Then came the rise of “lone wolf” attackers who acted on their own, without training from or often even contact with the terrorist groups they claimed to serve. A decade and a half of war has not delivered Western populations to safety, highlighting the gap between rhetoric and reality. Advertisement Continue reading the main story“Ghettoization, polarization, and alienation in a country like France are profound,” Mr. Neumann said. At security conferences in Western capitals, officials and analysts began to worry about whether they could prevent a “Mumbai-style attack” in their own countries. The enemy, whether Al Qaeda or some other group, became seen as a cohesive group that operated from far away.

Source: International New York Times July 15, 2016 20:56 UTC