08/04/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-10046

THE TERROR NETWORK IN EUROPE

Al-Qaida and other Islamic extremist terrorist groups are still actively recruiting members throughout Europe. As Peter Gridling, the director of Europol, the European Union's law enforcement agency, said, "We've learned that almost all countries have al-Qaida-trained people and sympathizers. We know that they are spread all over Europe and that there is contact between [them]."

Despite the surge in terrorist activity, law enforcement agencies in Europe are making progress in their effort to root them out. Since the September 11^th attacks on the United States, hundreds of suspected terrorists have been arrested in a number of European countries, including Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Last December, the U.S. and Europol signed an agreement to increase strategic and technical co-operation to prevent, detect, and suppress international terrorist networks.

German police recently arrested several men, including the former roommate of Mohamed Atta, believed to have been the ringleader of the September 11^th terrorist attacks. French police have arrested eight people suspected of helping plan a shoe-bomb attack on a flight from Paris to Miami in December. Richard Reid of Britain is accused of attempting that attack.

Authorities in Spain arrested four new al-Qaida suspects. One reportedly had videotaped American landmarks. And at least one of the suspects is believed to have been recruited by an al-Qaida cell that included perpetrators of the September 11^th attacks.

In the wake of September 11^th, the civilized nations of the world are taking seriously their obligation to fight terrorism. They know that terrorists respect no limits, either geographic or moral. As U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell put it, "In this global campaign against terrorism, no country, no nation has the luxury of remaining on the sidelines. Every country is vulnerable and every country has the ability and the responsibility to contribute to the anti-terror campaign."