Banning the burkini doesn't produce terrorists. But it does make the people who are already alienated, who are already disenfranchised, I many cases, economically disenfranchised in a place like France in many of those neighborhoods, and make them say, ah, ISIS's message is true and real.
Michael LeiterThey [ French] still have an open border in Europe. And they have a Europe which doesn't have an integrated intelligence system like we do in the United States.
Michael LeiterYou've got a huge American population, you've got a small, small, small subset that is radicalized, and you have an even smaller subset that actually takes action. And you can't cover everyone who has some contact, someone bad. What you need is offense overseas, defense at home with intelligence and law enforcement, and really deep engagement with these communities.
Michael LeiterYou have the intelligence front and the engagement front. On the intelligence front, the French are better than many of their European counterparts. But they are really challenged in two specific ways.
Michael Leiter