On Friday night, a handful of gunmen
murdered 129 people on the streets, in restaurants and a theatre in Paris. The
dead and injured had committed no crime against Islam. This attack was targeted
at the way of life followed by millions of people in the first world. All told,
more than 500 people have been killed or wounded. When you add to this the numbers
of family members and friends who will have been affected by the slaughter,
there will be thousands of innocent people whose lives will now change. No
doubt the terrorists will enjoy this fact.
Why has Paris and France been targeted
so often this year? I cannot say but Western Europe is not a safe place at the
moment. I, for one, am relieved that the British government has toughened up
the surveillance rules. GCHQ Cheltenham and MI5 are not infallible but it is
claimed their work has foiled at least seven terrorist attacks in the UK in
recent times.
What the Paris perpetrators represent
is a hatred of societies that are educated, liberal, free, tolerant,
multi-racial and multi-cultural, values which any right-thinking person would
applaud. I cannot pretend to fathom the thought process of fundamental Muslims,
people who advocate extreme violence and are a disgrace to their religion.
Those who direct the terrorist attacks are cowards. They hide in bases in
Syria, Iraq and Iran whilst sending “soldiers” to do their dirty, violent work.
At a local dinner on Saturday night, I
stood in silence for a minute with 40 friends to show respect and solidarity to
our French friends. Monuments throughout the world have been illuminated in
red, white and blue, the colours of the Tricoleur. Friday night’s outrage seems
to have brought together people from the free world in protest at what ISIL has
done.
Whether the reaction of the French
government sending fighter aircraft to bomb Islamic State is right remains to
be seen but a proportional response seems to have gone by the board. Western
leaders seem to be building up to a joint onslaught. History tells us this is a
mistake and troops on the ground will be needed if ISIL is to be wiped out but
the emotional reaction by the Hollande government is understandable. However,
are the French playing into ISIL’s hands by creating more civilian deaths and
more martyrs to their devilish cause?
What is totally unacceptable is the
view expressed by Donald Trump at a rally in Beaumont, Texas, on Saturday:
“When you look at Paris — you know
the toughest gun laws in the world, Paris — nobody had guns but the bad guys.
Nobody had guns. Nobody. They were just shooting them one by one and then they
(security forces) broke in and had a big shootout and ultimately killed the
terrorists. You can say what you want, but if they had guns, if our people had
guns, if they were allowed to carry –” Trump said, pausing as the crowd erupted
into raucous applause, “– it would’ve been a much, much different situation.”
The only
country in the first world where citizens carry guns as of right is America, which
is also the country with the highest number of shooting crimes and deaths, year
on year. Does Trump really think the terrorists would have thought about their
actions twice in the knowledge that Parisians had guns? Does he not understand
that the reason why Western Europeans, Australians, New Zealanders and
Canadians do not carry guns is that they are not wanted? How many more people
would have died in shoot-outs on the streets of Paris?
Mr Trump,
your ill-considered, puerile and simplistic solution might appeal to the
gun-toting voters in your part of the world but over here, you would not get an
audience to applaud. People would hoot in derision. What happened in Paris was
a huge tragedy and statements like yours are about as unhelpful as can be. You
enjoy the right to freedom of speech but if you want to be taken seriously,
think more carefully about what you say. Uttering stupid and self-serving
remarks may work with some people state-side. However, I wouldn’t put a wooden
nickel on the Presidency being yours. It's hard enough fighting challenges to our way in life in Europe when we are attacked by terrorists. Mr Trump, we don't need you doing it too.
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