Officials: 1 suicide bomber had Syrian passport as ISIS claims responsibility in Paris attacks

[Kurska]

"on the body of one of the suicide bombers who targeted France's national soccer stadium.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for Friday's deadly attacks in Paris, France, that left 127 people dead.
ISIS made its announcement Saturday morning, shortly after French President Francois Hollande accused the group of conspiring to commit the deadliest attack in the country's history since World War II. Hollande is meeting top government and security officials after suicide bombers targeted a stadium, concert hall and Friday night cafe crowds
Hollande said he vows to strike the group back for what he called "an act of war."
The president of the International Olympic Committee says the terrorist attacks in Paris are "an attack on humanity and all humanitarian and Olympic values."

Thomas Bach adds in a statement: "Today all people of goodwill will say: We are all French."
Meanwhile, British police say the north terminal at Gatwick Airport is being evacuated as a precaution after authorities found a suspicious article.
Police described the evacuation Saturday as a precaution, but the incident comes at a time of heightened concern in Britain in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Paris. Police have announced additional security at ports and big events in light of the attacks."

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/isis-claims-responsibility-paris-attacks/npNCB/

So was he a refugee too? I'll be very curious to see how someone with a Syrian passport got into France to help carry out a deadly suicide bombing.

Anyone else remember how ISIS was boasting about infiltrating Europe with terrorists hidden among the refugees? Doesn't seem so crazy now, does it?

[CJCRANE]

1. It's all very predictable. These things are foreshadowed months if not years in advance.

But you're accused of being a conspiracy theorist if you point it out at the time.

[Kurska]

2. It amazed me that people thought

It was impossible for a well funded terrorist group to infiltrate their members into a barely regulated stream of millions of people.

[CJCRANE]

6. I gravitated to DU during the Bush era

because LWers had the strongest grasp on reality and the most curiosity.

But many on today's DU often seem to be in a bubble, oblivious to what's going on in the wider world and more determined to stick to partisan talking points rather than getting to the truth of the matter.

[EL34x4]

7. As predictable as the sun rising in the east.

And it's not over yet. This is just the beginning. ISIS recruitment within Europe is going to go through the roof.

Brace yourself for the "new normal" in Europe.

[Kurska]

8. This has the reality for years in places like Israel, lebanon, Iraq and Syria.

I wonder how Europe will adapt to these circumstances.

[EL34x4]

10. Europe has had practice dealing with unwanted ethnic groups.

They became very good at it.

Think it can't happen again? I'll bet it can.

If one prays to Mecca five times a day, it might be time to consider looking for housing accommodations elsewhere before these decisions are made for you.

[razorman]

11. And the reactions to this event are predictable, too.

There will be fear of an "anti-Muslim backlash" which never materializes. Such sentiments as "Today, we are all French" (just like, "We are all New Yorkers" after 9-11) will last about two weeks. In a couple of months this event will fade into history, and the cycle will start over again, until the next attack.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. On the whole, refugees don't have passports

which are more a sign of someone with the ability to take scheduled travel. And there isn't a general ban on Syrians travelling - after all, there are many Syrian factions. And a Syrian could have exited the country before the civil war started, and could have legal permission to stay long-term in France. On its own, the passport doesn't tell us much.

[Kurska]

4. The only thing it tells us is where he came from

You're right it doesn't say anything about how he got there.

Though I think if you're trying to make a refugee claim as a Syrian, your passport might help you. I do wonder what percent of refugees do have passports. Syria was a solid second world nation before the civil war, I'm sure a large number of people had passports and many refugees took them with them.

[CJCRANE]

5. I'm not sure how true that is. A Syrian passport is actually a vital asset if you're a refugee.

There are stories of some throwing their passports away but I haven't seen any figures about what percentage do that.

[EL34x4]

9. Fraudulent Syrian passports were easy to acquire

NPR had a story on all the refugees ditching their non-Syrian passports for fake Syrian ones. They didn't even need to be convincing facsimiles. Nobody was questioning them.

[ffr]

12. I'm left wondering, why attack the French?

Was it the ease of getting firearms into that region with attackers embedded in the population, as opposed to somewhere else...path of least resistance, ease of attacking innocents? Seems cliche, but what's the French connection here?

[philosslayer]

13. Is this a serious question?

The attacks were done as a propaganda and recruiting tool. What better place to attack than one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world?

[ffr]

14. Am I a stooge for not knowing the obviousness of that?

But of course, attack Paris. It's listed right here on the ISIS recruiting brochure. But then, NYC and LA are on par with Paris, so why not attack them too? And the U.S. is far more in the fight against ISIS than is France. Which brings me back to the original question. Was it because of resources? Why not Milan, the fashion capital of the world? But no, they selected multiple attacks on Parisians. So why them more than anyone else?

[randome]

15. Paris is 'The City of Light'. They want to quench the light of multiculturalism.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]"The whole world is a circus if you know how to look at it."
Tony Randall, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)[/center][/font][hr]

[ffr]

17. Is that in the ISIS recruiting brochure? What page?

They're attacking cities with lights and this is their reasoning? Seems there are lots of cities with lights closer to the middle east home of ISIS than Paris.

I'd be extra vigilant then if I lived in Broward County, Florida, the City of Lighthouse Point.

[alcibiades_mystery]

16. French aircraft are bombing ISIS non-stop for months

French troops halted the advance of Al Qaeda in the Maghreb, eventually forcing a ceasefire.

Behind the US, there is no Western country (let's exclude Russia for the moment) as tied to anti-ISIS and anti-al Qaeda military action as France.

France has a large Islamic population that increasingly under economic and cultural pressure, and therefore easy to recruit.

The question is not "Why France?" but "How is this only the second major attack in France?"

[ffr]

19. Thank you. This makes sense.

[randome]

20. Yet they have said nothing about North Africa. Not a thing.

They have mentioned Paris being "a capital of prostitution and obscenity" and, much later, Iraq and Syria. Yet nothing about NA, which you think is their primary motivation.

Al Qaeda is also not ISIS/Daesh.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"The whole world is a circus if you know how to look at it."
Tony Randall, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)[/center][/font][hr]

[alcibiades_mystery]

21. Yes, I know that

You say " which you think is their primary motivation." I said nothing of the sort. I'm putting out the multiple possibilities for the targeting of France, given our limited information.

Thank you also for the obvious and condescending lesson on ISIS as distinct from al Qaeda. We can have conversations, randome, without treating each other in such a shitty manner.

[odd_duck]

18. Seriously!?!

Why is it that a 'magic' passport always appears when these things happen???