The Future of Transatlantic Defense: More Europe

Europe faced a wave of ISIS-inspired terrorist attacks last year, from Brussels to Nice to Berlin. As ISIS-occupied territories in Iraq and Syria continue to shrink under the bombardment of U.S. and coalition forces, former CIA Acting Director John McLaughlin told The Cipher Brief, “I would anticipate the greatest post-caliphate danger is likely to be in Europe.”

Europe also faces threats from Russia, not the least of which is potential cyber hacking in planned elections. The Netherlands, France, and Germany will hold national elections this year, and all of them have expressed concern over Russian intervention, particularly because of the determination by the U.S. Intelligence Community that Russia was behind the hacking operation intended to influence last year’s U.S. presidential election. The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, Hans-Georg Maassen, warned in December of “growing evidence for attempts to influence the federal election.”