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MPR News Staff

Friday Roundtable: The aftermath of the Paris attacks

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Paris a week after the attacks
Muslims pray by the entrance of the Great Mosque of Paris during the Friday prayers on Nov. 20, 2015. Following the terrorist attacks in Paris last week, the Muslim community of Paris has seen an increase in security as the city remains on a high security alert.
Thierry Chesnot | Getty Images

A week after the attacks in Paris, three terrorism and international security experts joined MPR News' Kerri Miller to discuss the aftermath of the ISIS-coordinated strike.

Karen Jacobsen, acting director of the Feinstein International Center; J.M. Berger, a non-resident fellow in the Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World at the Brookings Institute; and Fred Kaplan, Slate's War Stories columnist and author of "The Insurgents," joined the conversation.

Highlights

The violent attacks, which left 130 dead, shook the confidence of many who believed geography protected them from ISIS.

"We hadn't seen, until very recently, [ISIS] really flexing their muscles outside of the Middle East and North Africa," said Berger. "But that's what we're seeing now."

France swiftly launched a military response, but many countries around the world are still struggling with how to combat the growing threat. That struggle is actually aiding ISIS, Kaplan explained.

"Just about every country and militia and movement in the Middle East, and outside the Middle East, fears and loathes ISIS. If they were all able to get together and do a common offensive against ISIS, ISIS would be defeated in short order," Kaplan said. "However, a lot of members of this would-be coalition fear and loathe at least one of their potential allies more than they fear and loathe ISIS — and ISIS knows this."

These divisions has allowed the terrorist organization to continue to operate without fear of a coordinated response.

Another effect of the Paris attacks has been the increased resistance to accepting refugees from Syria and surrounding areas. In the U.S., the House of Representatives approved a bill that would drastically tighten the screening process for Syrian refugees. This response, Jacobsen said, could actually work in ISIS's favor.

"I'm sure this plays very well to ISIS's play book," Jacobsen said of the U.S. and Europe's growing resistance to refugees. "Because [ISIS] can now send a bunch of messages to people about how the West is against Muslims and against Syrians."

To hear the full discussion on the Paris attacks and their implications for international affairs, use the audio player above.