Europe Hasn't Faced Up to 'New Terror': We Need to Get The Queen Bees

The Europeans have got it wrong in thinking the terrorist threat can be contained by taking a localised, kid-gloved approach.

What the world is grappling with now is a new, globalised menace, one that has to be fought jointly by developed countries and moderate Muslims, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew said in an interview with Newsweek.

'The Europeans underestimate the problem of Al-Qaeda-style terrorism,' he said. 'They compare it to their own many experiences with terror — the IRA, the Red Brigade, the Baader-Meinhof, ETA. But they are wrong.'

Describing Al-Qaeda-style terrorism as 'new and unique', he noted that an event in faraway Morocco was capable of provoking extremist groups in Indonesia.

'There is a shared fanatical zealousness among these different extremists around the world. Many Europeans think they can finesse the problem, that if they don't upset Muslim countries and treat Muslims well, the terrorists won't target them.'

But that is a fallacy, he said, bringing up the terror threat in South-east Asia as a case in point: 'Muslims have prospered here. But still, Muslim terrorism and militancy have infected them.'

He told Newsweek that both Singapore and Thailand had been targeted in recent years, even though neither had mistreated its Muslims.

The more forceful American approach had its shortcomings too. 'You must use force. But force will only deal with the tip of the problem. In killing the terrorists, you will only kill the worker bees.'

What is needed, he said, is to get at the 'queen bees' — the clerics who spread their twisted ideas of Islam, poisoning the minds of the young.

We Need to Get The Queen Bees

Richard Nixon once remarked that had Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew lived in a different country in a different time, he would have achieved the status of a major historical figure — a Churchill, Disraeli or Gladstone. Lee recently turned 80, having for 45 years carefully observed international trends and maneuvered to keep his city-state secure and prosperous. While in Singapore last week, I asked him what he made of the European-American divide so evident in London. "The Europeans underestimate the problem of Al Qaeda-style terrorism," he said. "They think that the United States is exaggerating the threat. They compare it to their own many experiences with terror — the IRA, the Red Brigade, the Baader-Meinhof, ETA. But they are wrong."

He went on: "Al Qaeda-style terrorism is new and unique because it is global. An event in Morocco can excite the passions of extremist groups in Indonesia. There is a shared fanatical zealousness among these different extremists around the world. Many Europeans think they can finesse the problem, that if they don't upset Muslim countries and treat Muslims well, the terrorists won't target them. But look at Southeast Asia. Muslims have prospered here. But still, Muslim terrorism and militancy have infected them." Lee pointed out that Singapore and Thailand have both been targeted in recent years, though neither has mistreated its Muslim populations.

"The Americans, however, make the mistake of seeking largely a military solution. You must use force. But force will only deal with the tip of the problem. In killing the terrorists, you will only kill the worker bees. The queen bees are the preachers, who teach a deviant form of Islam in schools and Islamic centers, who capture and twist the minds of the young." Lee pointed to the trial of Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, one of the plotters of the Bali bombing, sentenced to death by an Indonesian court. On hearing the sentence he said, "I'll be happy to die a martyr. After me there will be a million Amrozis."

-snip

(Fareed Zakaria in Newsweek, December 1, 2003)
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Quote:

Lee was critical of both sides of the Atlantic alliance on Iraq. "When America and Europe are divided, when Japan is hesitant, the extremists are emboldened and think they can win against a divided group. The terrorists' tactics for the time being are to hit only Americans, Jews and America's strong supporters, the British, the Italians, the Turks, warning the Japanese but leaving others alone. They intend to divide and conquer."

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