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Europe today feels (or should feel) equal parts thankful and humiliated. America has come to our aid again, showing more bravery and decisiveness in an instant than we have shown in years.
On Friday, on a train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris, a Moroccan terrorist – armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle and various other small arms – opened fire on random passengers. After being resisted unsuccessfully by several civilians, two off-duty marines (together with a third American) tackled the piece of filth, overpowering him (one marine getting shot for his troubles, and another being stabbed), trapping him in a chokehold until he lost consciousness. After the terrorist was incapacitated, other passengers piled on and the gunmen was disarmed and then tied up. It is believed – but not yet confirmed – that the Moroccan had ties to ISIS and had been on the radar of the French secret services for some time now.
What kind of tragedy was averted by this heroism? For an answer, we must cast our minds back to the Mumbai attacks in 2008, and specifically the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (railway station) shootings. On that occasion, two Kalashnikov-wielding terrorists managed to massacre 58 (fifty-eight) people before the attackers chose to leave the Terminus in search of more prey. Over 100 other civilians were also shot at the station but survived.
A Thalys high-speed train, like the one targeted on Friday, has a capacity of 377 seated passengers and well over 400 allowing for standing passengers. In reports issued since the attack was foiled, the service running that evening has been described as ‘packed’. We will assume for our purposes that the population of the train numbered at least 377.
A single attacker moving through packed carriages with a fully-automatic rifle could have quite easily killed a hundred people. Incapacitated by fear, femininity, old-age or childhood, many civilians would not have stood a chance against a young, fearless militant unconcerned with death and legal or moral repercussions. The security services on board we now know were cowering (cowering!) in their staff quarters, leaving no obvious impediment to the attacker other than a feat of spontaneous bravery, which, thank goodness, was forthcoming.
Even though it was averted, we should treat this attack as though it was successful This was an attempted assault by ISIS on the people of Europe. Those who believed ISIS could be quarantined to the Middle East must have this delusion beaten out of them. This is war, no less real than in 1939. A far-reaching licence of special powers must be granted to our governments until this threat is diminished to manageable proportions.
If any Muslim resident in Europe has suspected links to ISIS (and that can be as little as ‘liking’ ISIS propaganda on a facebook post), that is more than enough reason to deport him/her. Stop building Mosques. Stop all Muslim immigration (Bravo Slovakia!). Stop pandering to Muslim causes. Man the f*** up!
America (and the American spirit) will not always be there to defend us. We must develop that spirit within ourselves if we are to survive another millennium.
D, LDN.
Indeed. America also has its own poison to deal with too. I am concerned for the motherland of Europe.
America certainly has its problems, but I’d hate to see America withdraw from Europe. I’m a big advocate of American bases on European soil. We need them for protection.
The future is always the unknown. As one American, I can say freely and fully – I will never put Europe away. Its people, its history and its culture is also my heritage. Those oceans between us are dividers. They do not protect America from world, and what is happening. The days of that are long over. And yes – the bases are important. What is happening ‘over there’ is coming for America too.
I understand. I hope enough of my people also understand why we Americans cannot turn our backs on Europe.
Correction to the article: Slovakia has recently refused to accept Muslim asylum seekers, not Slovenia. Stupid (but I suspect common) error.
;>
I fully agree with you. Nevertheless in my opinion the Western countries shoud make a stand against Islam as a whole, considering it as it is: a morally perverse doctrine with a deep political agenda of violence, invasion and domination, totally against the values of the civilized world. The “respect” Islam is receiving is feed only by fear and that tendency will grow. So, now maybe our last chance to ban that curse from our world.
Indeed. We need to stand together with America, Japan, China and Israel. We all face the same menace.
And India too. Another nation on the frontlines!
Agreed. We must lead India away from its current neutrality. A country that size can be a very useful ally.
Actually, he wasn’t firing at ‘random’ passengers. What happened was that he was initially spotted by a young Frenchman, Damien A, who got up to go to the loo and as he got up, came face to face with the jhadi. Upon which Damien threw himself at the gunman, and was shot. This (the shot) alerted the *next* passenger – who was a bit further along the carriage, in the direction the jihadi was travelling – to step up to the plate, a bloke named Mike Moogallion, 51 years old, who teaches English at the Sorbonne. A middle-aged Arts professor. And he, too, threw himself at the jihadi to try to get the rifle off him, and was shot (I think by the Luger pistol). And *that* was when Team America – alerted by the sound of gunshots etc – entered the fray (it’s worth noting, from a tactical POV, they were seated furthest away from the loo where the guy had armed up, and I understand, from a diagram of the layout of the train, events were happening *behind* them, in the direction opposite to that in which they would have been facing) and *they* were then backed up by a middle-aged British businessman, Chris Norman, who helped them keep the jihadi on the ground and tie him up…I understand that, among other things, that humble piece of western infidel man’s non-military attire, the tie worn by every well-dressed businessman, was put to good use in the hog-tying. It was a beautiful piece of pan-Infidel cooperation. In just that one and a half carriages, there were SIX infidel men – one French, one British, three young Americans – who each were prepared to enter battle at *very* short notice. I find this whole episode, in sum, very encouraging. It is even more inspiring than Flight 93, because…in this case, the jihadi got taken down, the passengers’ lives were saved, and although two of the six who got to grips with the jihadi got quite badly hurt, they *survived*. THEY WON.
The details are still sketchy and vary with different reports. The one I read stated that the terrorist started shooting his Luger pistol at random people (after being discovered in the toilet) and was then tackled unsuccessfully by other passengers, before the Americans eventually overpowered him.
Many passengers are said to have piled on after the Americans had overpowered the terrorist. I nevertheless believe the majority of the credit should go to the Americans. Had they not tackled the guy, would other passengers have been able to do so by themselves?
This episode is a good metaphor about european affairs… The europeans start the war and try to win enemy ground, but to finish the subject they still depend from the american troopers… ;-))
I agree, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Europeans can be brave and no-nonsense too. We just need to take a bit of inspiration from our US cousins.
I never heard of Lt Colonel Allen West before today, US ex-soldier and now politician. Finally a politician telling it like it is:
He’s great. I recommend following his personal website. He’s correct about most things.
So disappointing to read that the terrorist’s claims of simply being out to rob passengers has been given column inches by the usual suspects…
Really? I haven’t seen that. That’s ludicrous.
The Left often engages in ‘damage control’ after incidents like this.
America absolutely has its problems – I frequently write about them. My own country angers me on a daily basis, but this act of bravery and heroism was one moment I could fist pump the air and smile. Thank you so much for your post on this – you have the gratitude of this American….
Thank you (and thank you for the bravery of your countrymen).
Good points. It quietly angers me that Europe indulged fascism in the mid-twentieth century and now luxuriates in left-wing politics both of which will require Anglo-American common sense and a huge amount of effort and expense to change. Britain has its own terrible problems (thanks to its politicians) and it again falls to us to save Europe from itself, starting with these so-called EU re-negotiations.
European intellectuals have a very shameful track record. The great minds now apologising for Islamic fascism are walking in highly esteemed footprints. Orwell is the glowing exception. Long may his influence persist.