Showing posts with label Deranged. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deranged. Show all posts
12/17/19
3/22/17
Terrorism: EU anti-terror czar: ‘The threat is coming from inside Europe’ – by Frédéric Simon
A year after the Brussels attacks, Gilles de Kerchove told EURACTIV.com about the fast pace of development of EU security policy, calling for the “systematic use of biometrics” and “batch comparison” of databases in order to boost security in the Schengen area.
Gilles de Kerchove is the EU’s counter-terrorism coordinator. He spoke to EURACTIV’s publisher and editor, Frédéric Simon.
On 22 March, Belgium commemorates the anniversary of the Brussels terrorist attacks. As a Belgian national, were you surprised when the attacks took place?
Surprised, no, because, for years, we were aware of the determination of Daesh to strike in Europe. We already had the attacks in Paris and we knew some of the authors were still at large, and that a strike in Brussels was among the possibilities. I was very sad that we were not able to prevent this from happening, but not surprised.
Did this happen because national intelligence agencies weren’t collaborating enough?
I really don’t want to answer that question specifically because there is a Parliamentary inquiry committee that has not finalised its conclusions. It’s probably more interesting to see what those conclusions will be.
Over the last two years, we have been working in many directions and information sharing among security services is only one aspect. It’s a set of measures on the preventive side, on the repressive side, and closer work with some neighbourhoods.
So I think it would be inaccurate to say that the attacks took place just because the security services are not sharing—they do. That’s not the issue. The problem is not necessarily a lack of data, but the ability to analyse the data properly. There is a lot of work on the issue of data collection, data sharing and data analysis. We’ve been working hard on this, but it’s not the only issue.
Did the Belgian authorities bury their heads in the sand regarding information they had about neighbourhoods like Molenbeek?
It’s up to the special inquiry committee to draw conclusions. Molenbeek is not the epicentre of terrorism in Europe. If you look at our neighbours, the French have had more than 1,000 of their citizens or legal residents who left for Syria and Iraq.
In ten to fifteen EU member states, there is indeed an issue of young Europeans who get radicalised, who were attracted by the rhetoric of Daesh, and the crisis in Syria. The fact that there was a civil war, a caliphate, added something new. We had foreign terrorist fighters in the ’90s in Afghanistan but never on that scale. Why? Because there was this much more aggressive use of the Internet, and the control of a territory, which seems to be more attractive than the Sahel.
Of course, Molenbeek in itself raises difficult questions as to the integration process of immigrants, the fight against discrimination, the fight against Islamophobia, but that begs the question about the drivers of radicalisation. To simply equal Molenbeek and terrorism is a bit too short, I think.
Read more: EU anti-terror czar: ‘The threat is coming from inside Europe’ – EURACTIV.com
Gilles de Kerchove is the EU’s counter-terrorism coordinator. He spoke to EURACTIV’s publisher and editor, Frédéric Simon.
On 22 March, Belgium commemorates the anniversary of the Brussels terrorist attacks. As a Belgian national, were you surprised when the attacks took place?
Surprised, no, because, for years, we were aware of the determination of Daesh to strike in Europe. We already had the attacks in Paris and we knew some of the authors were still at large, and that a strike in Brussels was among the possibilities. I was very sad that we were not able to prevent this from happening, but not surprised.
Did this happen because national intelligence agencies weren’t collaborating enough?
I really don’t want to answer that question specifically because there is a Parliamentary inquiry committee that has not finalised its conclusions. It’s probably more interesting to see what those conclusions will be.
Over the last two years, we have been working in many directions and information sharing among security services is only one aspect. It’s a set of measures on the preventive side, on the repressive side, and closer work with some neighbourhoods.
So I think it would be inaccurate to say that the attacks took place just because the security services are not sharing—they do. That’s not the issue. The problem is not necessarily a lack of data, but the ability to analyse the data properly. There is a lot of work on the issue of data collection, data sharing and data analysis. We’ve been working hard on this, but it’s not the only issue.
Did the Belgian authorities bury their heads in the sand regarding information they had about neighbourhoods like Molenbeek?
It’s up to the special inquiry committee to draw conclusions. Molenbeek is not the epicentre of terrorism in Europe. If you look at our neighbours, the French have had more than 1,000 of their citizens or legal residents who left for Syria and Iraq.
In ten to fifteen EU member states, there is indeed an issue of young Europeans who get radicalised, who were attracted by the rhetoric of Daesh, and the crisis in Syria. The fact that there was a civil war, a caliphate, added something new. We had foreign terrorist fighters in the ’90s in Afghanistan but never on that scale. Why? Because there was this much more aggressive use of the Internet, and the control of a territory, which seems to be more attractive than the Sahel.
Of course, Molenbeek in itself raises difficult questions as to the integration process of immigrants, the fight against discrimination, the fight against Islamophobia, but that begs the question about the drivers of radicalisation. To simply equal Molenbeek and terrorism is a bit too short, I think.
Read more: EU anti-terror czar: ‘The threat is coming from inside Europe’ – EURACTIV.com
2/16/17
The Netherlands: The "Dutch Trump" Geert Wilders PVV party losing support in the polls
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| Trump and Wilders "one and the same" - disaster |
Researchers see several reasons why voters in the Netherlands are turning their back on the PVV, according to the Dutch newspaper AD. Some people are concerned about American president Donald Trump's policies, for which Wilders expressed great support and he even went to the US to support him .
"Trump has turned out to be a completely deranged person and so is his Dutch supporter Geert Wilders - they are very similar and voting for him makes no sense at all. It will only cause disaster and chaos in the Netherlands", said a member of the Dutch Parliament, who wanted to remain anonymous
Others doubt the feasibility of the PVV's plans or have their doubts about whether the PVV will be part of the next government, given that very few other Dutch political parties want to work with him
EU-Digest
7/22/16
Germany: Deranged Killer At It Again: Munich shooting: Police say nine dead as manhunt continues
German police are engaged in a huge
anti-terror manhunt in the city of Munich after nine people died in a
shopping mall shooting.
Three attackers carrying guns were earlier reported to be on the run. Police urged people to avoid public places.
The attack was at the Olympia mall in the north-western Moosach district. Public transport is suspended.
Police, who describe it as "an acute terror situation", say the first reports of a shooting in Hanauer Street came in just before 18:00 (16:00 GMT).
Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, told national TV the motive for the attack was still unclear.
"We cannot rule out that it is linked to terrorism but we can't confirm it either, but we are also investigating in this direction," he said.
A meeting of the government's security cabinet will be held on Saturday.
The Bavarian capital's central railway station has been evacuated.
People stranded by the emergency and unable to get home are being offered shelter by locals. The initiative was launched with the Twitter hashtag #Offenetür (open door).
Read more: Munich shooting: Police say nine dead as manhunt continues - BBC News
7/19/16
Daesh: Germany Probes Possible Islamic State Ties in Ax Attack on Train - by Donna Abu-Nasr and Rainer Buergin
German authorities are investigating if an Afghan refugee, who
critically wounded two train passengers in an ax attack on Monday, was
part of a terror web after Islamic State claimed it inspired the
17-year-old suspect later shot and killed by police.
Though investigators found a handmade Islamic State flag in the teenager’s room, “no evidence has so far been found on the ground that would suggest he was part of Islamist networks,” Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said at a televised press conference.
Texts crafted in Pashtu and Latin characters also found appear to indicate someone who “self-radicalized” recently, Herrmann said.
“We have taken note that Islamic State militias have allegedly accepted responsibility over the Internet,” the minister said. The assailant was a "soldier” answering the call to target nations in the coalition fighting Islamic State, according to a statement by the group’s Amaq news agency shared by sympathizers on Twitter.
Read more: Germany Probes Possible Islamic State Ties in Ax Attack on Train - Bloomberg
Though investigators found a handmade Islamic State flag in the teenager’s room, “no evidence has so far been found on the ground that would suggest he was part of Islamist networks,” Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said at a televised press conference.
Texts crafted in Pashtu and Latin characters also found appear to indicate someone who “self-radicalized” recently, Herrmann said.
“We have taken note that Islamic State militias have allegedly accepted responsibility over the Internet,” the minister said. The assailant was a "soldier” answering the call to target nations in the coalition fighting Islamic State, according to a statement by the group’s Amaq news agency shared by sympathizers on Twitter.
Read more: Germany Probes Possible Islamic State Ties in Ax Attack on Train - Bloomberg
4/4/15
Middle East - UN says 25,000 foreigners have joined IS group, al Qaeda
The panel of experts monitoring U.N. sanctions against al-Qaida said
in the report obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press that its
analysis indicates the number of foreign terrorist fighters worldwide
increased by 71 percent between mid-2014 and March 2015.
It said the scale of the problem has increased over the past three years and the flow of foreign fighters “is higher than it has ever been historically.”
The overall number of foreign terrorist fighters has “risen sharply from a few thousand ... a decade ago to more than 25,000 today,” the panel said in the report to the U.N. Security Council.
The report said just two countries have accounted for over 20,000 foreign fighters: Syria and Iraq. They went to fight primarily for the Islamic State group but also the Al-Nusra Front.
Looking ahead, the panel said the thousands of foreign fighters who traveled to Syria and Iraq are living and working in “a veritable ‘international finishing school’ for extremists,” as was the case in Afghanistan in the 1990s.
A military defeat of the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq could have the unintended consequence of scattering violent foreign terrorist fighters across the world, the panel said.
And while governments are focusing on countering the threat from fighters returning home, the panel said it’s possible that some may be traumatized by what they saw and need psychological help, and that others may be recruited by criminal networks.
Read more: Middle East - UN says 25,000 foreigners have joined IS group, al Qaeda - France 24
It said the scale of the problem has increased over the past three years and the flow of foreign fighters “is higher than it has ever been historically.”
The overall number of foreign terrorist fighters has “risen sharply from a few thousand ... a decade ago to more than 25,000 today,” the panel said in the report to the U.N. Security Council.
The report said just two countries have accounted for over 20,000 foreign fighters: Syria and Iraq. They went to fight primarily for the Islamic State group but also the Al-Nusra Front.
Looking ahead, the panel said the thousands of foreign fighters who traveled to Syria and Iraq are living and working in “a veritable ‘international finishing school’ for extremists,” as was the case in Afghanistan in the 1990s.
A military defeat of the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq could have the unintended consequence of scattering violent foreign terrorist fighters across the world, the panel said.
And while governments are focusing on countering the threat from fighters returning home, the panel said it’s possible that some may be traumatized by what they saw and need psychological help, and that others may be recruited by criminal networks.
Read more: Middle East - UN says 25,000 foreigners have joined IS group, al Qaeda - France 24
3/18/15
Tunisia: Deadly museum siege ends in Tunisia with heavy death toll of foreign tourists
Anxiety and grief in Tunisia as a deadly standoff has come to and end two hours after it began.
At least 19 tourists were killed, and 22 wounded during the attack at the Bardo Museum in Tunis.
Seventeen of those killed were foreign nationals. Polish, Spanish, German and Italian citizens were among the victims.
More than 100 people were freed during the counter-terror operation.
Two gunmen and one policeman were killed during the raid on the museum, though it’s believed three other attackers could still be at large.
An assault on such a high-profile tourist target is a blow for the country which relies heavily on European tourism.
Prime Minister Habib Essid said the attack targeted the economy and called on “all political parties and civil society to unite with them in the fight against terrorism which targets the stability of the country,” He added, “In government it is our responsibility, and we are prepared, to defend our country.”
MPs in the neighbouring parliament had been debating an anti-terrorism bill when gunfire erupted at midday. Lawmakers sang the national anthem as they waited in safety.
Read more: Deadly museum siege ends in Tunisia with heavy death toll of foreign tourists | euronews, world news
At least 19 tourists were killed, and 22 wounded during the attack at the Bardo Museum in Tunis.
Seventeen of those killed were foreign nationals. Polish, Spanish, German and Italian citizens were among the victims.
More than 100 people were freed during the counter-terror operation.
Two gunmen and one policeman were killed during the raid on the museum, though it’s believed three other attackers could still be at large.
An assault on such a high-profile tourist target is a blow for the country which relies heavily on European tourism.
Prime Minister Habib Essid said the attack targeted the economy and called on “all political parties and civil society to unite with them in the fight against terrorism which targets the stability of the country,” He added, “In government it is our responsibility, and we are prepared, to defend our country.”
MPs in the neighbouring parliament had been debating an anti-terrorism bill when gunfire erupted at midday. Lawmakers sang the national anthem as they waited in safety.
Read more: Deadly museum siege ends in Tunisia with heavy death toll of foreign tourists | euronews, world news
9/24/13
Terrorist Activities Kenya: European victims as protracted battle continues at mall and on Twitter - Government reports confusing - by Sudarsan Raghavan
Fighting raged at an upscale mall in Kenya’s capital for a fourth day Tuesday, with Kenyan security forces suffering casualties as they attempted to quell Islamist militants who had seized the shopping center and taken hostages.
Confusion reigned as Kenyan officials asserted they had control over the Westgate Premier Shopping Mall, while the militants — who reportedly come from multiple countries, including the United States, but whose identities remain murky — insisted they had the upper hand.
Sporadic gunfire and smoke appeared to counter statements by Kenyan officials that the bloody standoff was nearing an end. As the shooting continued, a parallel tussle unfolded on Twitter between the militants and the government, as each side tried to counter the other’s version of events.
The Somali-based, al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militia tweeted that it was still holding hostages, who were “looking quite disconcerted but nevertheless, alive.” Another Shabab tweet said: “Mujahideen are still holding their ground #westgate.”
But Kenyan officials offered a different account, saying they believe all hostages had been released. “We’re very near the end,” Kenya’s Interior Ministry posted on Twitter at noon.
Note EU-Digest: It is always amazing how al-Quada, al-Shabad or whatever names these "extremists" call themselves, can believe that their vicious and cruel acts on innocent civilians would ever gain them any respect for "their cause". Unfortunately, therefore, maybe one should classify them as "mentally deranged" individuals and treat them as such?
Read more: Militants, Kenyan security forces locked in protracted battle at mall and on Twitter - The Washington Post
Confusion reigned as Kenyan officials asserted they had control over the Westgate Premier Shopping Mall, while the militants — who reportedly come from multiple countries, including the United States, but whose identities remain murky — insisted they had the upper hand.
Sporadic gunfire and smoke appeared to counter statements by Kenyan officials that the bloody standoff was nearing an end. As the shooting continued, a parallel tussle unfolded on Twitter between the militants and the government, as each side tried to counter the other’s version of events.
The Somali-based, al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militia tweeted that it was still holding hostages, who were “looking quite disconcerted but nevertheless, alive.” Another Shabab tweet said: “Mujahideen are still holding their ground #westgate.”
But Kenyan officials offered a different account, saying they believe all hostages had been released. “We’re very near the end,” Kenya’s Interior Ministry posted on Twitter at noon.
Note EU-Digest: It is always amazing how al-Quada, al-Shabad or whatever names these "extremists" call themselves, can believe that their vicious and cruel acts on innocent civilians would ever gain them any respect for "their cause". Unfortunately, therefore, maybe one should classify them as "mentally deranged" individuals and treat them as such?
Read more: Militants, Kenyan security forces locked in protracted battle at mall and on Twitter - The Washington Post
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