Europe needs to have better, tighter security mechanism to stop attacks

THE TERRORIST ATTACKS IN PARIS ON FRIDAY, in which at least 129 people were killed and another 352 injured, has shocked the whole world. What lessons can we draw from the tragedy? Chu Yin, an associate professor from University of International Relations, asked in a column for ifeng.com:

What happened in Paris shows that France, or Europe as a whole, has failed to establish an effective anti-terrorism mechanism. Actually, in August, Europe narrowly escaped another tragedy when a terrorist tried to attack a train from the Netherlands to France. It was two US soldiers on leave and a friend traveling with them on the train who prevented any deaths by subduing the attacker.

It is surprising that the French anti-terrorism forces failed to effectively improve their work after that incident. French President Francois Hollande and his government should be held partly responsible for that failure. France and Europe need not only sympathy for the victims, but also an effective anti-terrorism mechanism.