borders.