"Krone" commentary

Terror increasingly mysterious

Analyzed for the "Krone": Foreign policy expert Kurt Seinitz(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

The terrorist attack in New Orleans has more in common with that in Magdeburg than just the car used as the murder weapon. Other similarities are also becoming increasingly puzzling. They don't fit into the conventional mold such as: Migrant on a terror mission or religious fundamentalist.

The driver of the New Orleans attack was a local man with an Arabic name and an army veteran. The perpetrator in Magdeburg had been living in Germany for two decades and was a religious dissident. Both were unable to cope with their lives. Both became radicalized on the Internet.

The driver killed in New Orleans had downloaded IS videos. How can such perpetrators be recognized at an early stage?

Social networks are once again proving to be a tool for radicalization. Mentally unstable people can no longer be reached by the outside world. This could only happen by intervening in these hate machines. But how can these be brought under control when the future co-president of the USA, Elon Musk, demonizes every restriction as an attack on freedom?

However, it is not so easy to make things easier for terrorists. In both New Orleans and Magdeburg, intended barriers against cars failed due to security loopholes (sloppiness, carelessness).

There are still major, difficult tasks ahead in the fight against terror.