So why is France—a frequent critic of American foreign policy during the Bush years—endorsing, rhetorically at least, a similar approach in response to the Paris attacks? The designation likely reflects, more than anything, the country’s lack of feasible options. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a group based mainly in Yemen, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. But neutralizing that group won’t be easy. Under President Obama, the United States has launched several dozen drone strikes against terrorist targets within Yemen, but these attacks haven’t destroyed AQAP. On the same day of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, militants from the organization reportedly executed a car bombing in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, that claimed 35 lives.
Even if France could successfully repel AQAP, the country’s struggle against Islamic terrorism would be far from over. Each of the four attackers—the Koachi brothers, Ameny Coulibaly, and Hayat Boummediene, who remains at large—were born and raised in France, part of the country’s Muslim population of nearly 5 million. The New York Times has reported French Interior Ministry estimates that some 1,000 French citizens were either planning to join jihadist groups in Iraq and Syria or had already done so. This trend is hardly new: According to Al Jazeera, Cherif Koachi was arrested in 2005 for attempting to travel to Damascus, from where he had planned to enter Iraq and take up arms against the United States. Later, following a stay in Yemen, Koachi came under surveillance upon his return to France. Even so, French intelligence officials were unable to prevent his attack on Wednesday.
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