Post by mickthecactus on Mar 22, 2016 10:14:48 GMT
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says it is "not a surprise" that this attack has taken place but says it is "shocking it was so successful".
He said since the Since Charlie Hebo attacks in Paris in January last year, which killed 12 people, there had been a number of terror cells "on the loose" that had been inspired by so-called Islamic State and had access to weapons and explosives.
He said Belgian intelligence services had been playing "catch-up" since then and did not have a "very good system" of sharing information across the various authorities.
He said attacks in Britain had been prevented by Muslim communities reporting suspicious behaviour to police but this was not yet happening in Belgium.
Post by mickthecactus on Mar 22, 2016 14:20:09 GMT
Death toll seems to have risen to 34.
From BBC news-
BBC Europe Correspondent Chris Morris writes...
European security experts had been braced for another attack for months. But it is always a huge shock when it actually happens.
If this was "revenge" for the arrest of Salah Abdeslam on Friday, it will be a source of considerable concern that a functioning terrorist network was able to respond so quickly and with such devastating effect.
It is possible that a cell linked to Abdeslam brought forward the timing of a future attack because they thought he might blow their cover.
Either way, it shows how advanced the planning was in terms of logistics, explosives, weapons and people willing to carry out such attacks on civilian targets.
The priority now will be to ensure that anyone else who poses an imminent threat to the public is apprehended as soon as possible. But it is clear that there are still huge gaps in intelligence and Brussels is seen as a soft target.
In the words of France's President Hollande, the response from Europe will need to be "calm, lucid and determined" – and it will have to last for a long time.
I heard a report on the radio and an academic studying terrorism said that such an attack needs planning so was probably in the pipeline before the arrest on Friday. However, it may have precipitated it.
It makes sense that this guy arrested had many accomplices, and,there was evidence of detonators etc.well after his arrest. The Belgium officials despite their hyper vigilance, dropped the ball on this. The Belgium officials even acknowledge that another attack(s) were anticipated.
I heard a report on the radio and an academic studying terrorism said that such an attack needs planning so was probably in the pipeline before the arrest on Friday. However, it may have precipitated it.
The psychotic assholes seem to be working up to it all the time. The one who detonated him/herself on Istanbul's Istiklal street the other day pulled the pin early because of fear of detection.
I don't know that from our perspective we can say that the officials in Belgium "dropped the ball". These attacks happen because they're so often carried out by people with no criminal records nor reasons to notice them.
That's true. Or people with criminal records in areas unrelated to and even counter to religious fanatacism, such as the dope and beer-slinging Abelslam bros.
Here they arrested a 15-year-old boy who had managed to hold up a convenience store to buy a ticket to Turkey (to travel on to Syria). I live near Youth Court, so I'd see all the media vans outside the courthouse on my way to the branch library. Obviously since he was a minor they couldn't report his name or many details, but he was from a prosperous professional family and attended a private school.
I don't think I want to see that video. I've had to view stuff like that for work and don't want to otherwise.
There were not as many people as might have been expected, but people are afraid of crowds now, and security was quite dissuasive, perhaps too much so. That's the mayor of Paris wearing the tricolor sash.
There was a group photo with the mayor, the previous mayor, the mayor's arch enemy, the heads of monotheistic religions, government ministers and foreign ambassadors.
The mayor's arch enemy is Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet who was her rival for city hall. She was also the spokesperson of Sarkozy's political party, but she was too much of a loose cannon, so they dumper. Although she is still a member of the party, she is also an arch enemy of Sarkozy because she has presidential ambitions. She is the taller woman in the centre of the photo.
That absolutely makes sense -- the closer they are, the more influenced they can be and they also know they can trust the other if it's a brother or close relative.
This question was also raised after the Paris attacks when investigators absolutely wanted to get hold of cell phones and computers. The most likely form of communication would have been face to face in small groups, rather than by email or text messages.
Dick Annegarn's song "Bruxelles" immediately became the unofficial hymn of the event among French speakers. (Dick Annegarn is Dutch but lives in France.) It is a very melancholic song and much more appropriate than the Jacques Brel song "Bruxelles."
Bruxelles ma belle Je te rejoins bientôt aussitôt que Paris me trahit Et je sens que son amour aigrit Et puis Elle me soupçonne d'être avec toi le soir Je reconnais c'est vrai tous les soirs dans ma tête C'est la fête des anciens combattants d'une guerre Qui est toujours à faire
Bruxelles attends-moi j'arrive Bientôt je prends La dérive
Michel te rappelles-tu de la détresse de la kermesse de la gare du Midi? Te rappelles-tu de ta Sophie qui ne t'avait même pas reconnu? Les néons, les Léon, les Nondedjeu sublime décadence la danse des panses, Ministére de la biére Artére vers l'Enfer
Place de Brouckere
Bruxelles attends- moi j'arrive Bientôt je prends La dérive
Cruel duel celui qui oppose Paris névrose et Bruxelles abruti qui se dit que bientôt Ce sera fini L'ennui de l'ennui Tu vas me revoir Mademoiselle Bruxelles Mais je ne serai plus tel que tu m'as connu Je serai abattu courbatu combattu Mais je serai venu
Bruxelles attends, j'arrive Bientôt je prends La dérive
They played his Bruxelles on the Radio-Canada morning show earlier this morning (our time). I was reading the Wiki bio, and it said that he only recorded one song in Dutch, thus Bruxelles was never reprised as Brussel.