Phares addresses the EPP Conference in Paris on Terrorism |
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Written by The Group of the European People's Party (Christian-Democrats) and European Democrats (EPP-ED)
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Wednesday, 02 July 2008 |
 Walid Phares EPP-ED Group Study Days focus on securityThe Group of the European People's Party (Christian-Democrats) and European Democrats (EPP-ED), the most influential group in the European Parliament with 288 Members from the 27 Member States, held its Study Days in Paris during the first few days of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
| Chaired by Joseph Daul MEP (UMP, F), the European centre-right parliamentary group has concentrated its three working days on the theme of security in Europe: security for citizens, energy security and food security.
| More than thirty speakers addressed MEPs who were joined by French Ministers Alliot-Marie, Barnier, Lagarde and Morin, Polish Minister Klich, German Minister Schmidt, the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering MEP, the President of the UMP Group in the National Assembly, François Copé, the Secretary-General of the UMP, Patrick Devedjian, the European Union Counter Terrorism Coordinator, Gilles de Kerchove, as well as European Commissioners Ferrero-Waldner, Barrot and Tajani.
| The event has been transmitted live on the EPP-ED website. http://www.epp-ed.org/Activities/pday08/day085_en.asp |
02/07/2008 | Speech by Professor Walid Phares, "European Foundation for Democracy" |   |
Remarks by Professor Walid Phares, European Foundation for Democracy Journées d’Etudes du Groupe du PPE-DE Paris July 2, 2008 JIHADIST TERRORISM IDENTIFICATION AND COUNTER STRATEGIES Executive Summary of the presentation by Professor Walid Phares Introduction: The study and analysis of the so-called “Jihadist Terrorism” is highly relevant to European policy makers and citizens because of the impact it has on European Security, Economy and Foreign Policy. The inability to understand and explain this phenomenon has been a major reason behind the strategic failure in containing and reversing the threat which growth continues to expand across the continent. Three Questions are to be addressed: The Identification issue, the Failure in Perception and Strategic Guidelines. 1) Identification a. Self Identification: How do the Jihadists identify themselves? b. European Debate on Root Causes: Arguments and Counter Arguments Foreign Policy Economic Disenfranchisement Socio-Psychological Stress Theological Debate Ideological root c. A History of Jihadism: From Ideology, Movements and Strategies. The 1920s: Salafism, Wahabism and Brotherhoods The 1970s: Khomeinism Pre WWII Cold War Strategies 1990s Strategies Current Strategies: Global, in Europe. 2) An Ideological Warfare 1945-1990: The first stage in the Arab and Muslim World 1990-2001: The second stage in the West and in Europe 2001-2008: The third stage in Europe and Worldwide 3) Strategic Guidelines a.European Priority: Define the Ideology b.Explain it to the European Public c.Isolate it from other legitimate crisis d.Encourage Debate within the Arab and Muslim communities in Europe e.Support Democracy Forces in the Arab and Muslim world Professor Walid Phares is a Visiting Scholar with the European Foundation for Democracy and the author of the books Future Jihad, The War of Ideas and Confrontation |