3 Million French citizens made a stand against terrorism today - givethem the means to do it!

 

3 million French citizens marched for the victims of the Paris Wolf Pack attacks today, probably the biggest in the recent history of the country.  In Paris alone, 1.5 million people marched, including more than 40 Heads of State (unfortunately, POTUS was not able to make it).

 

This tremendous outpouring of support is heartwarming.

 

But how the Powers-That-Be will use this new-found well-spring of popular support might be another story.

 

Will the French Government use this as political capital to liberalize France's strict gun control laws and provide French citizens with better means to defend themselves, their families, and their country?

 

Or, will it take the usual low road, and use this opportunity to further curtail the civil liberties of its citizenry?

 

I honestly want to be hopeful.

 

But...

#2ndAmendment #SecondAmendment #GunRights #Counterterrorism #CharlieHebdo #ParisAttacks

  

What is the best deterrence to a Paris-style Wolf Pack terror attack?

 

I just watched a talking head of a major TV network pose the same question to a former intelligence operative.  And his answer was to improve the capabilities of law enforcement in terms of intelligence gathering, as well as weaponry.

 

Mr. Ex-Intelligence Operative then (correctly) pointed-out that French LEOs were horribly out-gunned during the opening salvos of the Paris attacks.  Obviously, there is room for weaponry upgrades, as far as French LEOs are concerned.

 

He further suggested that, in view of the apparent total failure of the French anti-terror intelligence network to detect the attacks, there might be a need to expand further the scope of anti-terror surveillance.

 

Ms. TV Talking Head immediately shot down the second suggestion.  She (also correctly) pointed out that the civil rights degradation tolerance of the French public may have already reached its saturation point with the current level of anti-terror surveillance.  Any further expansion of the same will be interpreted as a direct assault on civil liberties, and will surely be met with popular resistance.

 

A series of back-and-forth exchange of opinions between the two then ensued.

 

As they continue to slice-and-dice the issue, however, it dawned on me that they appear to be subtly side-stepping the most obvious solution...  Arm the citizenry!

 

Take a cue from the Israelis.  They have been dealing with this problem for the last 40 years or so.

 

Take a close look at the above picture... close your eyes... and imagine...

 

Could a Paris-style Wolf Pack terror attack gain much ground under such scenario?

 

I don't think so...

 

A Charlie Hebdo copycat attack? - gunman opens fire at unsuspecting Paris LEOs

 

Less than 24 hours after the "Wolf Pack" attack at Charlie Hebdo, another gunman opened fire at two Paris LEOs investigating a traffic accident.  One female LEO was KIA.  Her male colleague was WIA.

The gunman was allegedly armed with a submachine gun and was wearing body armor.
 

Because of France's very strict gun control laws, French LEOs normally do not carry guns.  If this was true in this particular case, then the two never had a chance.

 

There is no official confirmation yet on whether this was another terrorist attack.  And there would probably be none for quite some time.  A copycat act tends to attract another copycat act.  The last thing France needs at this time is a chain reaction of terror.

 

Gun rights advocates are fond of hammering in the obvious by saying: "If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns."

 

Maybe the time has come to change this statement to keep up with the times...

 

"If you outlaw guns, only terrorists will have guns."


#2ndAmendment #SecondAmendment #GunRights #Counterterrorism #CharlieHebdo #ParisAttacks

 

 

Lessons learned from the Paris Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack...

1. The perpetrators will be the usual suspects.

Just like in the Sydney attack, it is now beginning to emerge that the perpetrators of this horrific act have all popped-up in various anti-terror radar screens in the not-so-distant past. How they all managed to elude serious jail time... is something that eludes me too... 

 

2. The most devastating terror attacks are those made by a "Wolf Pack", and not those by a "Lone Wolf".

 

Lod Airport, 1972... Mumbai, 2008... Nairobi, 2013... Paris, 2015... 

3. The Jihadist conflicts of the Middle East are just "boarding schools" for Western-bred terrorists.

Once they get their "combat diploma" fighting for the Legion(s) of Losers in the Middle East, these malcontents will come home to roost. 

3. Unless the when, where, and how of a terror attack can be determined with sufficient lead time, Law Enforcement protection will not be enough.

In fairness to the French Government, they have provided Law Enforcement protection to the people of Charlie Hebdo.  But the casualty count clearly shows that the level of protection provided was not enough.  And two (2) LEOs paid for such miscalculation with their lives...

4. People will still find a way to acquire guns, even in a gun control state.

Just like Australia, France has very strict gun control laws.  Yet, these terrorists managed to arm themselves with AK assault rifles (and even a rocket launcher, if initial reports are accurate).

5. Only an armed population has a fighting chance of minimizing the casualties from a "Wolf Pack" terror attack.
 

Just imagine if half of the people of Charlie Hebdo were carrying.  The results would surely have been much more different.
 

6. Finally, although Freedom of Expression is a guaranteed civil right, publicly making fun of somebody else's Holy Man is not just a sensible act.

Let us use this horrific crime, therefore, as an opportunity to introspect... on the pros and cons of making somebody else's Holy Man the object of public amusement...

#WeStandWithParis
#2ndAmendment

#SecondAmendment 

#GunRights 

#CounterTerrorism

#CharlieHebdo 

#ParisAttacks

#LooneyTerrWatch

Paris attacked... 12 killed...

 

The office of satirical French magazine, Charlie Hebdo was attacked by 3 gunmen with AKs (and allegedly, a rocket launcher).  The current casualty count is 12 KIAs and 11 WIAs.

This is obviously a terrorist attack.

There is no word yet on who the perpetrators are (and their curent fate)... but I am 100% sure that these are the Usual Suspects...

Watch out for copycats...


#2ndAmendment #SecondAmendment #GunRights #Counterterrorism #CharlieHebdo #ParisAttacks

Air Asia QZ8501 - the Surabaya terror alert and other confusing news

 

It appears that Air Asia QZ8501 did veer to the right of its flight path.  But by not that much.

 

Which is actually good news (if one could actually call it that) because had it reached the jungles of West Kalimantan, the ensuing search effort would have been much more complicated.

 

So far, there are no indications that QZ8501 was brought down by an act of terrorism.  It is still being officially blamed on the weather.

 

But there appears to be conflicting news on the ground lately.

 

A few days ago, the recovery of a deceased passenger wearing a life preserver was all over the news.  Now, the Indonesian Government is saying that it never happened.

 

Then all of a sudden, the Indonesian Government suspended all Air Asia flights from and to Surabaya.

 

Then early this morning, a news item appeared on my favorite Bahasa Indonesia website that a terror alert for Surabaya was issued by the US Embassy in Jakarta.  It has now disappeared.

 

It, however, still appears on the Bloomberg News website.  So, it is apparently true.

 

In view of these developments, can one accept at face value the current official version of what happened to QZ8501?