Paris Attacks May Distort Western Policy Focus

In this 'Expert Comment' the author writes 'Following the terror attacks in France [on 7 January 2015], Western governments should avoid the temptation to see relations with MENA solely through the lens of counterterrorism.

Reports that one of the Charlie Hebdo attackers may have trained with Al-Qaeda in Yemen will add to the fears of European policy-makers about violent spillover from conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This risks intensifying the existing tendency of Western governments to see the region – and the Western role there – through the lens of counterterrorism.

ESO: Background information: Shootings at headquarters of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, deaths reported http://www.europeansources.info/record/shootings-at-headquarters-of-french-satirical-magazine-charlie-hebdo-deaths-reported/

EUISS: Regions: MENA http://www.iss.europa.eu/regions/mena/

http://www.eeas.europa.eu/mideast/index_en.htm http://www.eeas.europa.eu/mideast/index_en.htm

Chatham House: Middle East and North Africa http://www.chathamhouse.org/research/regions/middle-east-and-north-africa

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