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Europe
The beat goes on
2004-03-16
France has received a new terror threat by an Islamist group and is taking it "very seriously", according to Reuters.
It's because of all the support they've given us on Iraq, y'know...
The French justice ministry said the threat came from a group called "Servants of Allah the Powerful and Wise".
"God told me to kill people, an' he's a lot brighter than I am..."
The warning spoke of possible attacks within France and against France's foreign interests, the ministry said. It is unclear whether the group is known to French authorities and the nature of the threats has not been disclosed. French Europe-1 radio reported that Le Parisien newspaper received a fax from the group, threatening attacks. The justice ministry confirmed a communique had been delivered to the newspaper, adding that it was "not yet possible" to comment on the document's authenticity. The Paris prosecutor has opened an investigation. In the past weeks, French authorities have received terror threats from another little-known group that calls itself AZF. The group claims to have planted nine bombs along the country's rail network and has threatened to explode them unless it was paid millions of dollars. Information from AZF led to the recovery of an explosive device buried in the bed of a railway line near Limoges in central France in February.
Seems like nobody likes the French lately, not even the Frenchies.
Posted by:Lux

#12  This particular letter has been found to be of low credibility by anti-terror analysts ; France remains a target for lotsa reasons, including the hijab ban, but this is (probably) bogus.
Posted by: Anonymous   2004-3-17 8:07:10 AM  

#11  Aw sh*t... let's wait and see what happens here. I have a hope (middlin to faint) that the French my just take note of the political implications of the Madrid booms..,. A little faith in MaryAnne might be what we need. (Please use stones smaller than 4 mm)
Posted by: Shipman   2004-3-16 6:02:48 PM  

#10  It will be interesting to see if France drops the headscarf ban even before they are attacked.

Re: Afghanistan, the Spanish socialists object to their army's presence there too.
Posted by: rkb   2004-3-16 5:42:05 PM  

#9  Mojo:the name of the group,if there is one,is "Movsar Barayev Commando" after the sicko who hijacked the theater in Moscov.The letter was sent in the name of the "Servants blahblah",which might explain the confusion.
Posted by: El Id   2004-3-16 5:38:06 PM  

#8  Well lessee... if you go along with the US in Iraq you get boomed (Spain).

If you stonewall the US in Iraq you get boomed, and threats for a boom (Turkey and France respectively).

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Or in any event, boomed if you aren't "Our Brand of Islam" whichever that might be.
Posted by: eLarson   2004-3-16 5:16:10 PM  

#7  She's a good witch. She just seems wicked because she has to wear a burka and hajib.
Posted by: Mr. Davis   2004-3-16 4:16:44 PM  

#6  Oh, c'mon. This has to be a spoof. the "Servants of Allah the Powerful and Wise"? Is there a Wicked Witch of the Middle East in the wings?
Posted by: mojo   2004-3-16 3:40:17 PM  

#5  I had a thought for Zapatero (wasn't he the youngest Marx Brother?) -- since you are so convinced that fighting in Iraq is not part of the WoT and want to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq, and since you have promised to fight the WoT strenuously (especially against al Qaeda), why don't the 1300 troops you are withdrawing from Iraq get sent immediately to the Afghanistan/Pakistan border to help the US and Pakistan nail bin Laden, Zawahiri and Mullah Omar? That would reassure a lot of Americans and Brits and Poles and Aussies (who are doing the heavy lifting in the WoT) that you Spaniards aren't pussies after all, you just wanted to refocus your efforts.*

* It should go without saying that I believe those in the Spanish military to be anything but pussies. It's just the incoming Socialist government and the 43+% of the population that just bent over for al Qaeda and didn't even ask to be taken to dinner first.
Posted by: Tibor   2004-3-16 2:31:36 PM  

#4  I'm waiting for Chirac's head on a platter.

No matter how much he grovels, he's still an infidel. Am I the only one who sees him as the girl who screws the entire football team hoping to gain respect?

Hey, at least he got a date to the prom.
Posted by: B   2004-3-16 2:31:16 PM  

#3  couldn't happen to nicer people - watch how quickly they drop the hijab ban after the first attack. Their muslim ghettos of public housing are ready to seethe in: 3....2.....1
Posted by: Frank G   2004-3-16 1:45:59 PM  

#2  That's it.

I'm waiting for Antiwar's next 'whatEVER, Dood, it's just, like, a bomb, ya know?'
Posted by: Raj   2004-3-16 1:28:06 PM  

#1  funny that because the french didn't go to iraq so why are they the target of terrorists? Seriously though i just wish the Anti war pricks would realise this, especially the dumb spaniards but i guess its to late for them now anyway. :(
Posted by: Jon Shep U.K   2004-3-16 1:22:55 PM  

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