“The suspected perpetrator of the May 24 on the Jewish Museum of Belgium [was] a young French Muslim, a veteran of a jihadi group fighting to topple the Assad regime in Syria,” haaretz.com reports. “Western intelligence services believe that more than 1,200 European and North American Muslims are fighting there at any given moment, in an effort to topple the regime. Many are fighting in the ranks of organizations affiliated with Al-Qaida, and some return home afterward to continue their jihad.” In other words, anti-American, anti-capitalist, anti-Jewish Muslims are being radicalized and trained in the ways of terrorism before returning to Everytown USA. And that means . . .
From the standpoint of Western countries, this is just the beginning of a more serious problem. For almost a year now, American and European intelligence services have worried over the possibility of veterans from the Syrian fighting seeking to perpetrate a mass terror attack like that of 9/11 upon returning home.
Got gun? Once again, I’d like to remind TTAG’s Armed Intelligentsia and their brothers-who-should-be-carrying-arms that the so-called first responders are not the first responders.
When the 9/11 terrorists attacked, the passengers and crews of the airlines hijacked by the killers were the first responders. And that’s after you consider the possibility that the women in Las Vegas who “entertained” the hijackers could have been the first responders. Or the flight instructors in Florida. Or any number of people.
Lest we forget, the brave passengers of United Flight 93 were the first responders. They did counter a terrorist attack, and eliminated the threat. And they were unarmed. Would they have survived if one or more of the passengers had been allowed to exercise their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms in American airspace? I think so maybe yes.
While the odds that the feds will restore civilians’ right to keep and bear arms on airplanes are lower than the odds that I’ll link to an Israeli supermodel for this metaphor, the more Americans who carry firearms in their day-to-day, the more vigilant they are, the better our chances of stopping these monsters before they attack. Or as they attack. Or after they attack.
That’s common sense. Which is not so common.
Western intelligence services know the route young European Muslims take to join the war in Syria (most simply fly to Turkey and then cross the border into Syria, either on foot or by car). But aside from tightening surveillance of preachers identified as extremists, they have not yet found any real way to deal with the problem. Israel can help only on the margins, by sharing intelligence and giving advice on protecting Jewish sites in Europe.
Armed self-defense is an historical and evolutionary adaptation that allows individuals to protect their genetic line. Spread throughout a society, it gives large groups a vital means of self-defense, too. It’s too bad we didn’t learn that lesson after 9/11. But as sure as eggs are eggs, we will. Let’s just hope the reaction won’t be an even greater push for civilian disarmament and increased government control.