The Al Qaeda Challenge

Intelligence officers in the UK have investigated 200 extremist networks operating in the UK and thwarted at least five terrorist attacks since the London bus bombings in summer 2005. Many suspects are British citizens, and public officials reflect on their society and its policies, trying to determine why so many British youth join extremist causes. Statistics released by MI5 Security Service prompt politicians and policymakers to move beyond investigating and combating terrorism groups, beyond a foreign policy that is regarded by many as anti-Muslim, to tackle a troubling trend – increasing numbers of young alienated adults raised in a democracy who do not find opportunity in education or the workplace and thus allow themselves to be groomed for radical causes. Society cannot remain silent on areas of concern, contends this editorial from “The London Times,” and the need is urgent “for constant engagement, at all levels, in building bridges, seeking shared values and countering extremism.” – YaleGlobal