Posted on 11/18/2015 11:51:39 AM PST by Kaslin
PARIS -- I'm getting tired of living in a guerrilla terrorist war zone and having friends ask me if I'm all right. If you think that I'm exaggerating in describing Paris as such, consider the 129 civilians killed (at last count) and 352 injured here in coordinated Islamic State-inspired terrorist attacks -- mass shootings, suicide bombings and hostage taking -- last Friday night while attending a concert, having dinner at a cafe or otherwise spending a night out in the city. It's the very definition of asymmetric warfare.
In the aftermath, stores and movie theaters were closed, travelers faced long delays at airport customs, and the streets were much quieter than usual, except for at a vigil at the Place de la Republique, where people nearly trampled each other after some jerk set off firecrackers and caused a panic.
Oh, but all this inconvenience is such a small price to pay for freedom, right? Wrong. Maybe this sort of thing is routine in Damascus or Baghdad, but it's an unacceptable standard in a G-7 country.
It's not the first time that France has come under attack this year. There was the massacre perpetrated by jihadists at the Paris headquarters of the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper in January. In June, an assailant with Islamic State ties decapitated his boss and then tried to cause an explosion at a chemical plant. Then, in August, passengers were able to thwart an attempted massacre by an Islamic extremist on a Thalys high-speed train.
The backgrounds of the six Paris attackers who have been identified so far illustrate booth fronts of the threat. Five of them were French nationals (some with Belgian jihadist connections). One was a Syrian who reportedly exploited the recent migrant wave to get into the country.
The open borders of Europe sure do close in a hurry after a large-scale massacre. French President Francois Hollande reimposed France's border controls in the wake of the attacks and called for tighter border controls across Europe.
It took Hollande long enough. The war against terrorism is an intelligence war. Intelligence is the only way to stay ahead of the threat while balancing security with the civil rights. According to former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the French intelligence services are monitoring about 11,000 "Fiche S," or "S file," individuals, defined as "persons being investigated to prevent serious threats to public safety or security of the state, since information or solid evidence has been collected on them." French intelligence had opened S files on many of the individuals involved in the terrorist attacks that have taken place this year.
Knowing that French intelligence services are already overwhelmed, why make it easy for even more potential S file cases to enter the country? Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf countries have declined to accept Syrian migrants, refusing to sacrifice domestic security in the name of humanitarianism. So why is Europe always so eager to fall on its sword?
The obvious starting point is for France to require immigrants to undergo background checks BEFORE they arrive on French soil. This should have been the case before the start of the migrant wave.
Until now, French politicians had been afraid to address the lurking terrorist threat for fear of being accused of overreacting. It's as if the prevention of murderous rampages was somehow an extremist position. Did politicians believe the jihadists would be touched and positively swayed by the government's sense of reserve?
Why are S file individuals subjected only to haphazard monitoring when they have been identified as threats to national security? In the wake of the Paris attacks, Sarkozy, who now leads France's opposition party, wants S file individuals to be placed under house arrest or monitored with electronic bracelets. Why is there not yet a mechanism compatible with French law to expel or incarcerate these people? In the meantime, Sarkozy's idea is better than letting ticking time bombs roam around unfettered.
Meanwhile, Hollande is talking about changing the constitution so that dual nationals can be stripped of French citizenship if they're convicted of terrorism, even if they were born in France. But by the time anyone is convicted of terrorism, they've usually stripped others of life. Hollande also wants to prevent dual nationals who are deemed to be a security risk from entering the country -- which is a no-brainer and should have long ago been the case.
So here we go yet again -- another opportunity for the French government to take action to protect its citizens in the wake of a terrorist attack. Try not sidestepping effectiveness for lack of political courage this time.
But, ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
Just curious, what is Ms. Marsden doing about it? Anything other than writing articles and wringing hands?
Wake up call? I just read on Breitbart that France is going ahead and bringing in 30,000 Syrian “refuges”. Stupid is as stupid does.
There have been a lot of wakeup calls. Why is this one going to succeed?
Is it that the majority of people are too dense and stupid to see that islam is a violent, world-domination ideology cleverly disguised as a religion?
Nuff' said
We thought 9/11 would be. How long did that last.
what is Ms. Marsden doing about it? Anything other than writing articles and wringing hands?
_______________________________________
When not doing that she tries to unmask a good hacker named The Jester. Fortunately, she wasn’t successful.
No, it’s because in order to see the truth they will have to admit that Multiculturalism is a complete fraud.
The left can not allow that to happen. It calls into question all Leftist fraud.
‘dual nationals can be stripped of French citizenship if they’re convicted of terrorism’
What????? These guys usually blow themselves up. So they will be stripped of French citizenship posthumously.
Stick it to them, Hollande! Way to go!
Clearly, it is not. They’ve all triple downed in the last 24 hours.
1. Arm your citizens
2. Deport muslims in mass
3. No benefits for refugees
Heck, one of the terrorists was stopped FOUR times on his trip between Belgium and Paris.
“Jewish owners recently sold Paris’s Bataclan theater, where IS killed dozens
‘We’re devastated because we knew everyone who worked there,’ says former owner Pascal Laloux”
By Times of Israel staff and AP November 14, 2015
Sold on 9/11/15
Interesting date.
Two months should be enough time for terrorists to know it had new owners so that’s not the reason for the attack. It boils down to it was a very crowded contained soft target.
On first read I thought it said 'incinerate.' I don't think that's such a bad idea.
Heard on the radio yesterday.
If Islam is a religion of peace, wouldn’t Islamic extremists be extreme pacifists?
What a coincidence - twin towers were sold before 9/11, too.
Just a lucky business deal, right?
Yeah, right.
Hmmm. I wonder if any of the restaurants or the theater were part of a publically traded company-and if stocks were shorted, like with the airlines...
Oh boy. What a wrinkle to consider.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.