A crude bomb blast inside the London subway has left more than 20 persons injured. The blast was from a homemade incendiary bomb and the police have launched a manhunt for the suspect. US President Donald Trump, while commenting on the subject of terror attacks, said that the latest bomb attack in London is proof that his controversial six-nation travel ban was justified. He went on to add that the scope of the ban should be broadened.
The travel ban was introduced in late-January and its latest version mentions a ban on people who are entering the United States from a few terror-prone countries which happen to be Muslim-majority nations.
Moreover, the ban is also applicable to most refugees irrespective of their country of origin.
Trump feels travel ban can stop terrorism
Daily Mail UK reports that in the opinion of Donald Trump, the travel ban for outsiders who are entering the United States should be stricter. However, there are factors like politics that prevent the ban from being more effective. He justified his demand by quoting the latest bomb blast in the London subway that left many injured. Fortunately, there was no report of any loss of life.
The U.S. travel ban is in court and there are controversies over the definition of ‘family’. The ban is applicable to people of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen who want to come to America to meet their relatives who live here.
It was challenged and the Federal court has given clearance to those who already have established ties to the U.S.
However, there appears to be confusion on the definition of ‘family’ - a mother-in-law is treated as a bona fide relationship while many other relationships, normally considered to be close, do not feature in the list of family members.
As far as refugees are concerned, there could be exceptions for those who have already been accepted by a resettlement agency. This category has nearly 24,000 and they could be exempted from the ban and enter the U.S by end October.
Will the travel ban deliver results?
ISIS has, reportedly, claimed responsibility for the bomb attack in the London subway.
The present trend is for terrorists to go in for lone wolf attacks where locals are involved. There have been many such attacks in the past where individuals have driven vehicles into crowds to kill innocents.
Law enforcement agencies the world over are seized by the problem of terrorism and a concept like travel ban may not be an effective tool because those who commit such crimes may already be present in the country. What is important is for the security apparatus to be geared up with latest gadgets and there must be a regular exchange of information between agencies both at home and abroad.
