Post by maruf on Jul 9, 2005 3:10:15 GMT -5
Europe's homegrown radicals seen as risk to U.S
By Caroline Drees, Security Correspondent
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sg.news.yahoo.com/050708/3/3tdgh.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pockets of Muslims who reject Western values within Europe's Islamic community pose a security threat to the United States because they may spawn extremists who are just a plane ride away and do not need a U.S. visa, officials and experts say.
My comments:
This statement gets at the real problem the West feels it has. Muslims who do not accept our value of secularism/capitalism, or in other words Kufr--the rejection of Allah as the one who should be obeyed replaced by man made secular laws and values manipulated by the super rich capitalists who control all recourses and power. Those who are not fooled by shaitan tricks, those who see the flaws and weaknesses of democratic values delusions--these are the real potential threats. It is not the "terrorists" but those who do not have our values of freedom by worshiping the Nafs openly without restraint.
While the culprits behind Thursday's bombings in London, in which more than 50 people were killed, are not yet known, the blasts renewed concerns of a homegrown threat on a European continent that has foiled more than half-a-dozen Islamic militant plots since the September 11, 2001, attacks.
U.S. officials and analysts say a focus on militants in faraway places like Iraq or Afghanistan has overshadowed dangers closer to home, including an emerging radical threat among citizens of some of the United States' closest allies such as Britain and others in Europe.
"We are concerned about poorly integrated Muslim communities in Europe becoming vulnerable to extremist exploitation," said a U.S. counterterrorism official, not authorized to comment on the record.
"Recruitment and the subterranean network in Europe is ginning up again," said Kenneth Katzman, a terrorism analyst at the Congressional Research Service, the in-house think tank of Congress. "Warnings about this are escalating in Europe."
Those concerns loom especially large because many European Muslims hold European passports, which in most cases allow visa-free travel to the United States.
While the vast majority of European Muslims oppose violence and live harmoniously with their neighbors, counterterrorism officials say pockets of disgruntled Muslims who officials say are poorly integrated into European society are vulnerable to radicalization and recruitment.
Those groups often feel sidelined and complain of professional and social discrimination.
IRAQ CONCERNS
Counterterrorism officials point to the high-profile arrests of several European militants, such as convicted French September 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, convicted British "shoe-bomber" Richard Reid, three British men indicted over a plot to attack U.S. financial institutions, and a Dutch-Moroccan man who goes on trial on Monday for the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh.
They also point to a string of foiled plots in Europe, including one to bomb a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France, and another to launch chemical and bomb attacks in Britain.
Several officials and experts said they feared the Iraq conflict was making matters worse by giving militant Muslims terror war-making skills they can use when they return to their old neighborhoods.
"The risk of Jihadists (holy warriors) returning from Iraq is a serious one. We cannot exclude some will return having obtained skills that we don't believe contribute, frankly, to our common well-being," European Union Counterterrorism Coordinator Gijs de Vries told reporters on Friday.
Fully aware of the militant threat in Europe, U.S. law enforcement agents have been stationed in several countries to help gather intelligence and monitor suspicious groups.
"We definitely watch what's happening overseas, especially in Europe," said one law enforcement official, who declined to be named because only the media relations department may speak on the record.
"We look at it because of the attacks that have been happening in Europe," the law enforcement official said. "Also there's the issue of accessibility. They don't need visas or can easily get them."
Under the so-called "Visa Waiver Program," citizens of 27 mostly European countries may travel to the United States without a visa as long as they carry a computer-readable passport with high-tech security features.
Jeff Lungren, a spokesman for Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner who closely watches Visa Waiver issues, said al Qaeda and other militants sought to exploit security loopholes like these.
"It's certainly a concern," he said. "To the extent that it's easy to get an identity of a Visa Waiver country citizen and come into this country, you have to be aware of that. That's something we're continuing to address," he said.
By Caroline Drees, Security Correspondent
ADVERTISEMENT
sg.news.yahoo.com/050708/3/3tdgh.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pockets of Muslims who reject Western values within Europe's Islamic community pose a security threat to the United States because they may spawn extremists who are just a plane ride away and do not need a U.S. visa, officials and experts say.
My comments:
This statement gets at the real problem the West feels it has. Muslims who do not accept our value of secularism/capitalism, or in other words Kufr--the rejection of Allah as the one who should be obeyed replaced by man made secular laws and values manipulated by the super rich capitalists who control all recourses and power. Those who are not fooled by shaitan tricks, those who see the flaws and weaknesses of democratic values delusions--these are the real potential threats. It is not the "terrorists" but those who do not have our values of freedom by worshiping the Nafs openly without restraint.
While the culprits behind Thursday's bombings in London, in which more than 50 people were killed, are not yet known, the blasts renewed concerns of a homegrown threat on a European continent that has foiled more than half-a-dozen Islamic militant plots since the September 11, 2001, attacks.
U.S. officials and analysts say a focus on militants in faraway places like Iraq or Afghanistan has overshadowed dangers closer to home, including an emerging radical threat among citizens of some of the United States' closest allies such as Britain and others in Europe.
"We are concerned about poorly integrated Muslim communities in Europe becoming vulnerable to extremist exploitation," said a U.S. counterterrorism official, not authorized to comment on the record.
"Recruitment and the subterranean network in Europe is ginning up again," said Kenneth Katzman, a terrorism analyst at the Congressional Research Service, the in-house think tank of Congress. "Warnings about this are escalating in Europe."
Those concerns loom especially large because many European Muslims hold European passports, which in most cases allow visa-free travel to the United States.
While the vast majority of European Muslims oppose violence and live harmoniously with their neighbors, counterterrorism officials say pockets of disgruntled Muslims who officials say are poorly integrated into European society are vulnerable to radicalization and recruitment.
Those groups often feel sidelined and complain of professional and social discrimination.
IRAQ CONCERNS
Counterterrorism officials point to the high-profile arrests of several European militants, such as convicted French September 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, convicted British "shoe-bomber" Richard Reid, three British men indicted over a plot to attack U.S. financial institutions, and a Dutch-Moroccan man who goes on trial on Monday for the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh.
They also point to a string of foiled plots in Europe, including one to bomb a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France, and another to launch chemical and bomb attacks in Britain.
Several officials and experts said they feared the Iraq conflict was making matters worse by giving militant Muslims terror war-making skills they can use when they return to their old neighborhoods.
"The risk of Jihadists (holy warriors) returning from Iraq is a serious one. We cannot exclude some will return having obtained skills that we don't believe contribute, frankly, to our common well-being," European Union Counterterrorism Coordinator Gijs de Vries told reporters on Friday.
Fully aware of the militant threat in Europe, U.S. law enforcement agents have been stationed in several countries to help gather intelligence and monitor suspicious groups.
"We definitely watch what's happening overseas, especially in Europe," said one law enforcement official, who declined to be named because only the media relations department may speak on the record.
"We look at it because of the attacks that have been happening in Europe," the law enforcement official said. "Also there's the issue of accessibility. They don't need visas or can easily get them."
Under the so-called "Visa Waiver Program," citizens of 27 mostly European countries may travel to the United States without a visa as long as they carry a computer-readable passport with high-tech security features.
Jeff Lungren, a spokesman for Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner who closely watches Visa Waiver issues, said al Qaeda and other militants sought to exploit security loopholes like these.
"It's certainly a concern," he said. "To the extent that it's easy to get an identity of a Visa Waiver country citizen and come into this country, you have to be aware of that. That's something we're continuing to address," he said.