Terrorism threat casts shadow Time for Europe to reflect on harmful policies, experts say

BRUSSELS — Known as the Heart of Europe, Brussels easily captures the heart of newcomers with its thousands of hectares of green spaces and neoclassical style buildings.

But heavily armed soldiers patrolling parks, stations and tourist resorts immediately bring them back to reality — this city, which has been attacked twice this year, is under the threat of terrorism.

What happens in Brussels is echoed across the whole of Europe. Like a ghost, the threat of terrorist attacks is haunting Europeans incessantly. Plagued by the threat, Europe is rapidly drifting away from tranquillity.

Despite the counterterrorism measures taken by European governments and the European Union, the number and frequency of terrorist attacks are increasing steadily.

As of the end of August, the continent witnessed at least 13 terrorist attacks, leaving at least 58 people dead and more than 300 injured in Belgium, Britain, Finland, France, Germany, Spain and Sweden, among others.

“They (terrorists) aren’t looking for spectacular results using huge resources, but rather they want frequency to try to destabilize their adversaries,” Frederic Gallois, former head of France’s elite GIGN anti-terror unit, said after the twin terrorist attacks in Barcelona last month. “It’s the regularity which is the problem.”

“At the moment, there’s an attack every four to six weeks in Europe,” he added. Then after each lull, “everyone says to themselves ‘something’s going to happen’”. Frederic Gallois,

Unlike sophisticated, organized attacks such as those in the United States on Sept 11, 2001, today’s terrorist activities combine “lone wolf” attacks with organized ones.

In addition, the suspects in the attacks in Barcelona and Finland were ordinary people who had no criminal records, making police investigations afterward more difficult. And the use of social media as well as daily tools when committing crimes also make the attacks harder to detect and prevent.

Blind eye

Meanwhile, many suspects of terrorist attacks in Europe are descendants of native immigrants. For a long time, European countries turned a blind eye to the fact that their citizens were inspired by extremism and joined “jihad” in the Middle East and other war-torn areas.

As terrorist groups like Islamic State are being hit hard in the Middle East, its fighters returned to Europe as legal residents. Europol estimates those people number over 5,000 and believes they are a serious concern.

The environment that nurtures extremism is not only linked with the social and economic problems in Europe, but is also fueled by the international situation, late French philosopher Ruw- en Ogien said in 2015.

For one thing, the increased terror attacks in Europe have much to do with the interventionist policies of European countries in the Middle East, which instead of eliminating terrorism have led Europe into a vicious circle of violence against violence, said Shen Yihuai, an expert on European affairs at China’s Institute of Modern International Relations.

Plus, Europe’s economic downturn and high unemployment in recent years have left immigrants increasingly isolated and vulnerable to radicalization.

In short, European countries should reflect on their internal and external policies and make timely adjustments, which are the key to long-term stability on the continent, said Cui Hongjian, director of the China Institute of International Studies.

At the moment, there’s an attack every four to six weeks in Europe.” former head of France’s elite GIGN anti-terror unit