Fighting al Qaeda in Europe

One of the lessons of September 11th is that terrorists aren't relegated to remote caves in the Middle East. Terrorist cells are everywhere, including the United States and its closest allies.

To flush out terrorists in Afghanistan, the Bush administration brought its bombs. To hunt al Qaeda and other terrorists is Yemen, Georgia, and the Philippines, the administration sent in hundreds of Special Forces.

But what about the terrorist cells in London and Hamburg, Germany, which played key roles in the September 11th attacks? There things get much more dicey. The U.S. can't simply strong-arm its powerful European allies into doing what it wants. And it certainly cannot begin to think about sending American troops into these countries.

This hour, a look at the genesis of terrorist cells in Europe and the difficulty the U.S. faces in trying to root them out. Is our close relationship with Western Europe making it more difficult to fight some of the largest and most important terrorist cells in the world?

Guests:

Paul Wilkinson, Britain's foremost expert on terrorism, professor at the Centre on Terrorism and Political Violence and St. Andrew's University, special advisor to the commission charged by the Blair administration to study terrorism in Britain.