1. The Bloody Gift for the National Day
On July 14, 2016, in the Mediterranean city of Nice, at approximately 10:40pm local time (4:40pm EST), at the 227th anniversary of Bastille Day, its national day, France witnessed yet another terrorist attack, resulting in over 80 dead and more than 100 injured. The attacker, a truck driver, drove his vehicle at a high speed into a large crowd of people gathered on the Promenade des Anglaisof the French Riviera city for a fireworks display. The driver, who was eventually killed by the police, was zigzagging his vehicle for 1.2 miles (over two kilometers) at the crowd, so that he could hit as many people as possible, and was firing on the crowd as he drove. The authorities found the truck loaded with arms and grenades.
2. Some Good Stats to Wake Us Up
This attack continues a long list of terrorist attacks in France since the beginning of the 21st century.
From 2001 to 2016, France has been confronted with 18 terrorist attacks on its territory, 16 of which were related to Islamist terrorists and two to European radical groups (the National Liberation Front of Corsica, in 2003, also in Nice, and the Basque ETA separatist group, in 2007, in Capbreton, near Biarritz). The majority of the attacks, organized by Muslim jihadist militant individuals or groups, have increased in a geometric progression frequency and number of casualties year after year.
Between 2004 and 2013, there were 3 attacks (1 bombing, 1 shooting, and 1 stabbing), with a total number of victims of 7 dead and 16 injured.
During 2014, there were 3 attacks – all in December, around Christmas (1 stabbing, and 2 vehicle ramming), with 1 dead and 24 injured.
During 2015, there were 6 attacks (2 shootings; 1 shooting and stabbing; 1 event involving shootings, hostage taking, and suicide bombings [the November 13-15 Paris attack], 1 stabbing, and 1 beheading), with 152 dead (including 130 in the Paris November attack) and 383 injured (including 352 in the Paris November attack).
During this first half of 2016, there were 4 attacks (2 stabbings and 2 vehicle ramming events, including the Nice attack), with at least 83 dead (including 80+ in the Nice attack) and at least 103 injured (including 100+ in the Nice attack).
The figures from the Nice attack are not final. But obviously, in terms of number of dead and injured (80+ dead and 100+ injured, respectively), the Nice attack is in solid second place, after the Paris attack in November in the Bataclan club, the national stadium Stade de France, and elsewhere in the city and surpassing the other Paris attack, on January 7-9, at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine office.
It has become noticeable also that some attacks have been scheduled during major celebrations (national days and Christmas).
3. The First Reactions and Lessons to Be Learned
While media continues to describe people in this last attack as being "shocked" and "petrified," I have been saying this for a while, and I will say it again: enough with the media's perpetual lamenting! Attacks of this type should be considered predictable already. We are in a state of war, but we fail to realize it.
The French president, François Hollande, was in the south of France when the attack occurred, and he returned to Paris to the national crisis center. Still, he said to reporters after the attack that the state of emergency (imposed after the Paris attacks in November 2015) would not be extended after its expiration date on July 26.
So there! We have been witnessing shocking times, indeed – and not from the series of the Islamic terrorist attacks, which should have been considered predictable, and avoidable, a long time ago (with the right intelligence work employed at the right times and places), but, on the contrary, from our top administration officials.
On one hand, we have a president – Barack (Hussein) Obama – who lives in a perpetual state of denial and refuses to call the attacks what they really are: Islamic terrorist acts. On the other hand, we have another president – François Hollande – who refuses to extend the state of emergency because "it would make no sense."
Two great countries – the United States of America and France – led by two weak and pathetic leftist presidents. What an indescribable shame!
Tiberiu Dianu is a scholar and author of several books and articles in law and post-communist societies. He studied law, human rights, and criminal justice at the universities of Bucharest (Romania), Strasbourg (France), and Oxford and Manchester (U.K.); American University (Washington, D.C.); and the University of Maryland at College Park (Maryland). He currently lives in Washington, D.C., where he works for various government and private agencies.
This was an historic attack against France. It is interesting how a terrorist attack with so many dead people was possible to happen in such a simple way. The truck just rammed into the crowd in full speed. The driver didn't seem to care what would happen to him. It was an intentional attack, since the truck was loaded with ammunition.
ReplyDeleteThe focus of the article is not on the description of the event, but rather on the solutions that should be found.The incidence of such attacks in France has been high and it resulted in a lot of dead people and hostage taking. The attacks seemed to have happened during important events attended by many people. Lamenting for the dead and feelings of shock when such events are repeated should stop. Instead, solutions to stop these terrorist attacks to happen must be found.
ReplyDeleteFormer presidents Obama and Hollande tended to minimize the importance of this kind of events. Their stubborn refusal to see those Islamic terrorist attacks for what they really were was the reason that has brought us the situation we are all in today.
ReplyDelete