The suspected ringleader of last Fridays atrocities in Paris was killed in a raid on an apartment building in a Paris suburb, intelligence officials reported.
Good. I’m pleased French police are permitted to shoot to kill, however much that may distress Jeremy Corbyn.
More than 100 police and soldiers stormed the building during a seven-hour siege that left two dead including the suspected overseer of the Paris bloodshed, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who had once boasted he could slip easily between Europe and the Islamic State strongholds in Syria.
The confirmation was made after forsenic experts combed through the aftermath — blown-out windows, floors collapsed by explosions — presumably seeking DNA and other evidence. The intelligence officials spoke on condition of anonymity before announcements from authorities.
The death of the Belgian extremist Abaaoud closed one major dragnet in the international search for suspects from Friday’s carnage that killed at least 129 people and wounded 350 others. At least one other suspect believed closed linked to the Paris attacks remains at large.
Is the black cop above who participated in the raid a Muslim? Who knows? The point is, nobody should be surprised if he is, or if Muslim police officers took part in the operation.
Nor should anyone be surprised that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz– fresh from an appearance with a Christian pastor who has a lot in common with Islamist extremists– is currently trying to demagogue his way to the Republican presidential nomination by, among other things, advocating a federal law to ban Syrian Muslim refugees from the US but admit Syrian Christian refugees.
I eagerly await the details on how such a law would be enforced. How would you test whether someone is a Christian or a Muslim, senator?
The good news is that another demagogue who participated in the “kill the gays” event with Cruz– Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal– has dropped out the race for the GOP nomination.
Update: Five things to know about Syrian refugees in the United States.
Further update: The demagoguery and foolishness about Syrian refugees is not limited to Republicans.
Additional update: By contrast, good sense from a Republican (maybe because she’s not running for anything).
