‘First we take Manhattan then we take Berlin’…
Radical Islam has declared war on both Europe and America, whether Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin or President Barack Obama in Washington like it or not. Berlin is only the latest target – a copycat of the horrific truck attack in Nice, France last July that also plowed over may innocent people. Western leaders have been living in denial – civil liberties come first. And that is why most democratic countries in the Western world are paying for it in blood with their innocent civilians being blown to smithereens by bombs or run over in the streets by trucks driven by Muslim fanatics.
Since the current wave began, over 3,000 civilians have been killed in the US; Germany is relatively new to the game. One could not help feeling sorry for the dispirited Chancellor for recently letting hundreds of thousands of pitiful Arab refugees into Germany only to be repaid by a terrorist hijacking a truck and running over scores of people in her capital city. But unless and until Western leaders come to their senses and take the necessary security measures at home, more Muslim terrorists will murder more civilians – it’s almost like Leonard Cohen’s prophetic lyrics ‘First we take Manhattan (9.11.2001) then we take Berlin’.
First al Qaeda, and now Daesh has jumped on the bandwagon sending messages over the Internet – come and join us in Syria or Iraq if you can, if not strike the infidels wherever you are! The blood-bath in Aleppo has poured fuel on the flames. Never mind that its Russian and Syrian jets that have been bombing Aleppo without mercy – for Islamic terrorists one infidel is as good (or bad) as another. Besides most of the Berlin victims were Christian infidels doing their Christmas shopping – two birds with one stone for a Muslim fanatic. Another spin-off for Daesh and al Qaeda is they want to prove they are still alive and kicking despite taking massive losses in Syria.
Now devoted democrats (with a small d), such as Merkel and Obama, argue that ordering their secret services to monitor Muslim suspects would be a violation of the civil rights of other peaceful Muslims and would be tantamount to racial discrimination. This is a simplistic argument, if some Islamic terrorists do pose a clear and present danger to other civilians. And even to other Muslims. Did the Tunisian truck driver in Berlin give a hoot whether he was also running over other Muslims? And governments do impose exceptional measures on their citizens in exceptional situations – like in war-time when some civilians are conscripted and sent to the battlefield to possibly be killed and injured, while others are not. Merkel has now taken a hit in opinion polls for her humane approach to Arab refugees and could lose the upcoming election. And what leaders of democratic states must understand is that if they are perceived as not doing enough, tougher leaders will be elected who will care less about civil rights.
Obama has been another story but apparently President-elect Donald Trump does get it. This was his reaction to the Berlin attack:
‘ISIS and other Islamic terrorists continuously slaughter Christians in their communities and places of worship as part of their global jihad. These terrorists and their regional and worldwide networks must be eradicated from the face of the earth, a mission we will carry out with all freedom-loving partners’.
So what’s to be done – that is still not being done in Europe or America?
Ran Ben Barak, a former deputy director of Israel’s Mossad, who was asked the big question on Israel’s Channel 1 TV a day after the Berlin carnage, stated:
‘Europe is still not doing enough. They have taken in large numbers of refugees fleeing from the fighting in Syria. While the vast majority are innocent civilians, it must also be assumed that Muslim terrorists are also among them. But the European leaders are still hesitating about how and what to do about this threat. In addition, there are the home-grown Muslim radicals. This is the first time in history that Muslim citizens born in France, Belgium, Germany and other countries have adopted a radical ideology that encourages them to act against their own state. This is a very different and difficult kind of war that is not easy to cope with. But in order to win, leaders must understand that they have no choice in some cases but to restrict the privacy of their citizens in order to confront a very dangerous and insidious enemy in their midst’.
Ben Barak then described what Israel has done:
‘We built a very extensive system that processes all possible and relevant information about potential terror suspects. But in order to develop such an advanced model we had to have access to as much relevant data as possible. For example, we now have a system that monitors people at border crossings and with in seconds we know if a particular person is on a list of terror suspects. Europe can win this war, but only if there is a change in the approach to coping with terrorists; and this has not happened yet. I’m afraid that more terror attacks are on the way’.
In other words, Israel employs a comprehensive system of profiling to ferret out terrorists in time and save lives. Some critics have taken security checks at Israeli airports, which do profile Muslim and non Muslim passengers. I recall one particular case that iust paid off in the recent past. A young British non-Muslim woman was courted by an Israeli Arab in Britain. He not only proposed, but also suggested that they fly to Israel to meet his family. Shortly before the flight he told her that he would come a day or so later due to his job. He also asked her to take along a present he was sending to his parents. So our young bride to be heads to the airport with said package all excited about boarding an El Al airliner and flying to Israel to meet her future in-laws. However, unknown to her, her fiance had hidden a bomb in the package that was set to blow up during the flight. One way of the other, the security checks and possible profiling had uncovered the insidious plot that would have murdered the unsuspecting bride to be and all the other passengers and crew of the El Al airliner. I wonder what the other Israeli Arab passengers later thought about the profiling and security checks that also saved their lives?
