The wrong bandwagon
For all its appearances, the Brussels attack was not just another one of those high-profile hits that has made ISIS, and the Islamic terrorism buzzword, famous. It marks a major turning point in the war against terrorism. Two is a trend, as they say in the world of science, and Paris and now Brussels means the paradigm of the war has just undergone a confirmed shift. No doubt this will draw a spirited response from Europe in general and Brussels in particular, and rightly so. But will it also, finally, provoke the necessary soul-searching that the west must also undergo if this fight is to be really fought and won?
Da’ish, clearly, is far from down and out and will mutate further before the war is over. By erecting a theatre of war in Europe, however limited, it is once again grabbing the initiative – which it suddenly snatched after taking Mosul and was only relieved of by Russian and Iranian involvement in the war. But, essentially, it is able to strike deep in Europe because already deep-rooted Muslim discontent has helped it overcome logistical and recruiting problems. Along with yet another aerial blitzkrieg that the west will mull post-Brussels, Europe must also immediately address Muslim grievances if it wants to deprive Da’ish of its most cherished foothold.
Then there is also the migrant problem to consider in present day Europe. Sadly, though, it seems that the attack has given the right-wing just the kind of fodder it was looking for. Instead of playing a crucial part in helping overcome the ‘Muslim terror’ phenomenon, Europe’s more conservative political establishments are bent upon not only shutting the refugees out – the people running from the people that just bombed Brussels – but also restricting and monitoring Muslim presence on the continent. People and capitals subscribing to such ideas are hopping onto the wrong bandwagon. They must realise that they are only stoking the fire of terrorism. Europe, just like much of the Muslim world, is now engulfed in the terror war. It, too, must now play a part in helping calm matters.