Counter-Terrorism: Deliberate And Disastrous Misinterpretation

Elephant in the room

BCF : January 14, 2020: There has been a sharp decline in Islamic terrorist attacks in the West, especially Europe, between 2015, when there were 211, and 2019, when there were twenty.

This was the result of worldwide alarm and action against ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant), the most violent and determined form of Islamic terrorism so far. All nations, especially Moslem ones, cooperated to defeat ISIL.

This brought about unusually high levels of cooperation in identifying ISIL members or potential members as well as going after ISIL media efforts, recruiters and fundraisers. In the West, this exposed a pro-Islamic terrorist underground that was larger and more popular than anyone realized. Actually, there were police and military intelligence specialists who were not surprised. Until ISIL came along few Western politicians believed so much support for Islamic terrorism existed inside their countries.

Some of those politicians are still skeptical. But the problem is real and it’s been growing for several decades, along with support for Islamic terrorists in Moslem majority nations. After September 11, 2001, there was a growing realization in the West that many of their Moslem citizens, or recent migrants, supported Islamic terrorism, including attacks that killed a lot of civilians. While survey results varied from country to country, there were two constants.

First, the majority of Moslems opposed Islamic terrorism under any circumstances. Second, there was always a minority that either supported or “understood the need” for such violence and worst of all there was a small percentage who thought such violence was necessary to defend Islam. Many in the last group were willing to actively participate in Islamic terrorist activity.

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