On Tuesday 10^th March, in the second of our series on countering terrorism in the UK, we were delighted to welcome Lord Alderdice and Professor Peter Neumann.  They spoke in a discussion entitled ‘The Conundrum of Foreign Fighters In The Middle East: Who, Why, And Will They Bring The War Back Home?’, which was chaired by the Rt Hon the Lord Anderson of Swansea.

Peter Neumann said that returning foreign fighters could be into grouped in three categories: disillusioned, disturbed and dangerous, and said that it was important for governments to differentiate.  He also flagged up the threat of stay-at-home radicalised supporters of ISIS, pointing out that this ‘lone wolf ‘category had carried out the attacks in Paris and Copenhagen. He said that Libya was ‘ripe for a takeover by ISIS’ and predicted it could be the ‘bad news story of 2015’.  He concluded by saying that the threat was more diverse – it was not just about returnee foreign jihadists, but also about radicalised supporters and it was not just about Syria and Iraq, but about other places too.

Lord Alderdice pointed out that if ISIS were taken out of the equation, it would not mean peace in the Middle East.  He spoke of the extreme mobility of the terrorist problem, which meant that it was not a far distant issue, but something much closer.  He spoke of the critical importance of engaging and winning over young people in ways that would reach them, through the skilful use of social media rather than more conventional methods.

During the Q&A session, the Jordanian Ambassador, HE Mr Mazen Homoud, entreated the media to stop referring to the group as ‘Islamic State’, thus fuelling the propaganda and giving the idea of a ‘state’ legitimacy.

To listen again to the discussion, click here.