Well, except that Western nations have found that despite the war on terror, terrorists were planning, and are still planning on making attacks in
western countries, including Europe. One of the countries in which terrorists have tried to attack have been France, among some of the other European
countries which radical islamic terrorist groups have been planning on attacking.
I made a thread about this about two or three months ago. Let me see if i can dig it up.
Here is the link.
Authorities in Spain Find That Al Qaeda Still Has Plans of Attacking Europe
Here is an excerpt from that story.
But these successes underscore the threat to Spain and all of Europe as law enforcement scrambles to adapt to a new form of terrorism that
appears to be growing here. "The threat from al-Qaeda is the same in Europe as it was on March 11," says Franco Frattini, commissioner for security
for the 25-nation European Union.
"We thought we were out of the threat, that we had no threat coming from these groups," he says. "Now, we realize this is a police problem. ...
It's more than a police problem, it's a social problem; it's a clash of civilizations."
Excerpted from above link.
Here is a link to some of the threats made by islamic radicals agaisnt Europe.
www.homelandsecurityus.net...
Here is another link in which Fernando Reinares, Spain’s Leading Expert on Terrorism and Political Violence, writes about terrorism in Europe and
Spain.
After the 3/11 attacks, the investigation conducted by Spanish intelligence and law enforcement produced considerable detail about the
composition and activities of this terrorist network. The cell that carried out the bombing was supported by a larger group of approximately thirty
individuals, who provided logistical and other practical support. Moroccans dominated the group because of the country’s proximity to Spain, with
other members coming from Syria, Algeria, and Lebanon. Al Qaeda views North Africans as prime candidates to carry out missions in Europe. All were
males (ranging from 20-40 years in age) who lived in the same neighborhood in Madrid and were first-generation immigrants. (This last characteristic
is in contrast to Britain and France where recruits to Islamic extremist groups have included second-generation family members.) Some in the group
were radicalized in Morocco under the influence of Wahabbi clerics from Saudi Arabia; others were recruited in prison, a worrisome increasing
trend.
Why was Spain the victim of the 3/11 attacks? According to public opinion polls, 60% of Spaniards believe they were directly linked to the country’s
involvement in the Iraq war as part of the United States’ “coalition of the willing.” More detailed questions reveal a deeper social perception:
60% believe the current era of terrorism arises from Islamic fanaticism; 20% attribute it to U.S. foreign policy (including support for Israel), while
the final 20% view terrorism as an outgrowth of poverty.
Professor Reinares argued that the assertion of a direct causal link between Iraq and 3/11 is “a great simplification.” Spain may be the first
European country where Islamic extremists were successful in conducting a mass-casualty attack, but it is not the first where Al Qaeda planned a
massacre (e.g., Al Qaeda’s mega-terrorism plan in France in 2000). Nor has its plans been confined to countries that participated in the Iraq war.
The actual decision to target Spain’s trains was made in late 2003, but the 3/11 group formed in late 2001 after the Spanish authorities had
dismantled the previous Al Qaeda network in the aftermath of 9/11. The Egyptian ringleader of the 3/11 network was arrested in Italy and confessed
that the train bombings had taken two-and-a-half years to organize. Spain’s participation in the Iraq war created a propitious political environment
for carrying out bombings that had been long in the works. In short, the war was the occasion not the cause of the bombing.
Excerpted from.
wwics.si.edu...
So in fact, these terrorist attacks were not caused by the war on terror, but rather the war on terror was used as an excuse for political reasons for
plans that have been in the work by Islamic radical groups for a long time.
---edited for errors---
[edit on 1-5-2005 by Muaddib]
