Terror will be the new normal in Europe if there is no centralised policy

Europe, March 28: The biggest threat from the ISIS is to Europe. There have been several write ups which even stated, " are terror attacks the new normal in Europe?" Unless Europe stands united and jointly fights the problem, the scenario could only worsen in the days to come.

First and foremost what Europe lacks is a centralized control of its resources, operations and policy. In the absence of this, an intelligence system cannot function effectively, V Balachandran former officer with the Research and Analysis Wing tells OneIndia.

Centralised control of policy:

Balachandran says that in the Indian system there are legal powers vested with the state police to undertake counter terrorist operations.

While this is far from perfect, the problems are compensated to a certain extent by the presence of the intelligence bureau which has been effectively coordinating counter-terrorist operations all over the country with legal support from the Ministry of Home Affairs. Our foreign policy, which is a necessary ingredient in evolving an effective intelligence strategy, is centralized on foreign threats like the Islamic State.

However in Europe each country arrives at different threat perceptions based on its own foreign and internal policies. While France took part in helping anti-Assad rebels and opposed Russian intervention, EU leadership took an ambivalent position on that issue, much to the chagrin of UK, France and USA.

Post the 9/11 attack the US tried to enlist the Counter Terrorist cooperation of the EU. The US stated that there is a need to ban the Islamic charities. However it found it hard to convince the EU when it came to banning the Hamas and Hezbollah charities since they were both political parties elected by the public.

Balachandran says that these are some of the difficulties faced by Europe and unless and until there is a centralised control of the resources, policy and operations the intelligence system cannot function effectively and the menace of terrorism would continue.

OneIndia News