Since the Paris attacks, Germany, Europe and the world are no longer the same as they once were. What should be done now?
This is war. More than 120 killed, hundreds wounded, an entire nation in a state of emergency — France has once again been attacked by the self-proclaimed holy warriors of Islamic terrorism. Last night’s newspaper photographs are so horrible, so unfathomable, so primitively bloody that it seems impossible not to recognize what is being forced on Western civilization — actually on the entire planet: World War III, an asymmetric war without borders. A battle that can’t be compared to Verdun or Stalingrad, but nonetheless takes on a dimension that extends beyond the global character of conventional wars. This time, there are no neutral countries, no islands of peace and quiet. And there is a perverse but highly effective media strategy: The bombs explode while the world watches a national championship soccer match. Terror in real time, live and on screen. The only answer possible now is a spontaneous offer of support and whatever help we can give, and a promise not to abandon the victims in their hour of need.
We Are All French Now
In January the world said, “We are all Charlie.” Today we say, “We’re all French now.” But we should bear in mind that the attacks in Paris aren’t even the worst on the terrorist scene. Not even the worst in Europe. In April 2004, 190 people were murdered when Islamists touched off backpack bombs in several suburban commuter trains in and around Madrid. And then the horrors of Sept. 11. The suicide flights against America, as yet unmatched in the numbers of those killed and injured. But it’s not about relativizing the horror. That would be cynical especially since there are countries — Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia — suffering regular attacks nearly every week.
We’ve gotten used to the devastating reports: 100 dead in one attack carried out by suicide bombers, 80 in another one by a terrorist militia. And world solidarity is often shockingly absent. The war against the Islamic State, the Taliban and Boko Haram is not presented with an intensity that would be necessary in a global war. But such thoughts are of little help. Primarily, we need to consider what the attacks in Paris mean for Germany and Europe; what we should do as well as what we shouldn’t. Because France, Germany and Europe are no longer the same as they were.
How should we react to the challenge posed by militant Islamists and the danger that these lunatics might escalate the hatred, that they might further incite racist fanatics? What is essential is objectivity above all. Sober reflection. What could help? What do we need to consider? What might be exaggeration? We have to parse everything.
Should German and European police forces be upgraded and further networked? Absolutely. That might be the most important lesson learned in Paris. Despite significantly increased vigilance in the wake of “Charlie Hebdo” and the other attacks that occurred in France this year, Islamists could still surprise the security apparatus once again. The danger might have been minimized by the existence of a mutual anti-terrorism European Union headquarters with police and intelligence services in a single complex. And in Germany, it’s true that the heavily armed, rapidly deployable force planned for the future was needed sooner than even its proponents had imagined. But there is also an equally pressing need to expand de-radicalization programs for Islamists, racists and other extremists.
Are electronic security gates and body searches needed at “softer targets” that might be attacked by terrorists, i.e., at every stadium, every concert hall, every subway station, every department store? No. The day larger sporting events or even Christmas shopping at major department stores like Berlin’s KaDeWe are classified as “high risk” activities is the day the terrorists can claim victory without having detonated the first suicide vest. Paranoia cannot be a reply to terrorism but that said, assigning more security personnel to potentially vulnerable targets makes a lot of sense.
Cancel the European Soccer Championships in France Next Year? Absolutely Not!
Terror cannot be allowed to dictate whether major sporting tournaments or other popular events take place or not. Let the games begin. Let’s enjoy ourselves in safety in every regard.
Stronger involvement of the military in protecting national security? Yes. In France, it’s understandable that the army is now visibly assisting the police. That should also be possible in Germany from the time the threat level begins rising and not after the balloon goes up. The military should be made available to at least protect endangered buildings and streets.
Close mosques? Only on a case-by-case basis and only if they are positively identified as being hotbeds of terrorism. And even then it might be wiser to put a mosque under intensive observation instead of driving its radicalized leaders and conspiring members underground. What has to be avoided at all costs is a blanket suspicion directed at mosques and Islamic communities that appear to be ultraconservative. Governments and civil society must again make it clear that devout Muslims in Germany will not be marginalized, something that a committed debate about content would not preclude.
Ramp up Internet monitoring, above all Facebook and the other social networks where Islamic hatred and racism abound? Absolutely. Police, intelligence agencies and justice — particularly within the federal government — have to delve into the shallows of the World Wide Web. And there is an urgent imperative to convince companies like Facebook that when they allow the proliferation of extremist propaganda they are committing a breach of the public peace.
Quicker deportation of asylum seekers denied entry? Counter-question: What does that have to do with terrorism? Except for a few isolated cases, there is no evidence that any refugee has acted as an agent for some militant organization.
There are many more questions still to be answered — questions that will undoubtedly be asked and discussed over the next few weeks — many of them heatedly. But one guideline, one basic motive of Western civilization that we should never lose sight of is that our democracy is inviolable. Hopefully, the global war on terror will never introduce an insidious mutation that puts us on the road to becoming an authoritarian, intolerant and apprehensive regime.
Long live freedom.
“The only answer possible now is a spontaneous offer of support and whatever help we can give, and a promise not to abandon the victims in their hour of need.”
Nothing wrong with that. Maybe also refrain from publishing hysterical, hand-wringing articles. “Keep calm and carry on” is good Churchillian advice.
Europe and North America are merely reaping what they have sown over the last century, so there is bound to be more of the same until we finally get the message that we should not interfere in the affairs of the Middle East.
It’s chaotic there mostly because every intervention since the Bush-Blair invasion of 2003 has exploded in our faces; but also because every Middle Eastern dictator is surreptitiously supporting his favourite terrorist group — and our political leaders know it but pretend not to; and finally, there is the “special relationship” between the US and Israel. So if you’re feeling as helpless as the author of the above article, just think how the peoples of the Middle East must feel with so much of their homelands under siege and experiencing bombs and missiles on a regular basis.
Thanks for a thoughtful article. Lots of good defense suggestions, but I believe you left out the most important action we can take to protect ourselves against terrorists. We need to take the fight directly against them and do it on our own terms. We need to put them on the defensive and make then see and feel that war is hell.