France: where to?

[ddstory]

Now that the dust has settled somewhat in Paris, the question is, what next? First, although shocking, the attacks were not entirely surprising. Many French citizens had joined the jihad in Syria. And the attack on Charlie Hebdo showed that there's a sustained risk of terrorist actions in the heart of Europe.

The important question is if the

Comments

[mahnmut]

It's kind of depressing how there's always the same old mugs being the main political players. Same old, same old.

[johnny9fingers]

Sometimes it is the same old mugs, or their daughters, or sons, or nephews, nieces, cousins godchildren...

It happens everywhere. Some polities need to clothe such in terms of the rhetoric of democracy or liberty and equality....but the new boss is often the same as the old boss. In fact the new boss is often the old boss in actuality. And there is nothing egalitarian about it at all.

[htpcl]

This just in: Anonymous declares war on ISIL.

[ddstory]

This sure will show them!

[htpcl]

It actually might.

[abomvubuso]

Propaganda is a major element of hybrid warfare. Winning hearts and minds helps legitimise one's cause, and recruit more for its perpetuation. In this sense, anything that could hurt ISIL's propaganda capabilities would be helpful.

[dexeron]

A friend of mine said the following. I think it is worth sharing:

"Do not side with terrorists:

A friend posted an image saying that we are at war with Islam. This worries me, as I do NOT want to be on the same side as the tiny Salafist takfiri extremists who want the West to be at war with all of Islam. It is how they hope to take control of the average Muslim. Remember: DAESH, killer of too many fellow Muslims to count, ~wants~ the French and the rest of the West to react in anger and fear and wage war against all of Islam. Please do NOT promote what they want."

Back to the same old story.

[policraticus]

We (by which I mean Europe, the U.S. and more broadly those countries who organize themselves according to liberal principles) are either unable or unwilling to do what is necessary to eliminate the ideology of ISIS, al Qaeda and others who follow similar systems of belief.

We cannot even whisper it's name, much less look it in the face. The cure is, as of this moment, considered worse than the disease.

Therefore, we will do worse than nothing. Doing nothing would at least have the benefit of being logically consistantly and honest. Instead, we will keep nibbling around the edges, offering easy, feel good half measures, lies about progress, and comfortable placebos to our citizens and hope that when the next strike comes it hits somewhere else. We are big and rich and resilient, on the whole. We can absorb quite a lot of punishment.

[ddstory]

Couldn't help noticing that you yourself came just short of naming "its" name. The Final Solution(TM) that you envision. So, whence the coyness?

[policraticus]

Partly, it was coyness for coyness's sake.

Partly, it was to see if anyone would be grotesque enough to imply that my coyness stood to obscure genocide.

[ddstory]

And? What was the result of your little experiment?

Meanwhile, in Norway.

[dreamville_bg]

Norwegian officials say they think Islamist terrorists could strike the country within a few days, but they do not know what the plot is.
...
In 2012, the Ansar al-Sunna Muslim terrorist organization sent a letter to Norwegian authorities bearing the logo of ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - now called the Islamic State - ordering Oslo to designate a part of the capital as an independent, Shari’a compliant Muslim state, or suffer the consequences.

You're welcome, Norway.