An unknown number of British and other foreign gas workers have been killed in Algeria for no better reason than that they were Westerners who became targets for Muslim fanatics, and apparently ‘collateral damage’ in a rescue attempt.
Al Qaeda, which has been in eclipse since the death of Osama Bin Laden almost two years ago, has won itself another bloody headline. And Algeria takes its place in a jigsaw of areas of extremist violence that extends across the globe.
Statistically, a Western traveller or expatriate worker is far more likely to die in a motorway smash in the snow than to be murdered by Al Qaeda. But after every new attack, foreigners will continue to feel unsafe – whether they are on the north Kenya coast, in Egyptian resorts, or, now also, across large tracts of North Africa.
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Threat: Terrorists have become more eager to attack Westerners in faraway places. This picture shows militants in MaliAs a result, Western governments are left to argue afresh about how best to tackle the multi-headed terrorist threat, often in countries such as Algeria where they have no clout.
It is argued that the West has less global influence than at any time since the 1930s. No great power can throw its weight around as once it did.
For their part, terrorists have become more eager to attack Westerners in faraway places because we have tightened security and made it relatively hard for them to strike at our homelands.
More... 'We're free!': Four British hostages tell Algerian television how they escaped Al Qaeda but 10 are still feared dead or injured in bungled refinery rescue raid Hostages were 'caught in a fireball': Helicopter gunships blew up cars carrying captives guarded by Al Qaeda 'I’m safe. Got me out this afternoon:' Text from father caught up in Algerian gas plant siege ends family's agonising 36-hour wait
But it is depressing how impotent Western governments are at protecting their citizens abroad.
In Britain, budget cuts have eaten deep into the overseas missions of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office: thus we have only a minimal presence in Algeria. Western intelligence services know little about what is going on there, or indeed in neighbouring Mali, now the scene of a serious war.
The intelligence services rightly argue that with limited resources and a chronic shortage of Arabic speakers, we cannot face all ways at once. Thus Western nations face tough dilemmas in deciding how to address murderous Islam abroad.
Terror: British workers were among more than 100 foreigners held hostage at the BP-operated Amenas natural gas field field in Algeria. It means Al Qaeda has won itself another bloody headlinePresident George Bush gave us a masterclass in how not to do it, with his response to the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York. He launched the so-called ‘war on terror’ against everybody associated with Al Qaeda.
The first strikes took place in Afghanistan within months, and used air power and special forces to help rebels oust the Taliban government and pursue Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda.
Although initially limited and reasonable objectives, matters soon went horribly wrong.
America and its allies invaded Iraq in 2003 because its weapons of mass destruction ‘posed a threat’ to the West, but the truth was that Bush was simply determined to oust Saddam Hussein.
Back in Afghanistan, allied forces set about trying to create a stable democracy. But we all know what followed: bloodshed on a scale that cannot be justified by anything the West has achieved.
Millions of people who once had no strong feelings about America and Britain are now our enemies.We have spent £15billion in Afghanistan since 2000, allegedly to keep terrorism off the streets of London. But in truth, we have merely shown how not to fight Al Qaeda.
Worrying: Western intelligence services know little about what is going on in Algeria or Mali. Islamists rebels in Mali seen here patrolling the streets of Gao last yearThe CIA has fallen in love with its Predator drones which can fly 400 miles, loiter in the sky for 14 hours, unleash Hellfire missiles with pinpoint accuracy, then potter home again, while being directed by a pilot working in the safety of a hangar in California.
Despite their success, many are worried that drone killing squads (operating outside the law and beyond political scrutiny and often inflicting severe civilian casualties), have contributed greatly to fuelling Muslim extremism and hatred for the West. Indeed, the drones probably create more enemies than they destroy.
As for the public in the West, we are supposed to be reassured that our armed forces are pursuing the bad guys of Al Qaeda, who threaten our societies.
But what if terrorists got hold of their own drones? It is only a matter of time before terrorists attack Western targets with remote-controlled planes.
Although government installations are shielded by jamming devices, it would be far easier to crash a drone than a hijacked airliner on to the White House or Downing Street.
Part of the problem in addressing Al Qaeda is that it is no single entity, but a muddle of groups in many countries, many of them semi-criminal, some bent upon enriching themselves as well as serving Allah.
Attack: Islamist militants this week seized hundreds of hostages deep in the Sahara. Members of Algeria's army are pictured close to the sceneThe alleged architect of the Algerian attack is Mokhtar Belmokhar, who calls himself leader of the Signed-in-Blood battalion. His objective appears to be retaliation for Western intervention in Mali, where Al Qaeda followers had been well on the way to securing control of the country as a safe haven, until the French took the dangerous step of dispatching troops to aid the tottering local government.
The chaos in Mali shows why the West is wise to be cautious about military involvements in the Muslim world.
Many of the fighters there, and most of their weapons, drifted in from Libya after the Western-aided rebels deposed and killed Muammar Gaddafi. Here is yet an example of its unintended consequences.
Meanwhile, Downing Street sees a ‘moral imperative’ in assisting the rebels to remove the murderous President Assad of Syria.
But intelligence and military experts have been warning our government, and President Barack Obama, that many of the rebels are hard-core Islamists.
If they manage to gain power, it is unlikely they will prove comfortable bedfellows for us.
Remote: After every new attack abroad, western foreigners will continue to feel unsafe. The In Salah gas project in the Sahara desert, Algeria, is picturedAll the experience of the past decade shows that we should spend money on gathering proper intelligence about our Muslim enemies abroad, and giving support and advice to other nations’ security forces in fighting them.
But the best way to win over moderate Muslim opinion is by displaying extreme caution about launching military interventions.
Since 9/11, Al Qaeda has launched several major attacks that have cost many lives. The 2002 Bali bombing killed 202 people; 191 died in the 2004 Madrid bombings; the 7/7 attacks in London killed 52 people as well as the four bombers.
But in recent years, the terrorist movement has failed to achieve any murderous spectacular. Even so, we should always be alert to the fact that no society can ever be immune from the assaults of enemies, many of whom simply envy and resent our success.
Our grandparents had to endure vastly worse things at the hands of the Nazis in the Second World War. Al Qaeda is puny by comparison. Britain remains a relatively safe, relatively privileged land.But intractable and murderous fanatics such as the Algerian hostage-takers will continue to launch spasmodic assaults on Westerners wherever they can.
We must show a small portion of the courage our forefathers displayed, and bear the pain these murderous anarchists – which is what Al Qaeda’s terrorists really are – inflict upon the innocent.
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