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"This is an important moment for Europe to do some self assessment as to whether they have the law enforcement capability to find these terror cells before they perpetuate these attacks and for the United States to offer help to Europe and to Belgium to staff up law enforcement to learn from these mistakes," said Murphy (D-Conn.). He made his comments before speaking at a meeting of the Rotary Club of Stamford on Tuesday at the Sheraton Stamford Hotel.
At least 30 people were killed and more than 200 injured after terrorists detonated bombs at the airport in Brussels and in the city's subway system. The Islamic State In Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The attacks illustrate the crucial need for collaboration and a “continent-wide anti-terror platform” in Europe, Murphy said after an appearance at the Bigelow Center for Senior Activities in Fairfield.
Noting this is a time for sorrow and grieving, he said the U.S. should provide support to help Europe to consolidate efforts thwart terrorists. Salah Abdeslam, the main fugitive from November's Paris terror attack, was arrested Friday in a Brussels suburb.
But “it’s not enough to find the perpetrator after the attacks,” Murphy said. “Clearly, there is too much duplication.”
Murphy said that many European citizens are either sympathetic to or active supporters of ISIS.
"The real threat here is that many of these terrorists, who are European citizens, are just a plane ride away from the United States and bringing these attacks to our shores," he said. "I think there are some serious questions right now about whether Belgium specifically and Europe more broadly has the ability to find these very bad people and the cells they are organizing in before they carry out these attacks."
He said the United States should push European governments to focus on reform. Murphy told Rotarians that policing in Brussels is fragmented, with six police forces, which is still better than the 19 it had before consolidations.
"Stopping terrorism has to be about finding the people who planning attacks before they carry them out and not afterward," Murphy said. "It's important to bring these people to justice, but effective anti-terrorism activity is about rooting out these cells when they are in the planning stages. Clearly, there are some big holes in Belgium, Brussels, and potentially Europe at-large when it come to identifying these cells and stopping these attacks before they happen."
Europe has been uncomfortable employing surveillance techniques used in the United States, but believes they will have to adopt them.
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