National Security, Values and the Terrorist Threat: Lessons From the 9/11 and French Attacks

On January 7, 2015, two gunmen entered the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly magazine, and killed 12 people. The gunmen were identified as brothers Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, French citizens of Algerian descent. They purportedly attacked the magazine due to the publication in Charlie Hebdo of cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed. The following day, Amedy Coulibay, a French citizen of Malian descent, reportedly killed a French policewoman in a Parisian suburb. Authorities would later discover that the Kouachi brothers and Coulibaly, all Islamic extremists, had together been members of the same jihadist cell and that the incidents were linked. On January 9, 2015, French police located the Kouachis and killed the brothers during a final standoff. The same day, police in Paris also killed Coulibaly as he held several people hostage at a kosher supermarket in the city.

In his latest Huffington Post piece, Center for Migration Studies (CMS) Executive Director Donald Kerwin draws parallels between and lessons from the French terrorist attacks and the US response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He writes: “In refining and implementing its national security strategy, France must be particularly vigilant in upholding its core values. It should not compromise its principles as part of a misguided strategy to pacify either home-grown jihadists or right-wing extremists. The challenge is not one of ‘recalibrating’ the line between security and rights but one of recognizing that rights further security and national unity.” Mr. Kerwin also discusses the importance of immigrant integration as an antidote to the radicalization of youth.

To read his essay, visit:

Donald M. Kerwin, “National Security, Values and the Terrorist Threat: Lessons From the 9/11 and French Attacks,” Huffington Post (Posted January 17, 2015)