France’s Vulnerabilities in a Changing Terror Landscape

Europe is increasingly vulnerable to terrorist attacks because of the changing terrorism landscape.  Especially troublesome is the uptick in lone wolf attacks, particularly those that are ISIS-inspired, which may have been the case in Nice last Thursday, when 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove through a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day, killing 84 and injuring hundreds.

As Patrick Skinner – Director of Special Projects for The Soufan Group and former CIA Case Officer – told The Cipher Brief, “These are real, credible threats and the way our systems are set up, our current counterterrorism measures are not designed for this. They are designed to detect cell-based attacks, communications, and travel. These mechanisms are not designed for this type of one-person attack. Local police aren’t designed to handle this. Nothing is.”

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