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Two views on an aborted Saudi terrorist attack, does it show resilience in face of terrorism or signs of the higher risk level. How does it relate to the golden mosque bombing in Iraq, and violence at Shell oil installations in the Niger Delta- all in matter of days?

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WSJ reporters Chow, Schechner and Kostov provide this exceptional report from the 11th Arondissement in France, scene of the terrorist attacks in Nov. 2015, describing the conflicting visions of French society- one secular and the other in other parts of the country anti-immigrant. The National Front of Marie Le Pen sees immigration as "a mortal threat to France" and won about 25% of the vote in France in the 2014 European parliament elections, a first for a anti-immigrant party in Europe. It did very well in rural areas and small towns of northwest France and southern France. The debate on immigration is now dominating headlines in Europe, including Denmark, Norway, Germany, France, Rumania, Hungary, and other countries. The Syrian refugee crisis has exacerbated the situation.

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A Pew Research Center poll in September 2016 finds 81 percent of Indians have a favorable opinion of Narendra Modi in 2016, compared to 87 percent in 2015. Even among supporters of the opposition Indian National Congress a majority say they have a favorable opinion of Mr. Modi. The author of the poll, Bruce Stokes, says the opinion of frustration of the Indian elites and media about the Modi administration is not reflected in public opinion. Recently the Modi government passed legislation for a national Goods and Services Tax replacing overlapping state and federal taxes that are seen as holding up growth.  Issues the Indian public ranks high are corruption, unemployment and terrorism.

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Hoover Institution scholar Fouad Ajami describes in this essay how a more active policy by the Obama administration could have prevented the chaotic situation in the Middle East, the sectarian conflict, the breakup of Syria and Iraq, the increase in terrorism eventually affecting France and the U.S., and the refugee crisis in Europe. This active policy he says would have included- keeping some presence in Iraq, and taking action to prevent the spread of the conflict by restraining regional and foreign powers and terrorism.

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Belgium's justice and interior ministers acknowledge the error in not taking action after being alerted by Turkish authorites of Islamic radicals suspected to be a serious terrorist threat. Turkey's president raised this issue in the media about the Belgian officials failure to act on a Turkish request to take into custody a radical arrested in Turkey for trying to enter Syria. The individual was one of two brothers who were suicide bombers in the attack at the Brussels airport and subway in March 2016.

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A WSJ/NBC News poll taken in Dec. 2015 after the San Bernardino terrorist attack on Donald Trump's proposed total ban on Muslims entering the country, shows 57% of the people surveyed opposed to it, and 25% supporting it. Among Republican primary voters 39% oppose it and 38% support it showing the Republican voters almost evenly divided on the issue, and the proposed ban not affecting Trump's standing with his supporters. About 56% of Republican voters see Trump in a positive light compared to 26% negatively, showing that Trump has strong support in the Republican party. The divergence in views sharpens when considering that half of Republican primary voters have an unfavorable view of Muslims while 79% of Democratic primary voters having a favorable view. In the country as a whole the poll shows about 60% have a favorable view of Muslims.

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Liz Sly of the Washington Post provides this exceptional account of the different phases of the war in Syria originating in 2011 with the Syria democracy protests, suppression of protests by the Assad regime, civil war by 2012 , Russian intervention by Putin, the U.S. under Obama and France under Hollande on the sidelines in 2012-2014. The result is a breakup of Syria by 2014 with coastal areas under the Assad regime supported by Russia and Iran, the Kurdish controlled areas, areas controlled by various rebel groups, and the control of other areas by Islamic State which also gained control of Mosul in Iraq. France conducting an air campaign in Syria in 2015 in response to terrorist attacks originating in Syria. With a number of foreign countries involved in support of Sunni and Shia factions in the conflict, the Turks opposing Kurdish autonomy, the U.S. supporting Kurdish forces after withdrawal from Iraq under president Obama, the situation by the beginning of 2016 was much more complex than in 2011. The five year period led to a situation where half of the population of Syria of 22 million is displaced or turns into refugees, about 2 million in refugee camps in Turkey, and 500,000 seeking asylum in Germany and Austria. In Iraq an additional 2 million are displaced or refugees with the Sunni-Shia conflict. Understanding of the events and insights over these 5 years can be gained from the group- "Events for the democracy protests and the struggle for freedom in Syria." The intervention of foreign countries and the missing element of U.S. leadership in the region in 2011-2015 as the U.S. and France remain preoccupied with economic crisis, lead to a situation where most Syrians decide to leave the country entirely. ...

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Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar says- “The cessation of firing was agreed between the military commanders of both sides through direct contact.” In fact that is what India asked the US - that Pakistan initiate by its general calling the Indian general asking for the war to stop only then would India agree to stop the war, as India had clearly informed Pakistan that it was not targeting Pakistan military only selected terrorist bases inside Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Jaishankar was responding in an interview with a European news reporter about his question on whether the nuclear aspect was kept in mind. It was an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.  Jaishankar made this clear to Dutch Broadcaster NOS- “We made one thing very clear to everybody who spoke to us, not just the US but to everybody, saying if the Pakistanis want to stop fighting, they need to tell us. We need to hear it from them. Their General has to call up our General and say this. And that is what happened.” "We have sent a clear signal to the terrorists that there is a price to be paid for carrying out such attacks, as they did on us in Kashmir in April. The firing was then started by the Pakistani military. We fired back in self-defense and once the Pakistanis understood that they were taking a harmful course, we were able to stop firing. This situation has not changed for two weeks, that is the status.”   ...

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France pays homage to a slain teacher with a ceremony at one of France's oldest universities going back to 1257, the Sorbonne. The event brings together the French from all parts of society as they tackle the second wave of the coronavirus. Centuries of tradition and search for knowledge and the role of one school teacher in a Paris suburb bring together the French nation as it mobilizes to create a society post virus and post terrorism of all kinds, with a new set of priorities around public services. 

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India's options to respond to a terrorist attack in Kashmir in are limited by winter weather and the global political situation. Saudi Arabia and China have moved closer to China in recent years. Saudi Prince Salman visited Islamabad, Pakistan, and New Delhi. Britain is distracted by Brexit, and the U.S. president is engaged in a struggle with Congress over a border wall with Mexico.

With no powers making efforts to de-escalate the situation India's prime minister Modi- who faces elections in coming months- has to craft a response that meets domestic pressures to respond with restraint.

 

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WSJ describes the role of U.S. Attorney General Barr working with president Lopez Obrador of Mexico in strengthening Mexican law enforcement, increased border checks to prevent heavy weapons trafficking, and making the changes in the legal system that would help extradition to the U.S. After a period in which Mr. Obrador vacillated in his approach for tackling migration he deployed the Mexican National Guard on the border with Guatemala. Mr. Barr met twice with Mr. Obrador to get Mexico's close cooperation to combat the opioid crisis in the U.S. After a new North American trade deal was signed into law to replace NAFTA Mexico is working closely with the Trump administration in a number of areas after initial disagreements. After the death of U.S. citizens in Mexico in an ambush in November president Trump called for designating the groups as foreign terrorist organizations. Mexico is now making changes for law enforcement and says it is doing so in Mexico's own interests. ...

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Tariffs are unconventional tools for border security yet appropriate in situations such as these. Canada could have done this before a 25% tariff was announced by DJT- it would have been common sense for Canada to do what it did after the tariff before the tariff- put 10,000 frontline personnel at the Canadian border with the US, appoint a minister in charge of drug flows and fentanyl, and list cartels as terrorists. Considering the damage to the US from the border it was imperative that Canada, and Mexico took responsibility for the borders a long time ago. 

Within 24 hours of the Trump announcement of 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico the leaders of the two countries turned around to do what should have been done a long time back.

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Tranlation of an oped article in French on the Lashkar -e Taiba terrorist group in Pakistan, and its links and sponsors in the Pakistan ISI agency which is itself a state within a state.

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The Economist says local grievances may have more to do with the unrest in Xinjiang than AlQuaeda or terrorist liks to the outside. And that the overwhelming use of force may only exacerbate the situation.

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Professor Mia Bloom of Penn State University has written two books on suicide terror. She point out that Al Quaeda learnt about suicide bombing from the Tamil Tigers terrorist actions in Sri Lanka, especially suicide bombings.

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Jaap Hoop Scheffer outlines NATO's priorities including cybersecurity, energy security, terrorism, and relations with Russia.

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From the beginning coordinated effort had little prospect between the U.S., the EU, and Russia to address Islamic State and terrorism with Russia's continuing its policies in Syria. This is less likely now with the shooting down of a Russian war plane over Turkey, continued tensions with bombing of Turkic populations on the border, and Russia's bombing campaign in Syria hitting targets all over the region.

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The U.S. under president Trump ends the 18 year long war with an agreement signed in Qatar between the U.S. and the Taliban. The Taliban are required to fight all forms of terrorism in Afghanistan as part of the agreement. In the first phase of the withdrawal of American troops, a third of the 12,000 American troops will be withdrawn with a similar reduction of NATO forces. This ends a costly war that cost about 1 trillion dollars and acted as a distraction from major problems in America such as aging infrastructure, and problems related to health, education and other services. President Trump was clear about his perception of America's role during a New Delhi news conference. America could not act in a police role for other states and regions, he said.

President Trump has secured support of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and India for the agreement to bring peace to the region.

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One of the longest running conflicts in Europe comes to a close as the ETA separatist group in the Basque region of Spain says it is apologizing for the terrorism and plans its dissolution. The Basque region including cities of San Sebastian and Bilbao has 2.2 million people and its own distinct culture and language. a ceasefire was declared in 2010. This happens as another region in Spain Catalonia is seeking a peaceful separation from Spain. In Catalonia which includes the city of Barcelona the region is divided with about half the people supporting separation and half opposing it.

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Bittner describes the problems facing the Merkel government in handling the refugee crisis and the terrorism threats with the bombings in Paris and Brussels, including the need for better coordination of intelligence in the EU.