Five years after 9/11: a shifted view of the world

Part of Europe's problem, as ever, is its patchwork nature. Some countries, particularly those with troops in Iraq or Afghanistan, feel more exposed than others, and hence feel greater urgency to act. Britain, the Netherlands, and Denmark, which arrested a suspected terror cell last week, feel they are among the most vulnerable. Finland and Slovenia may feel relatively immune by contrast.

Another problem is the differing legal and judicial systems in the different countries. Some have muscular laws for detaining suspects; others do not. Some have brought in robust, even authoritarian antiterror laws; others have not. Some have tolerated firebrand clerics spouting hate in mosques; others have taken a dim view of such antics, and have deported the culprits.

"There are now 25 countries in the EU, whereas the US is just one country," says Mr. Dohel. "The US can seal its borders and coordinate action with its centralized intelligence agencies. In Europe, we're expanding our borders without any centralized intelligence agencies brought into place."

In this context, the sharing of important information can be a problem. For example, the alleged plot to blow up trans atlantic airlines was uncovered by close collaboration between British, US, and Pakistani intelligence services. Other European agencies were frozen out, not out of pique or negligence, but to prevent a leak, which might have compromised the operation.

The hundreds of arrests across Europe in recent years suggest that police and intelligence agencies have upped their game. Yet there have been few successful prosecutions. In Britain, for example, there have been some 1,000 arrests since 9/11 under terrorism legislation, but barely 20 convictions.

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While Europe may have become a target and center of operations for terrorist cells, the US and Islam are the two poles around which 21st-century geopolitics may increasingly revolve.

This does not necessarily mean that the world is enduring a "clash of civilizations," as defined by Harvard professor Samuel Huntington's 1996 book of that name. Dr. Huntington himself has said that hasn't happened; and that Islam and the West now simply have many issues between them, with some handled more successfully than others.

Many Muslims see Al Qaeda killing other Muslims in the name of religion, and are repulsed. As Sunni–Shiite violence in Iraq shows, Islam isn't homogeneous.

"You have a lot of complexity within Islam itself," says Mr. Harrison.

Yet on one thing Muslims appear to agree: nearly 90 percent of the public in Islamic countries view the US as the primary security threat to their country, according to Mr. Singer.

The events of 9/11 have opened the world's eyes to a new conflict, driven by mutual hurt, fear, and suspicion.

"The conflict is not a battle between, but rather a battle within. It is not two blocs locked in battle ... but about a new global construct of mutual insecurity that has emerged," writes Singer in his analysis of the events of 9/11 five years on.

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