The war just changed gears
Now that the war on terror has come to two major European capitals in the post-ISIS caliphate environment – and two make a trend –the continent’s Schengen Area border arrangement as well as its interaction with the outside world is likely to undergo an overhaul. There were signs that something was cooking in Brussels since security agencies picked up one of the Paris attackers from there a few days ago. But the synchronised manner of the attack reflects detailed planning and reconnaissance, which is fast becoming a hallmark of ISIS. That means there’s no telling how many more sleeper cells litter the length and breadth of the continent; hence the panic.
Europe’s free border policy has its roots in the old war-ridded days of Bismark. And it took around a century of steady progress to create the 26-member border-free bloc. Suddenly, two freak attacks have put the arrangement in jeopardy. Surely some controls will now have to be put on free movement and a lot more screening and profiling is just around the corner. The continent has invested a hundred years worth of time and effort into the Union; it will go all the way to protect what has been achieved at such a high cost.
Unfortunately, this attack will also increase pressure on Muslims across the west, especially in Europe itself. Once again Da’ish has displayed the capability of striking at Europe’s nerve centres; Paris being a political symbol and Brussels a sign of the continent’s financial might. And, as usual, innocent people will bear the brunt of the inevitable security clampdown. Maybe now the western world will take ISIS more seriously than a political compulsion. While Russia helped the Syrian government in containing Da’ish, nato members’ many strikes have come across as more a politically correct position than a concrete effort to degrade the militia. The time to draw political mileage from this war passed a long time ago. And as Europe changes after Brussels, it had better realise that.
The killing of even one innocent person is tragic and here we have at least thirty dead and over a hundred injured some seriously, with death toll probably rising. And there is the added damage of creation of an atmosphere of fear and panic, and the ammunition such massacres give to the anti-immigrant lobby.
As expected, Daish has claimed responsibility for the massacre.
So, apart from the Europeans, the lives of Muslims living in the West, and those of refugees fleeing troubled spots in the Middle East will become even more miserable. .
And that way, apart from causing death and destruction, and creating an atmosphere of fear among the Europeans, Daish have harmed more the Muslims residing in the West who will now face tougher times. And that means, , Daish are no ones’ friends, actually. In fact, the biggest harm they are doing is to the Muslims.
You blame lax security and shoddy intelligence as a reason for the attack. And while better security and intelligence will to some extent curb such disasters, the real solution is to tackle the source of it all.
And that in my opinion will call for resolving, without further delay, the unresolved disputes which have been festering for long. But unfortunately, instead of solving the old disputes, the powerful West, which has the capacity to resolve these, is busy creating new ones in order to redraw the map of the Muslim world to its liking.
In a way, the creation of Daish can be traced back directly to the unjust invasion of Iraq by the US and Britain, disbanding of Saddam Hussain’s army mostly comprising Sunnis, and imposing of Sunni-hating Nuri al-Maliki on the country, and keeping him propped up their for long..
And seeing what the removal of strong ruler did to Iraq, the West did the same with Libya, messing up both the countries where the rulers, while ruthless with their opposition, had given the vast majority of their people fair degree of peace, and even prosperity.
And then, in its absolute wisdom, the West decided to remove Bashar al-Assad. And apart from financing anti-Bashar groups, the West even trained and armed an anti-Bashar Sunni force. Unfortunately, Some Muslim states are also involved in this dirty game. .
And in time, these trained and armed Sunni groups joined hands with the disgruntled Sunni elements from the disbanded Saddam Hussain’s army to form a powerful, vicious group called Daish.
The West would not have much problem even with that so long as Daish restricted its operation to the Muslim world, but unfortunately for them, the Daish is even attacking them, and they do not like it, obviously.
Somehow they forgot that if they put their neighbours house on fire, the heat and flames will reach their homes as well, and will at least scorch them, if not exactly burn them down.
But unfortunately, the West is still confining its remedial measures to treating the symptoms rather than the disease.
Sooner or later, the West will have to set its priorities right, and start resolving the long overdue problems, which it has the capacity to do, instead of creating new ones, just for the fun of it. And it has to awaken to the fact that with all the advancement that has taken place, it is no longer possible for the West to light one fire after the other, in the distant Muslim lands and to enjoy the show from a safe distance.
Karachi
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