Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Trump needs Muslims' help to defeat terrorism - but he risks upsetting allies

'It’s hard to see how the ban Mr Trump has imposed will make any tangible difference to the safety of the American people.' Photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Ever since Islamist terror groups such as al-Qa'ida launched themselves on the world stage with their unique brand of violence two decades ago, their principal aim has been to wreak mayhem in the Western world. The reason, for example, that law-abiding citizens are subjected to intrusive security checks at airports is because of al-Qa'ida's novel use of liquid chemicals to detonate bombs on airborne aircraft.

The justification provided by intelligence-gathering agencies such as America's National Security Agency for accessing private email accounts and mobile phones is their need to disrupt Islamist terror cells before plots come to fruition. Now America's President Donald Trump has added further to the climate of hysteria that characterises the West's response to Islamist-inspired terrorism with his blanket ban on people travelling from seven Muslim countries to the United States.

The Trump administration no doubt believes that the ban will help to make America's borders more secure, thereby protecting the American homeland against further acts of terrorism. The ban, moreover, has been implemented even though there appears to be scant evidence that any of the recent attacks in the US were carried out by terrorists travelling into the country from overseas.

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