Vehicle-terrorism: unnerving Europe

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Sun, 20 Aug 2017 - 04:09 GMT

BY

Sun, 20 Aug 2017 - 04:09 GMT

2017 Attack in Stockholm, Sweden

2017 Attack in Stockholm, Sweden

CAIRO – 20 August 2017: Spain, Barcelona, was the victim of the latest act of vehicle-terrorism in Europe in which 13 people were killed and around 100 injured on August 17. Equally as troublesome, is that the perpetrator was allegedly able to walk away and disappear.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility.

Spain, a reluctant largely insignificant partner in the campaign against the Islamic State, was an unsurprising target.

Europe has faced ten acts of vehicle-terrorism since 2016, with eight taking place in 2017 alone.

The most harrowing occurred in Nice, France, in July 2016. Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel rented a 19-ton cargo truck, which he deliberately drove into crowds of people celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais.

With 85 people killed and almost 500 injured, this attack showed the destruction that vehicle-terrorism could inflict, and signaled a major shift in the methods used by terrorists in Europe.

A day celebrating France and freedom was filled with fear.

This seemingly new form of terrorism has caused security experts and civilians alike major concern, as any preventative measures appear largely ineffective.
Automatic weapons and explosives are not needed to murder scores of people; all one needs is a driver’s license and a credit card.

Can anything be done to prevent vehicle attacks? In short, the answer is no. Everyday items will always be used, unsuspectingly, to commit atrocities around the world.

However, certain measures can be used to limit the destruction caused.

Following repeated terror attacks using vehicles, the UK is actively reviewing steps to increase the scrutiny faced by those attempting to hire vehicles. A new system is being considered, which would cross-reference would-be renters with police watch lists. Renters may also be required to provide additional security information.

“The industry is looking at ways to share data with the authorities in as real time as possible so it can be cross-referenced with counter-terrorism watch lists,” Toby Poston, director of external relations at the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) told the Sunday Telegraph.

It is debatable how effective this would be however, with vehicles easily accessible through a variety of means.

The most obvious form of defense is physical barriers, which are put in place to remove the possibility of a vehicle, traveling at speed, to penetrate an area occupied by civilians. These are often prevalent at significant landmarks, such as the black barriers at the Palace of Westminster.

This is also the case outside major embassies, with crash and attack-resistant bollards put in place as a preventative measure.


Hostile_vehicle_mitigation_barriers_installed_on_London_Bridge_to_prevent_future_attacks
Hostile vehicle mitigation barriers installed on London Bridge to prevent future attacks


In the days immediately following the London bridge terror attack in June, barriers were put in place on Waterloo, Westminster and Lambeth bridges, Transport for London confirmed.

However, typical of British cynicism, these have been subject to skepticism.

“The high concrete barriers on Westminster (and one side of Lambeth) bridge make sense for security, but could be perilous for cyclists,” Peter Walker, author of ‘Bike Nation: How Cycling Can Save the World’, and Guardian journalist, tweeted on June 5.

However, London, Nice, Barcelona – any European city for that matter – does not want to appear as an impenetrable fortress, with large intimidating barriers scattered around and distorting the beautiful cities.

A more appealing resolve is to construct concealed barriers. Road signs, plant pots, and sculptures can all be used in place of unsightly barriers to prevent against vehicle-terrorism. For example, outside the Emirates Stadium, the home of Arsenal Football Club, large cannons act as a physical barrier. An unrevealing and apt decision, since they provide adequate protection while being symbolic of Arsenal FC.

Again, there is hesitation over how much protection physical barriers can actually provide. It will never be possible to defend every space occupied by large numbers of civilians.

A day after the truck attack on a Berlin market in December 2016, Berlin’s police chief, Klaus Kandt, argued that physical barriers would not have prevented the attack. With, “so many potential targets” – 2,500 Christmas markets in Germany, and 60 in Berlin alone – a possibility will always remain.

With the rise in vehicle-terrorism, the discussion of appropriate preventative measures has been a focal point in related counter-terrorism discussions.

“When you have an open event, something that’s almost ad hoc such as a Christmas market, then the need to have greater security measures has become more pronounced in light of these events in Nice and now in Berlin,” Professor Tahir Abbas, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) said to the Guardian on December 20, 2016.

Abbas further explained, “Now designers and scientists have got the technology to create aesthetically pleasing barriers to prevent cars from ramming into buildings.”

What will inevitably occur is another major discussion on the freedom of the authorities to entrench further intrusive surveillance measures into the realms of normality. For example, the UK authorities already possess wide-ranging and highly intrusive powers.

The Investigatory Powers Act was passed last year, in what Edward Snowden referred to as “the most extreme surveillance in the history of western democracy. It goes farther than many autocracies,” in a tweet on November 17, 2016.

The pendulum between providing necessary security from a realistic security threat, and maintaining personal liberties and freedoms, must remain in balance. In times of crisis it is easy to skew our beliefs in respect to what is cruel and unusual. Europe must remain a bastion of freedom and individuality.

However, a major review must take place.

With terrorists dictating the rules of the game and utilizing whatever means of terror are available, the authorities are always playing catch up. Vehicles create the greatest challenge however. A highly mobile and easily accessible weapon, it will never be possible to guarantee safety from an everyday item.

“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand” – Seneca the Younger

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