Paris shooting and explosion kills at least 140

[Nugatory]

Can we not agree that, along with geo-political and economical grievances, religion does also play a role in motivating this ideology?

I do not think that you will find anyone within several standard deviations of the mainstream (not the American mainstream, the world!) who would not agree. "Along with geo-political and economical grievances, religion does also play a role..." is a great improvement over some of the simplistic and monocausal arguments that are circulating.

 

[Monsterboy]

Putin's done almost nothing to impede ISIS.

Perhaps, but it's only a matter of time because ISIS is major threat to Assad. I think Russia conducted air strikes on US trained rebels in Syria because they think the rebels are a threat to Assad and not just to the ISIS.

I doubt Putin counts the Global War on Terror as a major threat to his country. So, if he should gain influence over ISIS, even if by no more than leaving it alone to multiply, then it may well become his instrument to manipulate against the West.

ISIS is a bigger threat to Assad than NATO is currently, in order to secure Assad's regime Russia will have to take action against ISIS even if Putin is not worried about terror threats to Russia , "leaving it alone to multiply " will not be an option.

Currently the West counts terror as the biggest threat. As posts here indicate, certainly terror groups are counted as a bigger threat than ME dictators and their pals.

Yes , ME dictators and their pals are not threatening to terrorize our cities, US will have to risk a direct conflict with Russia in Syria if it wants to kick Assad out now ,which is in my opinion an unnecessary risk which solves nothing and divert attention from the war against ISIS ,which is IMO more important right now.

 

[Student100]

I'm sceptical as to how much ISIS was involved but I just wanted to point out that this bit is inaccurate. ISIS loves suicide attacks and pretty much relies on them. If you saw the Vice documentary that Greg posted some time ago they were boasting they have a massive list of volunteers for suicide missions. It was also reported that suicide attacks played an important role in the invasion of Ramadi. It's suicide that's not allowed in their interpretation of Islam, not suicide bombing.

Thanks, I must have misinterpreted something I read somewhere.

 

[DennisN]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/15/us-france-shooting-military-idUSKCN0T31HY20151115 (Reuters, Nov 14)

France, which has described the Paris assault as an act of war, can quickly ramp up its contribution to the air campaign against Islamic State targets.
Even before the Paris attacks, France had announced that its sole aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, would be deployed to the Middle East, arriving on November 18.
"We’re only a matter of days before the French carrier departs and heads to the Persian Gulf to do strikes," said former FBI official Martin Reardon, now with The Soufan Group consultancy. "I think France will do more."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/15/us-france-shooting-idUSKCN0T22IU20151115 (Reuters, today, Nov 15)

"We are at war. We have been hit by an act of war, organized methodically by a terrorist, jihadist army," Prime Minister Manuel Valls told TF1 television on Saturday night.

"Because we are at war we will take exceptional measures. We will act and we will hit them. We will hit this enemy to destroy them, obviously in France and Europe ... but also in Syria and Iraq," he said. "We will win."

EDIT: France on alert after Islamic state threatens more attacks (video clip, 14 Nov, incl. quotations from the IS homepage)

 

[Astronuc]

http://news.yahoo.com/paris-attacked-police-hunt-accomplices-065411619.html#

Molins said one was identified from fingerprints as a French-born man with a criminal record.

In addition, a Syrian passport found near the body of another attacker was linked to a man who entered the European Union through a Greek island last month.

Officials in Greece said the passport's owner entered in October through Leros, . . . .

The identities and backgrounds of most of the attackers still need to be determined. Mentioned below, it appears several identities are now known.

http://news.yahoo.com/paris-attacks-dont-move-well-kill-201441665.html

Paris (AFP) - Loic Wiels could feel the bodies hitting the floor around him at a Paris music hall where a team of assailants opened fire Friday in one of France's deadliest terror attacks.

https://www.yahoo.com/katiecouric/yahoo-news-special-report-paris-attack-updates-161018505.html
Three teams attacked Bataclan Concert Hall, Stade de France, and several restaurants near Bataclan. It appears 4 attackers were in the Bataclan, 2 at the State de France, leaving 2 attacking restaurants. The attack was apparently in planning for 3 or 4 months. Two attackers were from France, and several from Belgium.

One attacker had a ticket to the soccer game at Stade de France. A security guard notice the explosive vest and pushed the attacker back. The attacker then detonated his vest.

Video in the alley beside Bataclan - http://news.yahoo.com/bataclan-alley-paris-attack-video-153508390.html

There is a concern about the return of ISIS foreign fighters from Western states to US and EU,.
http://www.brookings.edu/research/flash-topics/flash-topic-folder/paris-attack-isis-threat-worldwide

http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/re...3-foreign-fighters-lister/en-fighters-web.pdf

 

[StevieTNZ]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/pol...-means-nz-less-vulnerable-to-attack--john-key

He did not believe the Paris attacks were due to a failure of intelligence, but instead the difficulty of monitoring all communication between terrorists.

"I wonder whether the right characterisation isn't that they failed but that the terrorists are becoming more sophisticated and quite a lot of the communications they have are what, in the business, we would call dark.

"In other words, we can't actually monitor them."

Quite concerning.

 

[Drakkith]

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