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| Europe |
| Carnage in France, once again |
| 2016-07-17 |
| [DAWN] TERROR has once again struck La Belle France, a country that has been bludgeoned by a wave of murderous Moslem strikes since December 2014. The date of the attack -- July 14, the French national day -- suggests a motive to strike at the heart of the identity of modern-day La Belle France. The location -- a well-known tourist spot, Nice -- and the modus operandi -- driving a 19-tonne truck into crowds of families and tourists -- were meant to inflict maximum damage and sow the widest horror. The identity of the killer, a French resident from Tunisia, suggests a now all-too-familiar source of violence inside La Belle France and parts of Western Europe. What is not yet known is whether the suspect acted alone, a so-called lone-wolf attack by a disaffected individual with a petty crimes background, or if he was inspired by or coordinated with the murderous Moslem Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... group. Sadly, though perhaps not unsurprisingly, before the facts have been established, French President Francois Hollande ...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist... has already vowed "real force and military action in Syria and Iraq". La Belle France, it appears, will continue to suffer violence as its leaders struggle to understand the nature of the threat confronting the country today. IS, whether or not it is directly responsible for the latest French atrocity, is a global menace. The colossal damage it has inflicted directly on Syria and Iraq and the violence it has sponsored or inspired in far-flung areas of the Moslem world render meaningless the claims in some Western quarters that there is an existential battle between the Western world and turban Islam. La Belle France has clearly suffered and in open societies the psychological impact of terror can be traumatising in ways perhaps not understood by denizens of countries more familiar with violence in their streets. Yet, it is difficult to understand how a response such as that by the French president can be helpful in the complex fight against IS. After the horrific November 2015 Gay Paree attacks, President Hollande made a similar vow to take the fight to IS in Syria and Iraq. IS did indeed claim the Gay Paree attacks, but all the perpetrators were from the EU. Surely, a two-pronged response is needed: domestically, for European countries to examine the causes for their own citizens turning against their countrymen; internationally, for a concerted response, including by the leading Moslem countries, in the fight against IS. Anything less and the so-called clash of civilisations that the turbans are hoping to trigger may inadvertently become a reality. For Pakistain, still contending with its own terrorism and insurgency problems, there are no easy lessons from the Nice carnage. IS has not made its presence felt inside Pakistain in a significant way yet; but as the French attacks demonstrate, there is much chaos that can be caused by even a few individuals. So, counterterrorism operations must continue, but counter-extremism should be taken up with vigour too. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Carla Bruni? |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2016-07-17 11:49 |
| #1 They simply need an Italian to take over. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2016-07-17 03:37 |