New York terror: Trump needs a change of strategy on terrorism

Syrian government forces attack Islamic State jihadistsin the eastern city of Deir Ezzor. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump claimed credit last month for the defeat of Islamic State in Raqqa, the defacto capital of the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate. The capture of the city, he said, was “a critical breakthrough” in a global campaign against jihadism.

The battlefields of Syria are just one part of the war, however. Yesterday’s attack in New York was a vivid reminder that the ideology that animates Islamist extremism is alive and kicking. As Islamic State loses territory, it is likely to return to its insurgent roots as scores of its fighters return to their homes in the West.

After Raqqa, the US President stands at a crossroads on counter-terrorism policy. His military-­centric approach must evolve.

Yesterday’s incident appears to be the deadliest terrorist attack in New York since September 11, 2001, when almost 3000 people died in an atrocity that changed history. The use of a utility to mow down civilians followed a sickeningly familiar pattern. London has seen three such incidents this year: at Westminster, London Bridge and Finsbury Park. The FBI has warned for years that these type of attacks are fiendishly difficult to prevent.

During his presidential campaign, the centrepiece of Trump’s anti-terrorism policy was a proposal to ban Muslims from the US. Since he has been in office that has turned into an attempt to bar most citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea from the country.

The policy was blocked for the third time last month by a federal judge who ruled that it ran counter to “the founding principles of this nation”.

The terrorist who struck in New York yesterday was identified by US media as a 29-year-old Uzbek national, who moved to the US in 2010. Uzbekistan, it is worth noting, was not one of the countries covered by Trump’s list.

Trump said on Twitter after yesterday’s attack that he had ­ordered the Department of Homeland Security to step up its “extreme vetting program”.

“I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already ­Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!”

On the campaign trail he also argued that political correctness was holding back the fight against terrorism.

But rhetoric goes only so far. Trump needs a plan. He used a trip to Saudi Arabia in May to urge the leaders of 50 Arab and Islamic countries to unite and “drive out” terrorists. He singled out Iran as a key source of funding and support for militant groups.

But Iran’s Shia population were not behind the 9/11 attacks. ­Al-Qa’ida and Islamic State are Sunni groups. The creed that animates them stems from militant Wahhabism, a sect of Islam that emerged in what is now modern-day Saudi Arabia in the early 18th century. Political expediency led the ruling House of Saud to embrace it as the state religion. Oil dollars have paid for its propagation around the world. It preaches terror.

Defeating Islamic State on the battlefield is a first step. If Trump wants to curb terrorism he must tackle Wahhabism.

The Times, Reuters