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How Al Qaeda has made Europe dangerous

Newsweek magazine subscription holders can read about how the existence of Al Qaeda in Europe has made the continent a more dangerous place.

If you've got a Newsweek magazine subscription, you can read an extensive and well-researched article on how Al Qaeda has made Europe dangerous.

Newsweek's Middle East editor, Christopher Dickey, argues that, with the heightened threat of a terror attack at any one of Europe's major tourist destinations, 'Muslim-bashing' makes things worse.

"What is intensifying the threat at the moment is a combination of desperation among the core leadership of Al Qaeda and growing alienation among Muslims in the west, particularly in Europe," he writes.

The key to a significant terror attack in Europe is almost certainly small groups of Al Qaeda recruits who were either born, or brought up, in Europe and come from Muslim families or are converts to one of the more radical elements of Islam, he suggests.

Yet, these people represent only a tiny proportion of the tens of millions of Muslims living in Europe.

Among the examples he gives, Dickey cites the French 'burqa ban' as the reason why extremists have decided to target the country. And, he puts the case that French president Nicolas Sarkozy's approval ratings are so low that his political opponents of all parties now claim he is exploiting terror fears to distract public opinion.

Dickey also points out that the March 11th 2004 bombing of commuter trains in Madrid, which killed nearly 200 people, led to the electoral defeat of the Spanish government that had sent troops to Iraq.

"The power of [Al Qaeda] should not be overestimated, but the power of their cunning should never be underestimated," he concludes.

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Posted by Tori GibsonADNFCR-2767-ID-800110616-ADNFCR

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