April 04, 2016
What ISIS Wants: Punishing Refugees for Brussels
On Tuesday, March 22, twin explosions at the Zaventem Airport and Maelbeek Metro Station rocked Belgium’s capital city of Brussels, killing at least thirty and injuring 230. This comes just days after authorities captured one of the key figures involved in the November 13 Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek. Pundits and terrorism experts alike will spend the weeks and months ahead outlining how Belgium and Europe need to strengthen their counterterrorism capabilities.
These ideas are important. But these events will also undoubtedly fan the flames of right-wing anti-immigrant rhetoric spreading throughout Europe, despite the fact that two of the three Brussels attackers were identified as Belgian citizens. Ultimately, this will harm the thousands of migrants arriving to Europe’s shores by the week who seek asylum from their war-torn homes. Rather than falling prey to inflammatory rhetoric from right-wing parties, which further fractures a delicate political climate, Europeans must present a united front and stand against these anti-immigrant and anti-refugee policies.
Read the full article in The National Interest.
More from CNAS
-
9/11 swallowed U.S. foreign policy. Don’t let the coronavirus do the same thing.
Commentary
For two decades, American foreign policy has been shaped by the 9/11 attacks. The catastrophic wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, our failure to see the full threat posed by Russia...
By Ilan Goldenberg
-
Big Ideas for NATO’s New Mission in Iraq
Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls for America’s allies to “get more involved in the Middle East,” NATO defense ministers last month agreed to “enhance” the Atlanti...
By David H. Petraeus & Vance Serchuk
-
The American Public Wants a Sustainable Middle East Policy
Commentary
After the U.S. strike on Qasem Soleimani, Americans feared the United States was on the brink of war with Iran. “World War III draft” memes circulated around the internet, and...
By Kaleigh Thomas & Emma Moore
-
The Iranian Missile Strike Did Far More Damage Than Trump Admits
Commentary
Over 100 American soldiers have been treated for traumatic brain injuries following Iran’s missile strike on Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq. The strike came in retaliation f...
By Loren DeJonge Schulman & Paul Scharre
