Terror Threat Assessment in France Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Terror Threat Assessment in France - Essay Example Having colonized Algeria in the 19th century – the country later gained its independence in 1962 – there remained a significant Algerian and Muslim population residing within France’s suburban ghettos (Crumley). During the beginning of the 1990s Islamic Terrorist organizations tapped into this Arab population – roughly 5 million living in France – and established connections between them and Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan (Crumley). While the Islamic organizations are the predominant terrorist impulses within French society, there remains and a consistent threat from a multitude of groups that have been directly tied to France’s North African empire (Greenway 2009) . The most prominent of these terrorist organizations are the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). They are an Algerian terrorist group that has direct connections to Osama Bin Laden, having participated directly beside him in his anti-Jihad during the war against the Soviet Union. After the war ended they settled in France seeking to enact terror on the French government for their support of the Algerian government (Crumley). One of the major incidents regarding this terrorist organization occurred in 1995 when they planted a bomb in a prominent French location and were successful in killing 8 citizens and wounding an astonishing 150. Other incidents include a series of sporadic car bombings throughout the mid-1990s, and an attempted 1998 bombing at the soccer World Cup (Greenway 2009). When considering the extent to which these terrorist threats remain a common occurrence in France, one has to examine the extent to which the French government has enacted strict laws to prevent any such occurrence. After the mid-1990’s attacks the French developed a sophisticated intelligence network designed to monitor future terrorist activity. Perhaps the most significant occurrence, however, was the French enactment of all-encompassing laws regarding terrorism and those connected to it.