The trail of several of the hijackers behind last week's attacks on landmark US buildings leads to Europe and officials have warned that more potential extremists are lying in wait to be activated for new strikes.
Analysts say so-called sleepers, trained agents who lead a normal life until activated by their commanders, have taken advantage of Europe's lax internal border controls and built on close historical, often colonial, links with Muslim countries.
PHOTO: AP
Whether Europe provides more of a haven for such extremists than North America is questionable, but security officials say failings in coordinating police and judicial action across the continent has certainly not helped crack the extremist networks.
Since last Tuesday's devastating attacks, however, police across Europe have stepped up investigations into militant Islamic groups, some suspected of involvement in the hijackings and others thought to be behind separate planned violence.
Three of the suspected hijackers who smashed planes into landmark US buildings studied in the northern German port city of Hamburg, while authorities said on Thursday there may be another 100 trained sleepers in Germany preparing for violence.
"These criminals do not want to go directly from Afghanistan or the United Arab Emirates to the United States so they spent years in Europe to build up a false Western identity. It's like money laundering," said one German security expert.
European investigators said on Monday that recent arrests in Belgium and the Netherlands had uncovered a plot by Islamic militants to attack US interests in Europe.
"It is clear we are dealing here with a network of radical Islamist Mujahideen [Islamic fighters] which has spread across Europe," said Belgian deputy public prosecutor Berhard Michel.
"It is clear that Europe has to get organized, and is getting organized, to counter this threat."
EU ministers met in Brussels on Thursday to review proposals for a joint anti-terrorism policy including a common arrest and extradition warrant.
Several European countries have large Muslim communities, often as a result of colonial links such as those of France with North Africa and Britain with Pakistan.
Most members of such communities condemn extremist violence, but some provide tacit support and alienated youths provide a recruiting ground for radical Islamic groups.
"In some cases it is easier to come here than to the US to get training and education and plug into networks, but I don't think Europe has a disproportionate level," said Steven Sokol of the Berlin-branch of the Aspen Institute, a US think tank.
Spain has said gangs smuggling illegal immigrants into Europe could also be bringing in "international terrorists." Spain is a major entry point for illegal immigrants from North Africa, the vast majority of whom are Moroccans.
Rodolfo Ronconi, the head of Italian Interpol, said on Thursday that those involved in the suicide attacks may have used Italy as cover to enter Europe, adding that Italy's high level of immigration made it hard to keep track of entrants.
"They get work and then later it emerges that they are sympathizers with Islamic Jihad who are able to move with absolute freedom within the confines of Schengen," he said, referring to the harmonized visa agreement which allows unrestricted travel among most EU states.
Luiz Martinez, a researcher at the National Foundation of Political Science in Paris, agreed.
"There's a long tradition of illegal immigration into Europe and once you're in it's easy to cross borders," he said.
"The irony is that although it may be easier to get into Europe, police here are actually probably tougher on surveillance of extremist Muslim groups, especially in France, than they are in the United States."
Many note that Europe is no different from the US in that it is difficult in open and democratic societies to root out every potential extremist, warning against using the attacks as a pretext for harsher immigration and surveillance laws.
"In a democracy we have this openness which leads to this kind of vulnerability," said Sokol. "There is a tremendous fear that there are even more sleepers in America."
In Germany, the government has stalled on presenting new legislation designed to open the country to more immigration, although it insists it will go through with the plan.
"I'm a bit concerned about policy-making on the hoof," said Steven Everts of the London-based Centre from European Reform.
"People start to mix up all sorts of issues. A lot of people are trying to use the political dynamic to push for stricter immigration controls," he said.
"Unsavory characters can use our openness and plural politics, but that doesn't mean we should throw it all away."
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