After Paris, Brussels was always suspected to be the next target for a terrorist attack. It’s less-than-desired security apparatus, the presence of a large number of migrants and the fact that it is the capital of the European Union placed it in the middle of the terrorist map. On Tuesday, it happened. Two bombs went off at the Zaventem airport on the outskirts of Brussels, leaving 10 dead and scores injured. A third bomb exploded at the Maalbeek station killing at least 20 people. Aided by CCTV footage and vital information provided by the cab driver who transported the bombers to the airport, Belgian authorities arrested a member of the cell responsible for the attacks.
The explosions came four days after the arrest of Salah Abdeslam, the prime suspect in the Paris attacks, prompting investigators to believe that the attacks could have been staged in retaliation for the arrest. Belgian police have been on the lookout for Salah for the past two months and it is possible that the Brussels attacks were planned in advance and the arrest of the Paris mastermind was a conicidence, because to plan and execute bomb blasts at such short notice and under the eye of security forces is not easy.
The Brussels attack is likely to affect Europe in a much deeper way than the Paris shootouts. The series of bomb blasts on the transport system in Madrid in 2004 resulted in the fall of the government and led to Spain’s pull out from the Iraq war. The recent attack could force European states to install tighter border controls and check posts. Elements of the Schengen Agreement, which guarantees free movement within the EU, have already been suspended to allow certain states to deal with the refugee influx. Demands for a complete repudiation of the Agreement will get louder. The attacks will strengthen right wing political parties, which are critical of the refugee policy and place a lot of pressure on Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, who recently suffered electoral reversals. In the US, Donald Trump seems to be the only person to have gained from the Brussels blast and the Republicans will find it harder to eject him from the race.
What is being played out today is the result of a flawed policy by former US president George Bush which foolishly thought democracy would bloom in West Asia after the toppling of Saddam Hussein, who, by the way, had done a lot to keep terrorist organizations at bay. To think that Donald Trump could be president is scary, to say the least. His pathological hatred for Muslims is a recipe for disaster which is more likely to visit Europe than the US, which is separated by the Atlantic.
Terrorist attacks are political in nature and the present one is aimed at driving a wedge between the large Muslim population and mainstream Europeans. Hence, terrorism requires a two-pronged strategy. Firstly, a tighter security net needs to be thrown over the continent. Surveillance needs to be increased and pressure to break cells must be relentless. Security agencies might break nine out of ten cells, but even one can slip through to cause horrific damage. Terrorism cannot be solved by military actions. Instead, it would be more prudent to alleviate the rage within communities that gives rise to terrorist attacks. Secondly, Europe and the US need to pause, take a second look at the Muslim world, and build a foreign policy that alleviates the anger.
