Combating Islamist Terrorism in Europe.

• Author: Baker, Kristin

Editor's Note

Western Europe has emerged as a central front in the Global War on Terrorism, and with its large, growing, unintegrated, and disaffected Muslim minorities, long-term prospects for success are increasingly problematic. This threat, which has global as well as regional implications, is not sufficiently recognized in the current U.S. National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, according to this essay, and countering it should be made an explicit priority in this strategy.

The authors produced the paper of which this article is a re-titled and edited version as students in the Joint and Combined Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, VA.-Ed.

The four priorities of action included in the current National Strategy for Combating Terrorism [NS-CT] are: 1) prevent attacks by terrorist networks; 2) deny weapons of mass destruction [WMD] to rogue states and terrorist allies who seek to use them; 3) deny terrorists the support and sanctuary of rogue states; and 4) deny terrorists control of any nation they would use as a base and launching pad for terror. (1) Though each of these is important, in order to http://www.google.com/mplete strategy, the United States must add a fifth priority of action: assist allies in denying terrorists influence on moderate Muslims in their own countries.

The significance of the United States' aggressive engagement with its Western allies in their own countries to both counter global terrorism and defend U.S. borders and citizens cannot be overstated. Europe has become a critical battlefield in the Global War on Terror; the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001 were hatched in Hamburg, Germany; the 2004 terrorist bombings of trains in Madrid altered the course of a European election ultimately leading to the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq; and perhaps most significantly, Islamic extremists have stated their intent to conquer Europe.

The Islamic extremists' goal of re-establishing the glory days of the Muslim world by creating an expanded Islamic caliphate cannot succeed without the backing of moderate Muslims worldwide. It is in Europe that this ideology poses the greatest danger to the future of a free and democratic world. In the words of Dr. al-Qaradawi, the host of the popular al-Jazeera TV show, Sharia and Life:

"Islam will return to Europe. The conquest need not necessarily be by sword. Perhaps we will conquer these lands without armies. We want an army of reachers and teachers who will present Islam in all languages and all dialects." (2) Though a cursory read of the NS-CT may suggest the proposed fifth priority of action might be captured within one of the first four priorities, upon a more detailed review it becomes clear that the first four are either too broad or too specific to capture the essence of the proposed fifth priority. The priority that appears the closest to incorporating the concepts included in the proposed fifth priority is "prevent attacks by terrorist networks." Using this first priority of action, the United States can justify proactive engagement with its Western allies in preventing a pending attack, denying terrorists entry to the United States, denying terrorists propaganda operations, and disrupting terrorist travel. Where priority one falls short is in specifically addressing the significance of not just preventing attacks, but denying terrorists the opportunity to negatively influence moderate Muslims in democratic or Western nations.

As Dr. al-Qaradawi notes in the quote above, in Europe the pen is more frequently used than the sword by European-based Islamic extremists. The United States must have a priority of action that dictates its requirement as a nation to deny terrorists sanctuary in democracies. In Western countries, Islamic extremists can cloak their anti-Western extremist messages in the guise of free speech; they hide behind protections offered to all citizens, leaving only legal recourse to address their untoward actions. Without a focused effort as a nation to assist U.S. allies in identifying extremists whose message counters democratic ideals and in encouraging these allies to establish laws that allow them to imprison, detain, or deport Islamic extremists, these extremist individuals or groups will be successful, possibly within a generation, in convincing moderate Muslims to support the conquest of the free world by a radical form of Islam.

European Role in GWOT

Europe plays a significant role both to the United States and to the Islamic extremists in this current war. Without the support of its European allies in countering terrorism, the U.S.-led coalition cannot win the war. For example, it was the German government that convicted the first person, Mounir el Motassadeq, for involvement in the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, after a five-year court battle. (3) On the other hand, without the financial, physical, and spiritual support of influential European Islamic radicals, those who intend to create an expanded Islamic caliphate governed by Sharia law cannot win. Europe is included in their ambitions, especially the southern portion of Spain or Andalusia. Per...