European Responses to Terror Examines Europe’s Policies on Extremist Violence

(New York, NY) -- The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) today released European Responses to Terror, a detailed examination of European government policy responses to acts of political and religious violence from the end of World War II to the present. 

The analysis report found that too often, weak, ad hoc strategies in response to extremist violence failed to deter future attacks or dismantle terrorist networks in Europe. The report’s case studies document lapses in effective counterterrorism policy that contributed to tragic attacks, as well as successes in overcoming dangerous extremist groups. Case studies include: The Munich Massacre of 1972; Iranian Assassinations in Austria and Germany; 7/7 al-Qaeda Bombings in the U.K.; ISIS’s 2015 Paris Attacks; and ISIS’s 2016 Brussels Bombings.

As Europe grapples with threats by ISIS, al-Qaeda, and other extremist groups, governments will need clear, consistent, and proactive strategies and superior intelligence, otherwise Europe will remain vulnerable to additional attacks on its soil.

 

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On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel where, in the space of eight hours, hundreds of armed terrorists perpetrated mass crimes of brutality, rape, and torture against men, women and children. In the biggest attack on Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, 1,200 were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza—where 101 remain. One year on, antisemitic incidents have increased by record numbers. 

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