Tunisian President Vows to Fight Terror After Museum Attack

Do you remember what the world felt when the stirrings of the Arab Spring began in 2010 and how everyone seemed to feel as though the last bastions of authoritarianism and dictatorship in the Middle East was going to be wiped away? Like so many people in the Arab world, a feel of revolution, liberalism, and happiness swept the earth as people looked on hoping that the students and professionals would be able to stand up to the security forces of the countries they were trying to change. Unfortunately, the Arab Spring was squashed in many places and even where it did succeed, it has mostly led to a series of failed states and extremist groups taking advantage of those failures. However amongst the failures, Tunisia was able to create something new and powerful; a democracy that had it’s first fair elections and a somewhat peaceful transition of power. While the country might still have it’s growing pains, it was an example of how the Arab Spring could’ve gone if it had all worked out.

Even though Tunisia is a fully democratic country with a functioning government and a peaceful population, it has still had to deal with it’s share of terrorist attacks as extremists struggled to derail the democracy process. One of the deadliest attacks just happened today when two gunmen opened fire on tourists visiting the famed Bardo National Museum in Tunis. The terrorists killed 17 tourists and 2 Tunisians, as well as wounding over 40, before being killed by security forces.

This is the deadliest attack on tourists since 2002 when 19 people were killed in a bombing at a synagogue. It is believed that the attack happened because parliament was meeting next door to discuss anti-terrorism policies due to next-door Libya moving closer and closer to “failed state” status due to the extremists and militias fighting for control of the country. In a show of strength, parliament met later that night to finish what they had started.

With Tunisians being counted amongst the largest contingent of foreigners fighting for ISIS, there is a serious fear that this attack might not be the last of it’s kind. In response to the attack, the Tunisian president has promised to crackdown even harder on terrorists and those who are working to destroy the first democratically elected Tunisian government. Hopefully this attack will be the last and this example of the Arab Spring gone right can continue to influence and inspire people around the world.

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