After the Paris attacks, Europe needs to engage afresh with Muslim nations, but not at the expense of basic rightsTen days after the Paris attacks, the security repercussions continue. Yesterday Sir John Sawers, recently retired as head of MI6, called for renewed cooperation between intelligence agencies and internet companies. Meanwhile, European foreign ministers met to strengthen anti-terrorism coordination within the EU, and called for a stronger alliance with Arab states in combating jihadi networks. The EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said: “The threat is not only the one we faced in Paris, but it is spreading in other parts of the world, starting from Muslim countries.”Better coordination is undoubtedly needed to foil further attacks in Europe, where Islamist terrorists have struck in three capitals – Madrid, London and now Paris. Anti-terrorism raids in France and Belgium confirm that the threat continues. The Paris killers had links with networks across the Middle East, including in Yemen. So the need to share intelligence to counter groups that themselves operate and communicate easily across borders cannot be disputed. A further illustration of this came when an Algerian national appeared before a Greek prosecutor on Monday over a possible link to a foiled Islamist plot to attack police in Belgium. Continue reading...
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