Cato: Responding to Brussels

Just four days after Salah Abdeslam, the mastermind of last fall’s Paris attacks, was finally captured, the Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for this morning’s terrorist attacks in Brussels. The attacks, which have killed more than 30 and wounded almost 200, provide another chilling reminder of how dangerous the world can be.

As Brussels tends its wounds, the simple question looms: How should Europe and the United States respond?

In and around official Washington, the script is becoming sadly predictable. Immediately following the news, administration officials assert their resolve and commitment to combating terrorism: “Attacks like these only deepen shared resolve to defeat terrorism around the world”

Close on their heels, administration critics line up to fear monger, launch cheap insults at Obama for not paying enough attention the terrorism, and to talk tough about striking back at ISIS. All the Republican candidates criticized Obama for staying in Cuba. Donald Trump took the opportunity to point out that he has long been in favor of closing up the border while Ted Cruz called on the president to recognize that “Radical Islam is at war with us” and for “empowering law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized.”

Finally, both Europe and the United States are likely to ratchet up the war on the ground against ISIS. To date this approach has born decidedly mixed fruit. On the one hand ISIS has certainly lost significant ground over the past year. On the other hand, very little of that success can be traced directly to U.S. or French military efforts.

Rather than go through the motions focused on short-term political gains, both Europe and the United States should pursue a long-term strategy. That strategy might take many forms but at heart a sound long-term approach needs three fundamental components.

First, a long-term strategy requires an enduring commitment to openness and tolerance. Both Europe and the United States benefit tremendously from immigration, both economically and socially, and from a vigorous marketplace of ideas sustained by diverse religious, racial, and ethnic populations. The costs of closing borders, polarizing society along ethnic and religious lines, and limiting civil liberties will far outweigh whatever benefits they might bring in the short run.

Read more at https://www.cato.org/blog/responding-brussels