As details unfold about the suspect, Mohammed Merah, whose pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda led him to massacre students at a Jewish school and kill French soldiers a week beforehand, serious questions must be asked of French Interior Ministry officials who appear suddenly to have known quite a lot for quite a long time about Mr. Merah and his predilection for terror and did NOTHING.
There's not a doubt in my mind had someone in the US, say living in Southfield Detroit, had amassed an FBI profile merely approaching that of Mr. Merah's in France, he would have been spirited away in the night to Guantanamo. French officials claim to know much about Mr. Merah and his preparations for the crimes he committed. Trips to Afghanistan and Pakistan were clocked by authorities. According to reports today, it's highly likely his phone was tapped and his bank accounts monitored at various times over the past two years.
From the NYT today:
The suspect had traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan and called himself a
mujahedeen, or freedom fighter, and had been under surveillance by the
French domestic intelligence service for several years, Mr. Guéant said,
“though nothing whatsoever allowed us to think he was at the point of
committing a criminal act.” He became a suspect on Monday afternoon,
after investigators traced an IP address, used in connection with the
killing of the first paratrooper 10 days ago, to the suspect’s mother,
according to Pierre-Henry Brandet, a spokesman for Mr. Guéant.
So how was a creature like this not apprehended and interrogated before he could act? The only explanation would seem to be French political correctness.
The debate in the US concerning post-9-11 civil liberties will surely get strong instruction from the tragic events in Toulouse and the more tragical lack of action by French officials to proactively disrupt terrorism. The generally proactive US doctrine for discovering terrorist and disrupting their activities before they become crimes has been sharply debated, and for legitimate reasons of privacy and upholding the rule of law.
Pay close attention now to the facts behind Mr. Merah's capture and prosecution. I suspect it will be repulsive to find out how much was known about his plans and intentions, and equally disturbing to discover what French political sensitivities prevented authorities from stopping these heinous acts before they happened. American critics of proactive law enforcement, surveillance and interception will have some answering to do, too.
