SA has no special dispensation from terrorist attacks

25 November 2015 - 02:25 By The Times Editorial

Setbacks on the battlefields of Iraq and Syria, where Islamic State is trying to establish a caliphate governed by strict sharia law, might have spurred the jihadists to change strategy and focus on soft targets in Europe and elsewhere. In the run-up to the Paris atrocities, which targeted soccer fans, music lovers and diners, IS had taken a beating in both countries. It lost control of the northern Iraq city of Sinjar and of a strategic road connecting Mosul with its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa.As Iraqi government forces deployed to retake Ramadi, Russia stepped up its aerial bombardment in Syria, allowing troops loyal to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, supported by Iranian forces and Hezbollah fighters, to advance.US jets, meanwhile, targeted hundreds of oil tankers - oil being an important source of revenue for the terror group.The Paris attacks, preceded by the bombing of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt, underlined the fact that, though relatively insignificant in number, IS has global reach.The propaganda value was not lost on other terror networks and a deadly terror attack on an foreign-owned hotel in Mali - claimed by an al-Qaeda affiliate - followed a week later.The possibility of more headline-grabbing attacks by small groups of terrorists from competing groups trying to outdo each other is a security nightmare.Because of its relatively advanced economy and numerous potential targets, South Africa is certainly not immune from such threats and we need to be vigilant at all times.Our intelligence capabilities remain considerable - even if the police's crime intelligence unit has been hampered by infighting and leadership vacuums.But our mainly nonpartisan approach in world affairs, progressive, rights-based constitution and open democracy that enshrines the rights of minority communities are probably our best defence...

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