Paris attacks pit jihadist Islam against Western civilization. Israel has valuable lessons it can share
It's time we understood: we're in the midst of a third world war. This war will be global, too, but different from the two previous ones. This is a war between jihadist Islam and Western civilization; a war between radical Islam and anyone unwilling to bow to its political demands.
We will have to fight this war on the ground – with divisions and American, French and British tanks in Iraq and Syria, as well as the security measures that will be put in place on borders and by intelligence agencies in Belgium, France, Germany, as well as the Philippines, China and Russia. This war will be fought from the waters of the Mediterranean and from the air, bombing Islamic State and Al-Qaida targets throughout Asia and Africa, and with security measures undertaken in airports and aircraft all over the world. This will be the face of the third world war, of which are already a part. The claim of responsibility by the Islamic Sate reflects the organization's regular strategy: inflicting painful terror blows in places it can easily operate, with minimal effort and danger.
One can trace the start of this current terror wave to the attack on the Russian plane over Sinai three weeks ago. The assault in Paris was conducted according to the same strategy and for the same reason: the Western-led coalition is inflicting serious blows on the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq and losing control of important strongholds in the Islamic Caliphate it has established.
That is why IS is targeting its enemies' heartland. IS and Al-Qaida prefer to strike in Europe because it is considered the cradle of Christianity, and fundamentalist Islamic organizations still see it as the homeland of the Crusaders, who are consecrating a religious and cultural war against Islam. France and Paris were chosen for the coordinated attack not only because it has a tradition of human rights and freedom of movement, but also because France and its culture symbolizes everything that radical Islam fears. France outlawed the wearing of hijabs in public places, its top court affirmed the right of
Charlie Hebdo to publish caricatures of the Prophet Mohamed and, recently, President François Hollande rejected a request by his Iranian counterpart to remove wine from the menu of a planned state dinner in his honor. France is the only one that dared stand up to IS, and that is why it is now mourning the death of its innocents.
The second reason France was targeted is its large, veteran Muslim community living in large urban centers – fertile ground for radical Islamic preaching at neighborhood mosques. The Paris terrorists spoke fluent French and some were likely French citizens of African origin. This enables terrorists to blend in with the local population, to gather intelligence on targets and to escape after committing their deeds.
A tremendous amount of weapons and ammunition reach Europe from Libya through Sicily, Malta, Greece and other places. This Libyan weaponry moves like a deadly wave throughout Europe and is available to one and all.
Paris is viewed as the epitome of European culture and attacking it sends effective shock waves that impact our consciousness and sows horror. They were dressed appropriately, in black, armed to the teeth, a mix of reality and virtual reality, to optimize the effect.
Much time and sophisticated planning is required in order to carry out simultaneous attacks at seven different sites. In addition to planning, weapons and explosives must be obtained, targets chosen and cased, perpetrators recruited – who are willing to die. It is thus highly likely that the operation was months in planning.
All of Europe must prepare itself for more attacks. This will require reinstituting full border controls and courage to handle the challenging dilemma of balancing human and civil rights with the need to provide security. So far, the states of the EU preferred personal liberties for their citizens over defense against terror, and one cannot blame them. Now France and its neighbors will have to conclude that the most important human right is the right to life. This was not an intelligence failure. It was an entire conceptual failure that requires new thinking. The West will have to establish a joint intelligence agency which will conduct assessments and issue warnings – not just for Western Europe, but also relating to Russia, China and other countries. European states will also have to set up special forces and deploy them in urban centers for rapid response purposes.
The manner in which Israel manages to gather intelligence and react accordingly, and speedily, using the top commando assault units of the army, police and shin bet security agency, must serve as role models. European bureaucrats are sure to object to this model, initially, but they will probably not have much choice. Reality will impose such methods, as well as changes in legislation that will free these units and forces to act with determination to thwart terror attacks and to handle them effectively once they are under way.
Ron Ben-Yishai is a senior Israeli defense analyst. This article is adapted from the Ynet web site.
Great read!..........................