In the years since 9/11, government officials say Al Qaeda has undeniably been hurt. The Taliban government in Afghanistan was crushed. Without the Taliban's protection, the leaders of Al Qaeda were put on the run, and the terror group's cells all over the world became isolated, no longer able to communicate or coordinate their attacks without serious danger of discovery.
But by almost all accounts, Al Qaeda is trying hard to recover, and security analysts say that effort involves intense recruiting in Europe.
Here is how it works: Terror leaders, who continue to operate largely out of Afghanistan and Pakistan, know that anyone traveling directly to the Western nations from any predominantly Muslim country will be scrutinized. So they are reaching out through personal connections and the internet to frustrated young Muslims in countries such as Britain and France, selling a message of Muslim victimization.
Once a recruit is found, he can be matched with a team, trained, and hardly raise on eyebrow when he hits the immigration line at a U.S. airport carrying the passport of the friendly nation in which he was born. At least, that is what terrorism analysts say.
Here is what I wonder: How can western nations bridge the gap to these disaffected Muslim minority populations and effectively innoculate them against these recruiting strategies? Or should the Muslim community in the West be doing more to help?
