Mistakes in France Helped Terrorists

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

There were serious snafus in French intelligence gathering and security. The terror that devastated France may not have been perpetrated had intelligence and police acted differently.

The French neither tracked nor followed the terrorists - even though they possessed the knowledge that they were a serious security threat.

That was a sin of omission. It was something that France should have done, but did not do. And they also committed a sin of commission. French police did something that they should not have done. They did something that altered the course of terror.

When the terrorists left the offices of Charlie Hebdo they drove their car into a narrow alley where they got out to reload and to celebrate. They shouted in elation that they had ravaged Charlie Hebdo and avenged the Prophet. At that point a police cruiser came down the alley.

The terrorists assumed they would be shot at. But instead, after a few seconds, the police, ignoring the actions of the terrorists, sped backwards allowing the terrorist vehicle to pass.

The terrorists were shocked. They jumped back in their car and eased forward cruising out of the alley. After going nose to nose with the police cruiser, the brothers quickly turned left and sped away. The police car stood still the police were not in pursuit.

And thus began the massive national manhunt that ended two days and five innocent lives later.

All the police had to do was not let the terrorist car turn. But instead, they let them turn.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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France Asked Bibi Not to Attend Rally

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

On Sunday Haaretz, the Israeli daily paper of record, sent out a screeching alert that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was going to Paris to participate in the rally - defying terrorism and standing in support of the fight against terror by honoring the 17 French victims, 4 of whom were Jews murdered in the kosher supermarket.

The kicker is that French President Hollande did not want Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to attend the rally. WOW!

Obviously, Netanyahu went anyway. And just as obviously, they came to an understanding.

Here are the probable reasons Hollande had for asking Netanyahu to keep out of his rally.

1- The presence of both Netanyahu and PA President Abbas might steal the show. The spotlight would shine on them and the lack of progress in their negotiations towards peace.

2- Netanyahu would arrive with a very large delegation and a very large security team. It would make the rally very difficult to manage securely.

3 - Netanyahu has been calling on French Jews to move to Israel as a result of the threat of terror and the flagrant anti-Semitism running rampant in France. This is a direct offence to the French who do not see the threat as substantial.

4 - Hollande and his advisers do not believe that terror in Israel can be paralleled to the terror they face in France. In Israel, they maintain, terror is understandable. It is political and, therefore, in their eyes it is justified. In France, the terror is Islamic.

Netanyahu speaks about the Western world working to together to confront the same threats. France would like to think that the Palestinian terror Israel is confronting is not the same as the threat they are facing.

In the end the French changed their minds. Israel played the victims card. How would it look if the prime minister of Israel announced that he was going to France and then changed his plans. How would it look if he was not at a rally in honor of 4 Jews brutally murdered in a kosher market and awaiting burial in Israel.

I'll tell you how it would look. It would look far worse than if the president or vice president of the United States was not there.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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France Not Mourning Death of Jews

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

The French are not mourning the brutal murder of four Jews at the hands of a Muslim terrorist. They are mourning the loss of their own innocence.

The 17 people murdered by Muslims terrorists in Paris last week awakened France to the dangers of Islamic terror. Until now the French saw Islamic terror as an atrocious act reserved for Jewish targets.

They were repulsed but did not act significantly to stymie the threat. There were a few rallies and politicians recited touching rhetoric. But there was little significant movement to combat the terror threats.

Once the attacks touched the fabric of French culture - the press, then the nation woke up.

France is not prepared to deal with the threat. Terrorists on the US "no fly list" were not even tracked in France. Even if they were tracking the terrorists the French could not and would not be able to tap their phones and computers or share the material with other countries to battle the terror.

The French need to change their laws. They need to realize that, in the current state of terrorist affairs, it is crucial to cooperate with others and to track their own threats inside their own country.

The alternative is now obvious, even to the French.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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French Terrorists Were ISIS - Video Proves

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

A video has emerged showing French terrorist of Algerian extraction, Amedy Coulibaly, pledging allegiance to ISIS and specifically to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS and the Caliph.

Since events unfolded on Wednesday analyst and columnists and talking heads have stubbornly refused to see the ISIS connection. They were all basing their assumptions on the past history of the Kouchi brothers, asserting that they were involved only in al Qaeda.

But things change - especially in the world of extremism. And for hard core extremists the more radical you become the more likely you are to seek out radical movements. When ISSI came around these French terrorists hit the web and created a club of like minded ISIS followers. They were certainly influenced by ISIS - and this video proves it.

In the video Coulibaly explained his connection to the Kouchi brothers saying: "We've done things a bit together, a bit apart, to try to and achieve more impact."

The terrorists were clearly linked. That is why Coulibaly demanded the release of the brothers and why he threatened to murder the hostages in the kosher supermarket if they were not released.

ISIS is not about membership, ISIS is about affiliation. It is crucial that we understand the difference.
As soon as you click onto ISIS sites you are affiliated.

This is just one in a long list of examples demonstrating how little we understand ISIS and the people who will pick up the sword to fight their cause.

Micah@MicahHaleprn.com 

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A Muslim Challenges ISIS

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:
For over a decade I have been calling for Muslims to stand up against extremism within Islam. Very few have taken up the challenge. Many Muslims are fearful of reprisal, petrified that they will be attacked verbally and physically.

And then, I discovered a convenience store manager in Minnesota named Ahmed. Ahmed is producing video shorts combating Muslim extremism. He is going it all alone. Each of his shorts cost about $4000. As says, he is addressing one issue at a time. His audience is small.

ISIS, on the other hand, produced a 55 minute long format video that went viral. Called the "The Flames of War" it is all over the internet. ISIS inspires young people to join the cause and fight the West.

So Ahmed from Minnesota decided to create a 76 second short called "The Flames of Hell." It is a cartoon that depicts a Muslim who is shooting captives, all of whom are bound, in the desert. The cartoon asks: "How many innocent children, women and men has the Islamic State killed today? Do you want to save mankind or kill mankind? Your choice!" In the background is the echo of gunfire.

All the videos Ahmed creates end with the expression "Peace Up, Extremist Thinking Down" and all the characters give a thumbs up and a thumbs down. He uses the Koran in his videos in an effort to disprove the much more slick media produced by al Qaeda and ISIS.

Over the last few months the short videos received a few thousand views on Youttube. That can be considered a modest success. Ahmed from Minnesota is fighting a long, uphill battle. A large number of kids from Minnesota have run off to Somalia and Iraq and Syria to fight.

Ahmed needs to make more videos. And more people need to watch them.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Paris Terrorist Were ISIS

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Much has been written and reported about the horrific terror attack in Paris.

The terrorists are said to be from al Qaeda - but that is not so clear. One of the terrorists, Charif Kouachi, was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison in 2008 for recruiting and organizing people to join all Qaeda and fight for the cause.

But between the years 2008 and 2015, ISIS emerged and many groups and many organizers went from al Qaeda to ISIS.

It is more than probable that the Kouachi brothers started as al Qaeda and ended up as part of ISIS.

Al Qaeda has a loosely knit organizational structure in Europe. Al Qaeda sends commands through the internet. They have coded communications. The hierarchy of leadership draws up plans and then recruits are vetted and terrorists are trained and selected to implement those plans.

ISIS is not a membership organization in Europe. ISIS trained their people in combat in Iraq and Syria. Then they sent them home to wreak havoc. If they frequented ISIS websites -- they were ISIS.

That seems to be how this heinous attack unraveled in Paris.

Micah@micahHalpern.com 

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Rand Paul Says Stop Funding PA

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Senator Rand Paul, who will almost certainly throw his hat in the ring as a Republican presidential contender, submitted a bill to the Senate to immediately stop all aid to the Palestinians.

He said:
"We are currently sending roughly $400 million of US taxpayer dollars to the Palestinian Authority."

"Certainly, groups that threaten Israel cannot be allies of the US; I will continue to do everything in my power to make sure this president and this Congress stop treating Israel's enemies as American allies."

The Leahy bill already makes it illegal for the United States to give any money to the Palestinians if they bring Israel before the International Criminal Court, the ICC. Some say joining the Court is the first stage of that process, others say it is only after April 1 when Palestinians actually become members of the Court that they will have stepped over the boundary of what the US considers acceptable behavior, and still others say it is only after they submit legal papers outlining the complaint.

Senator Paul is proposing stop the aid now - without a discussion on when the Palestinians actually violate the existing Leahy law.

As a rule, Rand Paul is against foreign aid but he knows that it is necessary - sometimes. Here is a perfect example of why aid should sometimes be stopped.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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