During a house search 20 years ago, Belgian policemen investigating the Algerian GIA (the Armed Islamic Group) network discovered an Arabic document. Page one had a dedication to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. It was the first jihad manual ever found in Europe. The GIA was only one of many terrorist organizations to put down roots in Belgium.
Over the past few decades the country has turned out to be a platform for Action Directe, the Red Army Faction, ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna), the Irish Republican Army and several other terrorist groups.
The importance of Belgium for global terrorism became even clearer on Sept. 9, 2001. Two days before the attacks on the US’ Twin Towers, in northern Afghanistan, then-Afghan minister of defense commander Ahmed Shah Massoud — the last man standing against the Taliban — was assasinated by two terrorists who had entered Afghanistan using Belgian passports.
Other recent terrorist events can be traced back to the Belgian capital. Mehdi Nemmouche, who in May last year killed four people in the Jewish Museum in Brussels, had been staying in the suburb of Molenbeek. Early this year in Verviers, Belgium, the Belgian police dismantled a terrorist group with links to Molenbeek. Ayoub El Khazzani, who in August was planning to attack the Thalys train service from Amsterdam to Paris, got on the train in Brussels after staying in Molenbeek.
The reasons why Belgium is attractive to terrorists are diverse.
First there is its strategic location between France, Germany and the UK. In two hours one can cross Belgium by car, and because Belgium is part of the Schengen area its outside borders are open, making it extremely easy for people to enter and leave the country quickly.
Second, the anonymity of Belgium’s capital appears to offer an ideal hiding place, with some sympathizers for the terrorist struggle — individuals, not communities — willing to give a helping hand to plotters. The fact that the name of Molenbeek turns up so often is a concern.
Molenbeek — one of Brussels’ 19 districts — has a population of about 100,000 with about 30 percent of foreign nationality and more than 40 percent with foreign roots.
Unemployment is more than 25 percent, with youth unemployment even higher. Young inhabitants, often with Muslim backgrounds, do not get the same chances in the labor or housing market, and testify how in their everyday lives they are confronted with racism. They have the perfect profile to be prone to radicalization.
If the Belgian state had put more effort into integrating migrant communities, the potential for radicalization might be significantly smaller today.
Third, the Muslim experience in Belgium has characteristics that differ from other European countries. There is a lack of local imams; most of the imams have been imported from abroad or educated there. Belgian security services point to an important religious influence from Wahhabi Islam, “sponsored” by Saudi Arabia through the Grand Mosque in Brussels.
Fourth, Brussels has the reputation for being a place where you can easily buy illegal firearms.
The fact that the city has no fewer than six different police zones makes the fight against illegal arms trafficking and other forms of organized crime cumbersome and inefficient.
Last, Belgium has a relatively small security apparatus. Although Brussels is the diplomatic capital of the world, Belgian state security only has about 600 employees (the exact figure is classified information). Its military counterpart, the ADIV (the General Intelligence and Security Service) has a similar number. That makes just over a thousand intelligence officers to secure a country that hosts not only NATO and the EU institutions, but also the World Customs Organization, the European Economic Area, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol), another 2,500 international agencies, 2,000 international companies and 150 international law firms.
One does not need to be 007 to understand that the security challenge is huge — not only taking into account terrorism, but also espionage and cybercrime. The disregard of the Belgian political world for intelligence and the lack of an intelligence culture have allowed terrorist groups to proliferate.
More than 250 Belgians have left the country to fight alongside militants in Syria and Iraq; about 75 have died in combat and 125 have returned.
The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence said that Belgium has the highest rate of foreign fighters per capita of all Europe.
Belgium’s anti-terrorism organization, OCAD, has a “consolidated list” of more than 800 people who are on the radar of the Belgian intelligence services in relation to foreign terrorist fighters. Two well-informed sources within the Belgian security services independently confirmed on Wednesday that two of the Abdeslam brothers, currently being investigated in relation to the Paris attacks, and Bilal Hadfi, the suicide bomber at the Stade de France, were on that list.
The question is why this information could not prevent the attacks in Paris?
Standing Committee I, which controls the Belgian intelligence services on behalf of the government, has announced an official investigation.
Meanwhile, the citizens of Belgium cross their fingers.
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