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Europe
Analysis: Education key to fight Islamism
2004-12-13
I'd recommend firearms and long periods of incarceration for any survivors, myself...
Despite recent successes in preventing terrorist attacks in Europe, threats from radical Islamists are real, serious and long-term, according to the European Union's chief anti-terrorist coordinator. Closer cooperation and exchange of intelligence between the European Union's intelligence services have thwarted nearly a dozen terrorist attacks since 9/11. The most recent success was upsetting a plot by Ansar al-Islam, a group affiliated with al-Qaida, to kill Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi during his visit to Berlin last month. In addition to the Islamist threat, Geert De Vries, the EU's top anti-terrorism man, speaking to United Press International in his office in the European Union headquarters in Brussels, said that Europeans should not ignore risks from "classic terrorism" — Europe's home-grown terrorist groups, such as the Basque's ETA. A recent spate of bomb attacks across Spain was claimed by ETA, the Basque separatist organization.
We don't ignore the "classic" terror orgs here, but they're so overshadowed by the turbans that they become almost negligable. Plus, the lessons learned fighting the turbans apply just as well to the "classics," who've pretty much ceased to be a real threat; John Kerry would probably describe them as "irritants" or something.
Radical European Muslims who volunteered to fight the U.S. invasion of Iraq and who are now reported to be heading back to their respective countries may pose a more imminent risk, however.
I just said that, didn't I?
This is raising concerns that the former jihadis — now armed with hardened combat experience — may become members of active or sleeper cells upon which al-Qaida or its affiliates could call on for future terrorist operations in Europe. Claude Moniquet — of the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center in Brussels, who monitors Islamist terrorism — worries the Europeans are not adequately prepared to handle this new crisis.
I doubt they are, in Belchium. The Netherlands are picking up speed on it, and the French and German intel services have been on the case for quite a while. The Swiss are also doing good work, when it suits their peculiar chocolate purposes...
Posted by:Fred

#5  Antoine Sfeir, editor of a French publication specializing in Arab affairs, conducted a survey of several thousand young French Muslims. He was surprised to learn that despite their claims of adhering to a strict form of Islam, most were unable to name the five pillars of Islam, the basic tenets of the religion.

So these people don't know the five pillars of Islam. Big deal. The Islamozoids doing the inciting would be fools to demand that the foot soldiers doing the dirty work be fully knowledgable in Islam's nuts and bolts (and let's face it, these less-than-enlightened folk would definitely be doing the dying on behalf of the clerics). As long as these young, French Muslim suckers^H^H^H^H^H^H^H recruits believe in the cause, then that's good enough, which is usually independent of whether they've been "educated" or not.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2004-12-13 5:32:11 PM  

#4  From the article I'm unable to figure out who needs to be educated.

Do we need to educate radical Islamics in the premise of moderate Islam (I think the author might be getting at this)?

or do we need to educate law enforcement officials about the specific individuals who will be returning from the middle east (maybe the author meant that)?

or do we need to educate the kaft community on what the radical Islamic people believe (don't they know that already)?
Posted by: mhw   2004-12-13 3:33:03 PM  

#3  Radical European Muslims who volunteered to fight the U.S. invasion of Iraq and who are now reported to be heading back to their respective countries

I guess that means that we've offically won in Iraq. I wonder where they will initiate the next battle?
Posted by: trailing wife   2004-12-13 12:51:03 PM  

#2  Let's differentiate education (good) from indoctrination (bad), K?

Stop teaching hate, Jooo Lies, and Islam in your schools - unless you want us to treat it as we should: a barbaric superstitious bloodthirsty world-domination ideology cult - eminently worthy of extermination.

Start teaching health and hygiene, for crying out loud - Hint: what hole you put it in does matter. History - the truthful variety - for motivation, and yeah, the West / Great Satan did invent all that shit you love and depend on. Mathematics (so you can begin to live up to the hype), physics so you can understand cause & effect, general science so you can finally discard the moon cult & djinn BS, literature so you can see that you don't have to live as barbarians, etc. We'll save PCBS 101 for when you're ready to complete the cycle and self-destruct.
Posted by: .com   2004-12-13 12:46:28 PM  

#1  Remember, bin Laden and Zawahiri are very well - educated. Education's not the panacea it's cracked up to be.
Posted by: doc   2004-12-13 12:29:02 PM  

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