Europe: Increased security is no longer effective when 'cheap' terrorism is on the rise

(Baonghean.vn) - Experts say that increasing security and deploying more law enforcement forces on the streets in Europe is no longer an effective way to protect people from the threat of terrorism.

Europe has suffered a series of terrorist attacks in recent years. Photo: AP

“We need to solve political problems,” said Kader Abderrahim, an expert from the French Institute for International and Strategic Studies (IRIS). “We need to abandon the idea that deploying more police and military forces will solve the problem.”

Referring to the increased surveillance to prevent terrorist attacks in France, Mr. Jean-Vincent Brisset, a retired brigadier general of the French Air Force and a senior expert at IRIS, called the French military operation deployed after the 2015 terrorist attacks a measure used by politicians to show people that something was being done to protect them while the threat was still there.

This expert said it was a “problem of democracy” when the capacity of security forces to intervene in suspicious activities to prevent terrorist attacks was limited.

While the main suspect in the terrorist attack in the town of Cambrils in the Catalan region of Spain is still on the run, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb announced that the country will increase security controls at the France-Spain border area.

Expert Brisset believes that the opening of European borders is one of the reasons for the increase in terrorist attacks in European countries. Mr. Brisset emphasized:

“In European security there is always the same problem, which is laxity at the borders. But I don’t think that’s the core of the problem. The problem is that the policies are very different, and the lack of communication between European countries, and the lack of border closures.”

This expert believes that the reason Barcelona has become a terrorist target is because the city's authorities have been too lenient with immigrants, a part of the population from which terrorists are recruited.

According to expert Abderrahim, closing borders in today's globalized world is meaningless, instead we need to strengthen border control.

In addition, according to expert Abderrahim, to deal with terrorism, Europe needs to resolve conflicts in the Middle East and problems caused by Western involvement in Iraq since 2003 and in Libya in 2011.

“It is time to address the root of the problem, not its consequences. Only in this way can we come up with a decisive way to deal with terrorism. We need a real debate about diplomacy, about Western foreign policy in relation to the Arab world,” the expert stressed.

Increased security is no longer effective in preventing terrorism in Europe. Photo: Getty

For his part, expert Brisset said that the proposal by French right-wing politician Marine Le Pen to deport all individuals who pose a serious threat to national security back to their country of origin is an option to prevent terrorism, but clearly this measure has significant disadvantages.

He explained that while some attacks might be avoided, this option would provoke those behind them to act more aggressively. However, according to Mr. Brisset, tough measures are needed to limit radicalization and thereby prevent terrorism.

Mr. Abderrahim explained that the Islamic State (IS) organization is pursuing a strategy of globalizing violence by attacking anyone, including Shiite Muslims, Christians, the West, Russia, Iran and Europe.

“Cheap terrorism is clearly a trend,” the expert said. “As the military capabilities of ISIS are increasingly limited in Iraq, Syria and Libya, more and more low-cost terrorist attacks are happening, which require nothing – just hiring a truck to drive into a crowd, causing dozens of casualties, and especially creating a huge resonance in the media. That is where (IS) gets its strength.”

However, Mr. Abderrahim said that the defeat of this terrorist group is only a matter of time./.

Lan Ha

(According to Sputnik)