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Never Turning Your Back on a Threatened Danger

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Posted: March 23rd, 2016

By Kevin Hulbert

Kevin Hulbert is a former senior intelligence officer in the CIA's Directorate of Operations who retired in June 2014.  He is currently the President of XK Group.  Kevin served multiple overseas tours as CIA Chief of Station and Deputy Chief of Station.

The terrorist attacks in Brussels this week highlight two things:  First, the Islamic State is ramping up its efforts to attack the West, and second, Europe is fundamentally unprepared to confront the growing specter of violent radical Muslim extremism. 

Tuesday’s attacks in the heart of Europe were tragic but certainly not surprising to any intelligence professional.  This was the third major terrorist attack in Western Europe in little over a year, and even the most casual of observers can recognize that what is happening in Western Europe is a pattern of behavior rather than one-off occurrences.  This was no lone wolf attack but the work of an organization, and the Islamic State’s later claim of responsibility confirmed this suspicion. 

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