By: Alvin Wilson Staffwriter
France was shocked on the evening of Friday, Nov. 13, 2015 when ISIS gunmen attacked various events in Paris.
According to French authorities, three teams of ISIS suicide bombers attacked six busy areas, killing 129 people.
BBC reported that France’s president, Francois Hollande, has announced his intention to destroy ISIS.
Hollande said, “We are not committed to a war of civilizations, because these assassins don’t represent any civilization. We are in a war against terrorism, jihadism, which threatens the whole world.”
President Hollande urged France’s parliament to give him the authority to add 5,000 policemen to the country’s paramilitary force by 2017, and also to make it easier to deport and strip the citizenship of any foreigner who poses a threat to the nation, according to BBC.
The Sunday after the attack in Paris, French planes dropped 20 guided bombs, “targeting sites including a command centre, a recruitment centre for jihadists, a munitions depot and a training camp,” according to BBC.
“Already, the French struck very quickly and did considerable damage,” Dr. Dean Braa, Western sociology professor, said. “I think that’s just the beginning. We’re going to see incredible mobilization and cooperation, I would think, based on the NATO alliance.”
BBC also reported that France has mobilized 115,000 security personnel.
128 raids have been performed on suspected terrorists. Many of the attackers were identified, and one is believed to have fled to Belgium.
French authorities believe they have identified the attackers as Salah Abdeslam, 26, Brahim Abdeslam, 31, Omar Ismail Mostefai, 29, Bilal Hadfi, 20, Ahmad al-Mohammad, 25, and Samy Amimour, 28, according to BBC.
At least two of the attackers were from the Paris area, and two additional attackers have yet to be identified.
According to the United Nations, Syrians make up the world’s largest refugee population, with roughly 11 million people actively fleeing their country.
The Syrian refugee crisis is already affecting millions of people around the world, and these attacks will likely scare a lot of people in countries who are receiving refugees. According to CNN, more than half of the U.S. governors oppose letting Syrian refugees into their states.
Braa thinks that is exactly what ISIS wanted.
“What ISIS wants to do is make the West worried that anybody and everybody is a potential target,” he said.
And President Obama agrees. “I cannot think of a more potent recruitment tool for ISIS than some of the rhetoric that’s been coming out of here during the course of this debate,” Obama said in response to the opposition of Syrian refugees, according to CNN.
Braa said we can’t let our fear cloud our judgement.
“There is a stereotype that is completely unfair that Muslims are going to disproportionately be terrorists. There’s no evidence to support that,” he said.
“A terrorist can come out of any group,” Braa said. “Some of the serious terrorist acts in the United States have been conducted by American citizens born and raised here.”
In addition to an air strike already performed on ISIS, Hollande has spoken to Russian President Putin about taking action, and he plans on flying to Washington to meet with President Obama next week, according to BBC.
U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, arrived in Paris on Monday, Nov 16 to show support for what he called “America’s oldest friend,” according to BBC.
