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Nikkei Asian Review

After Brussels, Time for West to Change Tack on Terror

March 23, 2016
by
Daniel Twining
2 min read
Defense Cooperation
The tragic terrorist bombings in Brussels on Tuesday serve as a reminder that while many in the West would prefer to focus on domestic affairs, their enemies will not grant them that luxury and are determined to bring the fight to them.
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The tragic terrorist bombings in Brussels on Tuesday serve as a reminder that while many in the West would prefer to focus on domestic affairs, their enemies will not grant them that luxury and are determined to bring the fight to them.

The metastasizing terrorist threat in Europe and the continuing crisis in the Middle East suggest that the trans-Atlantic allies have got the balance wrong. America's hands-off approach to the war in Syria has helped enable Islamic State terrorism to strike the heart of Europe. It has also unwittingly added momentum to a human wave of refugees that threatens to overwhelm America's most important ally in world affairs.

It is time for a new, forward approach that leverages the considerable strengths of the West while shrinking the space for terrorists to operate and for populists to whip up public hysteria.

First, counterterrorism must start at the source. What some see as former U.S. President George W. Bush's overreach in the Middle East has led to President Barack Obama's underreach -- including the total withdrawal of American forces from Iraq and a fatalistic, do-nothing policy on Syria, against the advice not only of Republican leaders but of Democrats like Hillary Clinton.

Photo Credit: (Martin Meissner/Associated Press)