Foreign Policy Analyst: There Are Too Many Jihadists To Keep An Eye On
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Foreign policy analyst Ed Turzanski reacted to Friday night's coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris, implying that the number of ISIS sympathizers in North American and Europe may be too numerous to thwart future attacks.
Turzanski, the John Templeton Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, talked with Chris Stigall on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT and stated that despite a strong commitment on the part of the French to prevent attacks, there are too many terrorists to keep track of.
"The French, more than any other European state, have a very robust counter-terror operation, which is why after 9/11, despite the fact that the US and the French governments were not on good terms with one another, when it came to counter-terrorism, we bolstered our cooperation with the French because they're good at this. But guess what, they didn't pick up what was happening on the weekend despite the fact that you had this multi-faceted, simultaneous attack going on in your capital. The question is why? Here's the answer. There are too many jihadists to keep an eye on."
He said one of the reasons is that movement inside Europe may not be restricted enough.
"This is where the border problem comes in, this Schengen treaty, that allows free movement throughout the entire European Union. ISIS, and Islamists in general, know the minute I get into one EU country, I can move freely throughout all of the others. I then find a very accommodating country, Belgium, France, where I can settle down, receive very generous government subsidies and segregate my community from anyone else."
Turzanski warned that conditions here in the United States are similar to those in France.
"There is a disturbingly large number of people who were admitted as refugees from Somalia, who have settled in Minnesota, and decided that instead of staying and making a life of it there, they were going to go back and fight for ISIS. We know this. The Director of the FBI has said there are more than 900 active probes of ISIS sympathizers in the United States. More than 900 active probes. How much man power do you require to monitor more than 900 individuals who are supportive of ISIS."
