It has been reported that an Ohio man has been arrested by the FBI for planning to execute an assault on the U.S. Congress. He was arrested after he bought two assault weapons and 600 rounds of ammunition.
In the 90's I was writing a "fictional" book about a potential attack on the U.S. Capitol. However my plot was much more elaborate, involving foreign powers and stolen nuclear warheads. This planned attack shows that there is no need for an elaborate attack or nuclear weapons to damage the United States.
All it would take is one, two or three people with high powered assault weapons breaking into Congress to get a result like the Paris Charlie Hebdo shootings. If they rushed into a session of Congress with 30 round clips, we could see scores of dead and wounded Congress reps.
The Ohio man made the mistake of broadcasting his intentions and the FBI was able to get an informant involved. But if the plotters were like the brothers in Paris there would be no warning.
The NRA has made this possibility a real threat. They have fought the ban on 30 round ammo clips. They have fought the requirement of passing a background check if a buyer gets an assault weapon at a trade show instead of a gun shop. The NRA has even made it so that the federal government cannot tell who has bought multiple weapons - all the documents are kept on paper and off a national database.
ISIS in Syria has changed tactics. Instead of asking people to come to Syria they are now calling on Muslims in the west, primarily Europe and the United States, to launch their own attacks against targets. In Belgium, police raided a house and were shot at by a group planning a major attack. Sooner or later, it will be our turn to face an extremist who may not even be on the government radar, like this Ohio man.
When I researched my book (which was never published, so it could not have inspired 9/11), I realized that if a terrorist really wanted to hurt the U.S. that Congress would be a logical target. Flight 93 that went down on 911 is thought to have been targeting either Congress or the White House.
But the Ohio incident and the Charlie Hebdo tragedy shows that no such elaborate scheme would be needed. Gunmen running into the Capitol could quickly kill any security before it had time to react. If they timed it so that the House of Representatives or Senate was meeting, they could spray the chamber will bullets.
The result would instantly paralyze our government (even more so then what congress has done to itself). Under our Constitution, replacement Senators killed in such an attack could be appointed by the sitting Governor but replacement Congress reps would have to be selected by Special Elections, which could take months! No such in that process was adopted by Congress after 9/11.
I wrote about this issue in the chapter "Predicting 911..." in my book "Better Times Ahead April Fool" since I have been on TV as a terrorism analyst during the first Gulf War and 9/11. Before 9/11, no one thought such an attack could happen. We found out otherwise.
Our Congress needs to look at this issue. We adopted the 25th amendment to deal with a President who has been incapacitated. Congress should pass whatever it takes to deal with replacing a Congress if more than a certain number have been killed in an attack. Our response to such an event could be impossible if, for example, a hidden bomb or a missile strike --or an assault weapons attack-- killed most of either or both chambers.
It's not outside the realm of possibility. It's best to be prepared for the worst while hoping for the best. Otherwise, we could end up under martial law for months if Congress is attacked.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Today in Paris Muslim leaders walked with Jewish leaders to a Synagogue - An Interfaith Statement
The Paris gunmen have just been linked to a known Al Qaida recruit who roamed Europe for years.
They also claimed that Anwar Al Awlaki was the guy who paid for their training trips to the Middle East. Remember him? The radical American preacher who was killed in a drone strike, He sought western recruits to train for attacks on the west --bombing airliners, underwear bombs, etc. His acts led to subway bombings in London, etc. (Do you still feel this American-in-Yemen sending bombers to hit us should not have been a target?
Paris officials say today that they have information that more terrorist sleeper cells in Paris have been activated in the last 24 hours, targeting police. Things could get hotter. ISIS is still making millions per month while skillfully using social media to attract candidates, about 30% of them women.
Those same candidates may be feeling pressured and isolated as they peek out their windows at streets full of European right wing anti-immigrant protesters, like those marching in Dresden, Germany. It's a bad mixture. Hate and rejection in Europe makes the ISIS propaganda look more attractive.
The shooters were radicalized by American torture photos, provided training in countries collapsed by our invasion of Iraq, and have passports and local knowledge of European (or American) cities they grew up in, so we have to fix this broken china shop for our own safety.
It's in problem for both America and Europe. This is a problem that Europe has not handled well.
Two of the shooters had been arrested in 2010 in a plot, one had 240 rounds of assault bullets on him. Both were soon back on the streets. The authorities stopped monitoring them. Boom. The EU countries have not been coordinating their tracking of high risk individuals, such as those who go to Syria to fight.
It's worse. Since France is put of the EU (European Union) their citizens can freely travel to any EU country. In fact, you can literally drive from Paris to Damascus, Syria --much of it without showing a passport! Jihadis get to Syria via Turkey, which wants to be an EU member. this map will show you that Europe doesn't live on an island.
So how do we fight this? Hezbollah, amazingly, CONDEMNED the Paris attack on Charlie Hebdo. So what is the antidote?
This. Today in Paris Muslim leaders walked with Jewish leaders to a Synagogue - An Interfaith Statement was made.
Jewish leaders in Paris have called for more interfaith dialogue between Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities. Their rationale is that better communication and understanding is needed to counter the tiny but growing number of young jihadis trained in Iraq, Yemen and Syria, three of whom who just murdered journalists over a cartoon. They are right.
Charlie Hebdo 's biting satire has also been critical of Catholics, Jews, politicians, etc - there were no 'sacred cows' with them. No other newspaper would say what Charlie said or had such graphic political cartoons. The Japanese have a saying about a nail that sticks out "gets hammered."
But while the Catholics sued Charlie fourteen times over cartoons they didn't show up with AK 47's spraying bullets. But they aren't the only threats Drug lords south of Texas have done worse, killing journalists for doing what journalists do.
2012 was a record year for the number of journalists killed worldwide.
In Mexico journalists who simply write a story about gang murders are now targeted and assassinated on the streets. I quote from Wikipedia:
"Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists and among the ones with the highest levels of unsolved crimes against the press.[1] Though the exact figures of those killed are often conflicting,[2] press freedom organizations around the world agree through general consensus that Mexico is among the most dangerous countries on the planet to exercise journalism as a profession.[3][4][5] More than 100 media workers have been killed or disappeared since 2000..."
So, we have more than just Islamists attacking journalists. They have become targets WORLDWIDE. Russia has killed its free press and journalists who act independent with it. So the problem is BIGGER than just France and just Islamists.
The only way we will improve the Islam situation is by countering the propaganda by ISIS on social media and the radical preachers preying on unemployed youth.
The antidote is what they are doing in Paris -- getting different communities together and cooperating.
I have had dinners with Chinese, Indians, Brazilians, Europeans, Nigerians, etc. both in those countries and here in America in places like diversified Houston and Ft. Bend County. To me they are not stereotypes or names on a map; they are friends' faces.
If Americans would do what I have done they will discover a secret plain as day: how much we are all alike. All of us desire respect, an opportunity for education for our kids and an opportunity for a job and how everyone, even Muslims, just want to be left alone.
Most Muslims do not support Al Qaida. But if ISIS can create a backlash against Muslims, they hope that will help recruiting.
Ten percent of France is Muslim. Most French people know someone who is Muslim or do business with them in a store, etc. We have the same situation in the U.S. especially in diverse cities like Houston.
There is hope... it will take each of us getting out of our 'comfort zone' to meet Muslims and learn that the vast majority are on the same side as we are. That person to person outreach will defeat ISIS like nothing else.
They also claimed that Anwar Al Awlaki was the guy who paid for their training trips to the Middle East. Remember him? The radical American preacher who was killed in a drone strike, He sought western recruits to train for attacks on the west --bombing airliners, underwear bombs, etc. His acts led to subway bombings in London, etc. (Do you still feel this American-in-Yemen sending bombers to hit us should not have been a target?
Paris officials say today that they have information that more terrorist sleeper cells in Paris have been activated in the last 24 hours, targeting police. Things could get hotter. ISIS is still making millions per month while skillfully using social media to attract candidates, about 30% of them women.
Those same candidates may be feeling pressured and isolated as they peek out their windows at streets full of European right wing anti-immigrant protesters, like those marching in Dresden, Germany. It's a bad mixture. Hate and rejection in Europe makes the ISIS propaganda look more attractive.
The shooters were radicalized by American torture photos, provided training in countries collapsed by our invasion of Iraq, and have passports and local knowledge of European (or American) cities they grew up in, so we have to fix this broken china shop for our own safety.
It's in problem for both America and Europe. This is a problem that Europe has not handled well.
Two of the shooters had been arrested in 2010 in a plot, one had 240 rounds of assault bullets on him. Both were soon back on the streets. The authorities stopped monitoring them. Boom. The EU countries have not been coordinating their tracking of high risk individuals, such as those who go to Syria to fight.
It's worse. Since France is put of the EU (European Union) their citizens can freely travel to any EU country. In fact, you can literally drive from Paris to Damascus, Syria --much of it without showing a passport! Jihadis get to Syria via Turkey, which wants to be an EU member. this map will show you that Europe doesn't live on an island.
So how do we fight this? Hezbollah, amazingly, CONDEMNED the Paris attack on Charlie Hebdo. So what is the antidote?
This. Today in Paris Muslim leaders walked with Jewish leaders to a Synagogue - An Interfaith Statement was made.
Jewish leaders in Paris have called for more interfaith dialogue between Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities. Their rationale is that better communication and understanding is needed to counter the tiny but growing number of young jihadis trained in Iraq, Yemen and Syria, three of whom who just murdered journalists over a cartoon. They are right.
Charlie Hebdo 's biting satire has also been critical of Catholics, Jews, politicians, etc - there were no 'sacred cows' with them. No other newspaper would say what Charlie said or had such graphic political cartoons. The Japanese have a saying about a nail that sticks out "gets hammered."
But while the Catholics sued Charlie fourteen times over cartoons they didn't show up with AK 47's spraying bullets. But they aren't the only threats Drug lords south of Texas have done worse, killing journalists for doing what journalists do.
2012 was a record year for the number of journalists killed worldwide.
In Mexico journalists who simply write a story about gang murders are now targeted and assassinated on the streets. I quote from Wikipedia:
"Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists and among the ones with the highest levels of unsolved crimes against the press.[1] Though the exact figures of those killed are often conflicting,[2] press freedom organizations around the world agree through general consensus that Mexico is among the most dangerous countries on the planet to exercise journalism as a profession.[3][4][5] More than 100 media workers have been killed or disappeared since 2000..."
So, we have more than just Islamists attacking journalists. They have become targets WORLDWIDE. Russia has killed its free press and journalists who act independent with it. So the problem is BIGGER than just France and just Islamists.
The only way we will improve the Islam situation is by countering the propaganda by ISIS on social media and the radical preachers preying on unemployed youth.
The antidote is what they are doing in Paris -- getting different communities together and cooperating.
I have had dinners with Chinese, Indians, Brazilians, Europeans, Nigerians, etc. both in those countries and here in America in places like diversified Houston and Ft. Bend County. To me they are not stereotypes or names on a map; they are friends' faces.
If Americans would do what I have done they will discover a secret plain as day: how much we are all alike. All of us desire respect, an opportunity for education for our kids and an opportunity for a job and how everyone, even Muslims, just want to be left alone.
Most Muslims do not support Al Qaida. But if ISIS can create a backlash against Muslims, they hope that will help recruiting.
Ten percent of France is Muslim. Most French people know someone who is Muslim or do business with them in a store, etc. We have the same situation in the U.S. especially in diverse cities like Houston.
There is hope... it will take each of us getting out of our 'comfort zone' to meet Muslims and learn that the vast majority are on the same side as we are. That person to person outreach will defeat ISIS like nothing else.
Do We Blame All Whites When a White Kid Kills 26 in a School? Most mass shootersin the U.S. are White, so why Blame ALL Muslims?
I hear too many Americans etc say negative things about ALL Muslims.
They never say that about ALL Whites when whites go on killing sprees. Do we blame all whites when it turns out that almost ALL of our mass shootings in the U.S. have been by WHITE guys?
Then why blame ALL Muslims for the acts of the few? According to this Huff Post article we have had 20 mass shootings by whites during the Obama Presidency. More Americans have been killed by Americans than by terrorist attacks here and France combined.
Even big conservative Republican and former majority leader Tom DeLay went to Muslim meetings to meet average Muslim people and have a political debate. I know because I was there as one of the debaters. What's happened?
When a white kid shot up a school of little kids, killing 26, did white Americans write editorials and Facebook posts saying "I can't tell a good white kid from a bad one so I will stay away from all of them!?"
The answer is easy regardless of color or religion. The ones showing up with AK-47's are the bad guys. The other 1.2 billion (Muslims) are OK, just like the vast majority of whites, Hispanics, Blacks etc are OK.
No one possesses a weapon of mass destruction for hunting anything other than humans on a mass scale - like at Sandy Hook and Charlie Hebdo.
Did they blame all white people for shooting sprees even though white guys have done most of our mass killings in schools, theaters and places not unlike the French storefronts?
If it is proved that the bombing at the NAACP building was done by white men that ALL whites are racist?
Then why blame ALL Muslims for the acts of the few? According to this Huff Post article we have had 20 mass shootings by whites during the Obama Presidency. More Americans have been killed by Americans than by terrorist attacks here and France combined.
Even big conservative Republican and former majority leader Tom DeLay went to Muslim meetings to meet average Muslim people and have a political debate. I know because I was there as one of the debaters. What's happened?
When a white kid shot up a school of little kids, killing 26, did white Americans write editorials and Facebook posts saying "I can't tell a good white kid from a bad one so I will stay away from all of them!?"
The answer is easy regardless of color or religion. The ones showing up with AK-47's are the bad guys. The other 1.2 billion (Muslims) are OK, just like the vast majority of whites, Hispanics, Blacks etc are OK.
No one possesses a weapon of mass destruction for hunting anything other than humans on a mass scale - like at Sandy Hook and Charlie Hebdo.
Did they blame all white people for shooting sprees even though white guys have done most of our mass killings in schools, theaters and places not unlike the French storefronts?
If it is proved that the bombing at the NAACP building was done by white men that ALL whites are racist?
No. Then why blame ALL Muslims for the acts of a few? Who says that American acts of terrorism by whites are any less deadly or common than the shootings in France?
I met a lot of Muslims in the USA and around the world....I describe those global encounters in distant places and that Muslim debate with Tom DeLay in the chapter "Predicting 911 and Running Against the Hammer."
Details. http://bettertimesaheadaprilfool.com/Home_Pge.html
But the key chapter is the last one. "Agenda for American Greatness" - how America becomes No. 1 again. It's updated and available FREE at the above link.
President Obama's proposal for free tuition for poor kids who want to go to junior college is a big step in that direction. "Agenda" describes the other things we must do to jump back into the global lead --and why voodoo economics threatens to sabotage our own county!
I met a lot of Muslims in the USA and around the world....I describe those global encounters in distant places and that Muslim debate with Tom DeLay in the chapter "Predicting 911 and Running Against the Hammer."
Details. http://bettertimesaheadaprilfool.com/Home_Pge.html
But the key chapter is the last one. "Agenda for American Greatness" - how America becomes No. 1 again. It's updated and available FREE at the above link.
President Obama's proposal for free tuition for poor kids who want to go to junior college is a big step in that direction. "Agenda" describes the other things we must do to jump back into the global lead --and why voodoo economics threatens to sabotage our own county!
Friday, January 9, 2015
Paris Shooters Radicalized by Iraq torture photos - First PROOF of torture blowback
This is HUGE. Before they died, the two killers of the journalists at Charlie Hebdo gave statements to witnesses that they were radicalized when they were shown pictures of the torture victims at Abu Garib in Iraq. Until then they were normal French kids.
For the first time we have direct PROOF that the Bush torture program has feed and is still feeding terror recruiters. This week it exploded into the worst terrorsim event in France in the last 50 years!
We now have absolute proof that crossing the ethical boundary into torture of Iraqi Muslims inflamed these young men to go to Yemen to learn how to commit mass murder on our streets. Today its France. Tomorrow it could be New York or anywhere. This incident could excite more sleeper cells. This is not over.
The two brothers were orphans from Algeria, living in a Paris housing project in a suburb with little chance for a job. Then they were taken in by a radical preacher who showed them the torture photos in Iraq. The third shooter who took hostages of a Kosher store in Paris had been in prison with one of them. His white French girlfriend somehow escaped, is a weapons expert, and is on the run. Tomorrow threats come in many colors.
THAT is what turned these innocent young men into killers --American torture sanctioned by the Bush administration.
Now we have to win hearts and minds and somehow overcome that fact that Bush/Cheney destroyed our moral high ground. Muslims attending Friday services in Paris were as outraged by the killings as we were.
The terrorists have finally figured out they don't need a 911 scale attack to cause terror. They can do it simply with their NRA-guaranteed access to an AK 47 and 30 round clip. The attackers have assaulted Canada's version of our Capitol building. They have attacked Australia's chocolate shops, Jewish shops in Paris --just to name a few recent attacks. The Paris shooting was plotted for 3 years before they carried it out.
The list will grow until we get some solutions in place. Torture and isolating Muslims have been proven NOT to be a solution --quite the opposite. Security experts say that it takes 12 people to do surveillance on one person. Since there are 1.2 BILLION Muslims in our worldwide population of 7 billion, we would need another 5 billion to meet that standard! LOL. (If you didn't catch the irony in that I can't help you).
There is a better way to go. Obviously that means we want to encourage the Muslim community to be involved and "If you see something, say something."
America has been a model for integrating immigrants including Muslims into our mainstream. Stay tuned. Pass it on...
For the first time we have direct PROOF that the Bush torture program has feed and is still feeding terror recruiters. This week it exploded into the worst terrorsim event in France in the last 50 years!
We now have absolute proof that crossing the ethical boundary into torture of Iraqi Muslims inflamed these young men to go to Yemen to learn how to commit mass murder on our streets. Today its France. Tomorrow it could be New York or anywhere. This incident could excite more sleeper cells. This is not over.
The two brothers were orphans from Algeria, living in a Paris housing project in a suburb with little chance for a job. Then they were taken in by a radical preacher who showed them the torture photos in Iraq. The third shooter who took hostages of a Kosher store in Paris had been in prison with one of them. His white French girlfriend somehow escaped, is a weapons expert, and is on the run. Tomorrow threats come in many colors.
THAT is what turned these innocent young men into killers --American torture sanctioned by the Bush administration.
Now we have to win hearts and minds and somehow overcome that fact that Bush/Cheney destroyed our moral high ground. Muslims attending Friday services in Paris were as outraged by the killings as we were.
The terrorists have finally figured out they don't need a 911 scale attack to cause terror. They can do it simply with their NRA-guaranteed access to an AK 47 and 30 round clip. The attackers have assaulted Canada's version of our Capitol building. They have attacked Australia's chocolate shops, Jewish shops in Paris --just to name a few recent attacks. The Paris shooting was plotted for 3 years before they carried it out.
The list will grow until we get some solutions in place. Torture and isolating Muslims have been proven NOT to be a solution --quite the opposite. Security experts say that it takes 12 people to do surveillance on one person. Since there are 1.2 BILLION Muslims in our worldwide population of 7 billion, we would need another 5 billion to meet that standard! LOL. (If you didn't catch the irony in that I can't help you).
There is a better way to go. Obviously that means we want to encourage the Muslim community to be involved and "If you see something, say something."
America has been a model for integrating immigrants including Muslims into our mainstream. Stay tuned. Pass it on...
Thursday, January 8, 2015
We live in the land of wide awake and wide asleep...!
We live in the land of wide awake and wide asleep...!
Follow Global American values...
Follow Global American values...
Is there REALLY a difference between extremists ?
Is there REALLY a difference between extremists killing over a cartoon and those who kill people because of their COLOR?
France's 911 Charlie Hebdo Shooting Gets ISIS Want it Wants--More Muslim Isolation
As one of the few who was a terrorism expert during America's 9/11, I am penning my own thoughts on the brutal murder of the Charlie Hebdo journalists. This is EXACTLY what ISIS/ISIL has wanted!
It was a horrible act that was intended for more than revenge for offensive cartoons; ISIS hoped it would turn public opinion against Muslims even more! We know that the shooters had ISIS connections and experience.
How can I say that? Because the goal of this group of radicals that rose from the Iraqi Pandora's Box (ISIS) has been to form its own "Caliphate" - defined as its own land. This land would be ruled under their name with Sharia law and strict interpretation of the Koran. To build this 'paradise' of radical Islam they need people to fight.
If Muslims are being treated well, hold jobs and live in comfortable housing in places like Paris or Minneapolis, then why would they go to live in a tent in the desert to be shot at or bombed? But if young Germans are beating the hell out of you for being Muslim, or you live in Paris and see your religious icon mocked, it is an incentive to sign up for a one way ticket to have a glorious life and a shot at 72 virgins.
These evil butchers know the more isolated Muslims become because of political backlash to their killings, the more new recruits they can attract to their twisted cause.
The Paris attack on cartoonists has given new life to the far right in Europe that, until now, has struggled to get 10% of the vote. The right wing reaction in Europe is exactly what ISIS/ISIL had hoped for! In Germany over 18,000 far right supporters have been turning out for protests against Muslim immigrants. In England and France the ring wing haters are poised to get more candidates elected on their anti-Muslim platform.
It is estimated that about 1,200 young Muslim French citizens (born in France with perfect French accents) have traveled to Syria to fight (30% of them WOMEN) --it is estimated 175 Muslims from the U.S. has done the same. One of the Paris shooters had just returned to France from Yemen last summer. He already had been arrested and served time for jihadist acitivity but had been released. There are tens of thousands of young, alienated, jobless Muslim men just like him in Paris alone.
The cellphone video of the Charlie Hebdo attack confirmed that both shooters were comfortably skilled in using assault weapons and efficient killing. That should also give you a sense of what is happening to innocents in Syria who are being murdered as well.
Luckily, the shooters were not as good at planning their exit strategy since one of them foolishly had an ID on him (stupid) and left it behind in one of the getaway cars (even dumber.). They also had to steal gas and food from a station, and hijacked another care, leaving an alive witness each time. That makes me wonder. If they killed all those journalists, why did they not kill these witnesses? If they wanted to kill a lot of French people, why stop with just the journalists and police that intercepted them? Why not kill anyone that they encountered?
France has the largest Muslim community in Europe, estimated in 2010 to be about 6 million (it's estimated because the French government does not have the right to ask about religion.) Islam is the second most practiced religion in France, behind No. 1 Catholic.
Ironically, French Muslims have been better integrated into society than those in England, Germany, etc. According to Wikipedia, French Muslims actually have the highest positive feelings for people of other religions. So if this can happen in France, it means big trouble in less hospitable countries like Germany.
This shooting provides a huge boost to the growing right wing groups in Europe as ISIS/ISIL gets more hate directed towards Muslims on the streets of Europe and America. That will drive more of the unemployed, disaffected Muslim youth to pack their bags and head to Syria as volunteers in the ISIS war machine. The strategy is working. Already in Paris, Muslim women report people looking at them like they had done the attack. "You are Arab" is what they hear.
The strategy is changing from sending jihadis to Syria to conducting attacks where they are. So far we have seen the "lone wolf" attacks pick up: the Australian shooting at the candy store, the Canadian attack in the Parliament building, the New York hatchet attack on police by a Muslim, and perhaps even the Boston Marathon bombing is connected to their social media propaganda campaign. The Islamic web magazine "Inspire" is sleek; they know how to use social media. It is designed to make young Muslims feel they are under attack and need to "defend" their faith by carrying out acts of killings. The rise of the European right will make ISIS' job even easier. The less Muslims feel a part of their adopted country the bigger the threat.
Yet the fact is there are more Muslim women who wear bikinis than those who wear burkas over their face!
Stay tuned because the manhunt for the shooters are not yet over - and the political fallout is just beginning. Unforunately, the situation is not getting better. We can fix this.
FREEDOM of speech is an international principle, not just an American one. Europe has been slow to realize it needs to harmonize their criminal systems and share airline and passenger data. America and Europe will have to coordinate more in tracking the highest risk individuals who have returned from fighting in Syria --its not like they were there on vacation or a job).
France and European countries will have to address the far right threat that will give rise to the intolerance countries like Germany have seen before (Naziism). Replacing Naziism with Fascism is not a solution.
French police will need to be allowed to carry guns so they have a chance in a future confrontation with a criminal with an AK 47. There was a second shooting in Parisk today by a masked gunman with an AK 47 that killed a police woman. Connected? We don't yet know.
Finally, the U.S. will have to deal with the issue of the NRA making it so easy for even terrorists to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
What if the next attack is on a FOX TV station that has aired an image the extremists don't like? How would we feel if the New York Times building (or Congress) was overrun by one or two shooters with AK 47's, body armor and 30 round clips? What if those shooters were white extremists (think Oklahoma City) instead of Muslim?
Anything is possible.
"Follow" for updates. "I am Charlie." Pass it on!
It was a horrible act that was intended for more than revenge for offensive cartoons; ISIS hoped it would turn public opinion against Muslims even more! We know that the shooters had ISIS connections and experience.
How can I say that? Because the goal of this group of radicals that rose from the Iraqi Pandora's Box (ISIS) has been to form its own "Caliphate" - defined as its own land. This land would be ruled under their name with Sharia law and strict interpretation of the Koran. To build this 'paradise' of radical Islam they need people to fight.
If Muslims are being treated well, hold jobs and live in comfortable housing in places like Paris or Minneapolis, then why would they go to live in a tent in the desert to be shot at or bombed? But if young Germans are beating the hell out of you for being Muslim, or you live in Paris and see your religious icon mocked, it is an incentive to sign up for a one way ticket to have a glorious life and a shot at 72 virgins.
These evil butchers know the more isolated Muslims become because of political backlash to their killings, the more new recruits they can attract to their twisted cause.
The Paris attack on cartoonists has given new life to the far right in Europe that, until now, has struggled to get 10% of the vote. The right wing reaction in Europe is exactly what ISIS/ISIL had hoped for! In Germany over 18,000 far right supporters have been turning out for protests against Muslim immigrants. In England and France the ring wing haters are poised to get more candidates elected on their anti-Muslim platform.
It is estimated that about 1,200 young Muslim French citizens (born in France with perfect French accents) have traveled to Syria to fight (30% of them WOMEN) --it is estimated 175 Muslims from the U.S. has done the same. One of the Paris shooters had just returned to France from Yemen last summer. He already had been arrested and served time for jihadist acitivity but had been released. There are tens of thousands of young, alienated, jobless Muslim men just like him in Paris alone.
The cellphone video of the Charlie Hebdo attack confirmed that both shooters were comfortably skilled in using assault weapons and efficient killing. That should also give you a sense of what is happening to innocents in Syria who are being murdered as well.
Luckily, the shooters were not as good at planning their exit strategy since one of them foolishly had an ID on him (stupid) and left it behind in one of the getaway cars (even dumber.). They also had to steal gas and food from a station, and hijacked another care, leaving an alive witness each time. That makes me wonder. If they killed all those journalists, why did they not kill these witnesses? If they wanted to kill a lot of French people, why stop with just the journalists and police that intercepted them? Why not kill anyone that they encountered?
France has the largest Muslim community in Europe, estimated in 2010 to be about 6 million (it's estimated because the French government does not have the right to ask about religion.) Islam is the second most practiced religion in France, behind No. 1 Catholic.
Ironically, French Muslims have been better integrated into society than those in England, Germany, etc. According to Wikipedia, French Muslims actually have the highest positive feelings for people of other religions. So if this can happen in France, it means big trouble in less hospitable countries like Germany.
This shooting provides a huge boost to the growing right wing groups in Europe as ISIS/ISIL gets more hate directed towards Muslims on the streets of Europe and America. That will drive more of the unemployed, disaffected Muslim youth to pack their bags and head to Syria as volunteers in the ISIS war machine. The strategy is working. Already in Paris, Muslim women report people looking at them like they had done the attack. "You are Arab" is what they hear.
The strategy is changing from sending jihadis to Syria to conducting attacks where they are. So far we have seen the "lone wolf" attacks pick up: the Australian shooting at the candy store, the Canadian attack in the Parliament building, the New York hatchet attack on police by a Muslim, and perhaps even the Boston Marathon bombing is connected to their social media propaganda campaign. The Islamic web magazine "Inspire" is sleek; they know how to use social media. It is designed to make young Muslims feel they are under attack and need to "defend" their faith by carrying out acts of killings. The rise of the European right will make ISIS' job even easier. The less Muslims feel a part of their adopted country the bigger the threat.
Yet the fact is there are more Muslim women who wear bikinis than those who wear burkas over their face!
Stay tuned because the manhunt for the shooters are not yet over - and the political fallout is just beginning. Unforunately, the situation is not getting better. We can fix this.
FREEDOM of speech is an international principle, not just an American one. Europe has been slow to realize it needs to harmonize their criminal systems and share airline and passenger data. America and Europe will have to coordinate more in tracking the highest risk individuals who have returned from fighting in Syria --its not like they were there on vacation or a job).
France and European countries will have to address the far right threat that will give rise to the intolerance countries like Germany have seen before (Naziism). Replacing Naziism with Fascism is not a solution.
French police will need to be allowed to carry guns so they have a chance in a future confrontation with a criminal with an AK 47. There was a second shooting in Parisk today by a masked gunman with an AK 47 that killed a police woman. Connected? We don't yet know.
Finally, the U.S. will have to deal with the issue of the NRA making it so easy for even terrorists to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
What if the next attack is on a FOX TV station that has aired an image the extremists don't like? How would we feel if the New York Times building (or Congress) was overrun by one or two shooters with AK 47's, body armor and 30 round clips? What if those shooters were white extremists (think Oklahoma City) instead of Muslim?
Anything is possible.
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