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Former U.S. Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, says the attacks on Charlie Hebdo weekly in France were the result of an intelligence failure. The 2 brothers who conducted the attacks were already on a U.S. no-fly list. The U.S. has already alerted European authorites to about 3000 European citizens, about 1000 from France, who went to Syria to fight with Islamic State. Panettta says there is much room for improvement when it comes to tracking of individuals returning from conflicts in the Middle East, and making certain that the U.S. and Europeans are at the top of their game when it comes to security. Operationally the U.S. and Europeans need to be working together and being aggressive about individuals who have a history in these places in the Middle East.

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The head of France's intelligence service says France faces a threat from radicalized Muslims inside the country, and from French citizens who are fighting in Syria and Iraq returning to the country. While the number of Americans going to Syria or Iraq is said to be declining this is not the case with France.

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Mira Kamdar provides this first hand account of life in Pantin, France, in March 2015, a banlie on the northeastern outskirts of Paris, postal code 93. She describes the exceptional effort of Mayor Kern to bring the community together for a brighter future, and the plans to better integrate Paris with the suburbs.

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Sweden gets a centre left government led by Stefan Lofven, who gets a second term in office. He managed to put together an alliance of centre left parties with the Green Party and Liberal paties after the elections gave 40% of the vote to centre left and centre right and proved inconclusive. Lofven governs without a majority in parliament because the minority government has support form other parties with 77 votes in parliament that abstained. Both centre right and centre left did not want to join with the far right anti-immigration Sweden Democrats. Lofven says Sweden chose a different path than other governments that sought to form governments with anti-immigrant parties. He said "in Sweden we stand up for democracy, for equality. Sweden has chosen a different path." To get Centre and Liberal parties support Lofven promised to cut taxes, reform the rental housing market, and relax strict employment laws.

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Zalmay Khalizad, a former diplomat to Iraq, reports from Iraq after discussions with prominent Iraqis, describes the state of U.S. relations with Iraq under the Abadi government. He says the Ayatollah Sistani in Iraq prime minister Abadi, and Iraqi public opinion, now favor improved relations with the U.S. following the sectarianism promoted by prime minister Maliki and Iran's expanded role in Iraq. Other reports show Iraqi opinion in transition as the U.S. withdrawal promoted by Maliki has led to 2 million refugees, and huge dislocation of people with the expansion of Islamic State from Syria into Iraq. The change in opinion is also towards promoting better relations with Sunni countries. People in the region do not see a bright future with an increase in religious tensions that only lead to more destructive behaviours and increase in refugees. Towards the end of the Bush administration there was some hope that Iraq would see a bright future, only to see this reversed under Maliki's sectarian policies. U.S. public opinion has shifted away from any involvement following the failure of the people in the region to resolve differences and live peacefully. The cost of the wars with little gained as a result of the failure of the people in the region to work together in the common interest is a part of the public debate in the U.S. presidential election of 2016. Sectarianism in the region is the root cause of the growth of the Islamic State and the expansion of the war in Syria, and this has not only worsened the situation for the people in the region, delayed economic development given large oil resources, and left the region worse off than before. It has also led to the refugee flow into Europe worsening the situation in the European Union, adding to tensions in European societies such as France, Germany, Denmark and Sweden, following terrorist attacks and political parties promoting fear of immigrants. What started as a U.S. response to terrorism originating in this region in New York, followed by the war in Iraq, has led to more convulsions in this region, a huge number of refugees, whole country populations displaced, and requires a fresh rethinking about what people in the region can do to live and work together and promote the peaceful participation of people in their own development and growth, before Western societies consider further involvement. The statement about lost to Iran in the title also suggests framing of statements in the old way that are the root of the problem. When the dust settles years from now Iranians, Iraqis, Saudis, Yemeni, Turkish, Pakistani, Indian and other Muslim societies may want to look back at this period as reflecting the dangers of getting caught up in the geopolitics of world powers, letting religious sentiment override calmer thinking, and reflect on the brighter aspects of the common Islamic heritage in Iran, Turkey, India, expressed humanly as it is always is in different ways and forms. They can also take hope and confidence in the fact that European societies have struck the same rocks and emerged calmer, wiser, and better than before....

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Ms. Vallaud Belkacem is Education minister in the Socialist government of president Hollande in France. She grew up as a poor Moroccan immigrant in a poor neighborhood of Abbeville, in northern France. Her husband is Boris Vallaud, deputy chief of staff for president Hollande.

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The Economist says working age young people arriving as migrants from war torn areas such as Syria should be welcome in the EU, because the EU's society is aging. As the labor force declines in the EU, it will need younger workers to make up for the declining labor force and the large number of pensioners to be supported. Fears of terrorism could be overcome by having a strong screening process, and cultural assimilation can be speeded up by providing free language education and access to the university system, as in Germany. This would turn the Syrian refugee crisis into a plus for countries such as Germany, which have a large program for newcomers. The war in Syria is so deep and widespread, and emigrants have made a long and perilous journey, making asylum a credible reason.

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Questions raised in Germany whether Chancellor Merkel is losing touch with ordinary Germans with her statements on immigration. Merkel was critical of the Dresden protests on immigration saying the protestors had "prejudice, coldness, and even hatred in their hearts." This will present a new challenge to Merkel in 2015 as more ordinary Europeans question whether openness in immigration policies have gone too far.

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The effort by 90 German universities to provide education for free to the large number of refugees from North Africa and the Middle East that are being given a home in Germany in 2015-2016. In rural areas especially in former East Germany there is still uneasiness about the large number of refugees expected to come in 2015- but students and most people in urban areas are receptive. Yet the challenges remain as the university system is crowded with students and can accomodate only about a fourth of the refugges coming in 2015. The low unemployment rate and need for workers is helpful in absorbing such a large influx of people into the country. Volunteers and the German language classes will help better integrate the refugees into German society. Though there is a small minority of people opposed to immigration, Germany society remains largely open to taking in and helping the refugees, compared to the situation in Sweden and Denmark where recent elections showed parties with anti-immigration stance getting a larger share of the vote and becoming part of the government....

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Faces of migrants to Germany as Germany sees the migrants as what German chancellor Merkel calls- "A huge national challenge, not only for days or months, but for a long period of time." German civil society shows openness, and German educational institutions offer support. About 800,000 refugees will be accepted in Germany in 2015, says Merkel. An adult migrant is given 143 euros a month for pocket money and 216 euros for basic needs, medical costs are covered. Children are taken care of or attend school while their parents applications are reviewed. Registered migrants are given housing and food. The system works like nowhere else in the world, as most migrants focus on getting to Germany. The condition of the migrants is desperate- one child had not eaten for 4 days. And local doctors examine migrants, with some referred to local hospitals.