Abstract
Terrorism has become the most important threat regarding international stability in the 21st century. Though the Euro Atlantic community considers that it is of the utmost importance to eradicate it, it is not able to set up a common strategy. Since the war in Iraq, the Bush administration has developed the doctrine of the Global War on terrorism, in which military forces are used to defeat terrorists and terrorism. On the contrary, European countries have decided to prefer a strategy based on political and diplomatic means in order to defeat terrorism. This divergence in strategy to fight terrorism puts into question the unity in the Western world. The American military campaign in Iraq has shown its limits. Far from its initial goal, it has given a fresh impetus to terrorism. The terrorist attacks in Madrid and London have revealed the determination of those terrorist groups to punish the countries that supported the military action in Iraq.
