2015-10-13 ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) attack on Paris
Here are some random thoughts on the attack:
- With the corpses and weapons of the suicide attackers, police should be able to identify them, then everyone they knew, and everyone they communicated with. This should lead to rounding up everyone involved who is still alive. This is much simpler than preventing an attack.
- What kind of monsters target young civilians? Well France, the USA and Canada who killed children, women and
the elderly with their bombs, bullets, banned weapons and torture in Afghanistan and Iraq. Imagine if
ISIS
had mounted an aerial attack that left Paris in rubble like Fallujah. The attack seems unprecedented because we
in the west are the ones attacked. We tend to forget our own similar sins or look at them through preposterously
rosy glasses.
Noam Chomsky on Exceptionalism
- ISIS made themselves look silly by claiming miracles were responsible for the coordinated attacks. Balderdash! All they needed to pull that off were synchronised watches. Various experts tried to make ISIS look more formidable by gushing over the synchronisation.
- We are creating a mythical, shadowy enemy with unfathomable motives. We cannot defeat them if we refuse to look at them honestly. We are scaring ourselves silly with our lies. To understand their motives and recruiting techniques, we also have to consider what we have done to them in past. We have to understand their case against us, just as a lawyer would.
- The last thing people think of doing to find out what motivates terrorists is to ask them. But you can read their explanation.
- There were about 150 killed in the attack. To put this is perspective, in the USA there are 11,200 gun-homicides per year. 27,000 were killed in the Battle of France when France fell to the Nazis. In the USA, 32,719 people die each year in car accidents. The American bombing attacks on Fallujah killed 70% of the people. Though the Paris attack is a crippling emotional blow, is not a blow that cripples France.
- Prime Minister Stephen Harper was a egotistical twit who fancied himself as a WWII (World War II) general. He insisted on Canada taking a bombing role on ISIS even though his force was microscopic and just got in the way. Training and humanitarian work were beneath his dignity, even though that was what was mostly needed. The new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, is more practical, and is willing to take on the less glamorous work. Rona Ambrose, the interim PC leader, is trying to make political points by insisting Canada bomb somebody, anybody to satisfy the gut reactions of hawkish Canadians.
- France wants to triple its bombing on Syria. The problem with that is Syria contains a mix of pro-Assad forces, rebels, ISIS and civilians. There is so way they can avoid killing everyone, including those who just want to get out of the country to avoid the fighting who we are trying to help.