91制片厂

Editor鈥檚 note: ISIS has taken responsibility for Tuesday鈥檚 explosions at an airport and a metro station in Brussels that killed 34 people and injured more than 200. It is the latest claim in a wave of terrorism since ISIS began its deadly assaults outside of Syria and Iraq.

91制片厂 Today spoke with 91制片厂 Manchester's听homeland security expert Jim Ramsay, professor of security studies, and Melinda Negr贸n-Gonzales, assistant professor of politics and society, about the recent attacks.

听

When Jim Ramsay walked into his classroom at 91制片厂 Manchester Tuesday morning, he set aside his planned lesson and asked students to talk about the terrorist attacks in Brussels.

What does your gut tell you? What鈥檚 going on? That's what Ramsay, a professor of security studies and a leading authority on homeland security education, asked his students. He was, he says, trying to create perspective, noting, 鈥淏ad guys have always been on the planet.鈥�

And that鈥檚 true. The word terrorism, meaning to use violence or intimidation to further a political, religious or ideological goal, was first recorded during France鈥檚 Reign of Terror in the late 1700s when more than 16,000 people were beheaded. In recent years, the strategy 鈥� if that鈥檚 what it is 鈥� has still employed that barbaric act as well as mass bombings and suicide bombings.听

鈥淭here was obviously a lot of frustration and anger. Everyone asked 鈥榃hy?鈥欌�� Ramsay says of students鈥� reaction to the killings in Belgium. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 an illogical question because it鈥檚 predicated by a group鈥檚 trumped-up ideology 鈥� they鈥檙e using God as an excuse for what they鈥檙e doing when maybe the answer is just that there are people who want to see the world burn.鈥�

Melinda Negr贸n-Gonzales, assistant professor of politics and society and coordinator of the politics and society program at 91制片厂 Manchester, puts it another way, suggesting maybe it has nothing to do with religion. Maybe the weight of feeling disenfranchised, of feeling they have no voice, no power, has led people to join these groups that offer them a place to belong.

鈥淲e know that a fair number of people drawn to ISIS are not particularly religious. There is a theory out there that a lot of these people are sort of drifters, or second and third generation immigrants who feel they aren鈥檛 being treated fairly. People become radicalized because they are looking for a place to vent their anger,鈥� says Negr贸n-Gonzales, who teaches the class Political Violence & Terrorism. 听

鈥淪cholars of terrorism are less focused on ideology than the root causes 鈥� what lets someone be susceptible. People want to belong to an important group. There is something missing in their life so they want to become someone, become a leader 鈥� especially young men who become empowered by joining groups. They lose sight of religion. It鈥檚 about feeling manly.鈥�

And those feelings aren鈥檛 something that will change by carpet bombing听ISIS or closing our borders to Muslim immigrants, the professors say.

鈥淲e are a nation of immigrants. You can鈥檛 turn back the clock. You don鈥檛 fight a global threat by becoming isolationists,鈥� Ramsay says. 鈥淲e need to do exactly what world leaders did in response to this recent attack. We need to stand united; we need to join forces; we need to be together on this.鈥�

鈥淗ow we fight them is to make them less relevant,鈥� he adds. 鈥淵ou have these people who don鈥檛 have anything to do, who can鈥檛 feed their families, who are suffering from shortages, who are armed, and they go and do what we would do if we didn鈥檛 have food or jobs 鈥� they join an organization they think will do something about it.鈥�

It is exactly that thinking that needs to come into play as governments try to find a way to combat terrorism, Negr贸n-Gonzales says.

鈥淓ven if the U.S. and its allies launched an effective, successful attack, we would still need to dismantle the jihadist network. Even if ISIS was militarily defeated in Syria, there are already terrorist cells in Europe and the U.S. that can continue to exist,鈥� Negr贸n-Gonzales says.

To stress that point with her students, Negr贸n-Gonzales uses counterterrorism exercises that provide a multipronged approach to the problem to help them understand that military action alone isn鈥檛 the answer.

鈥淎 solution has to entail a lot more. It needs to include working with a variety of communities, targeting at-risk youth before they become radicalized, working with youth in prisons 鈥� we know that some of the French jihadists had spent time in jail 鈥� all that needs to be dealt with,鈥澨� Negr贸n-Gonzales says. 鈥淓ven people whose jobs are to keep America safe 24 hours a day know it will take more than just military action.鈥�

Ramsay says using a human security approach that focuses on providing people with food security and environmental security could help make extremist groups less compelling to potential recruits.

鈥淚f more people had the ability to feed their family, to work, to be engaged, to live a life, more people would see the bad guys as less relevant. They wouldn鈥檛 need to join those groups because they鈥檇 have their own structure,鈥� he says, adding, 鈥淲e can鈥檛 make terrorism disappear. There鈥檚 no victory lap here.鈥�

And while it appears that the timing of Tuesday's deadly explosions could be tied to the recent arrest of Salah Abdeslam, a prime suspect听in the November terrorist attacks in Paris, Ramsay says it also could have been unrelated.

鈥淚 would guess there are a variety of groups in world that have a plan in their back pocket, and when it suits them to strike, they do,鈥� Ramsay says. 鈥淚t could have been in their back pocket, and they were looking for a reason. Or it could be someone woke up Tuesday and said 鈥榯oday鈥檚 the day.鈥欌��