Last week we observed that Germany quietly escalated the potential for a “proportional” response to upcoming terrorist attacks (by those admitted in the country thanks to Merkel’s “open door” immigration policy) by including the army, in what to many sounds dangerously close to preannouncing martial law under “special cases.”
Recall that during a press conference given last week by Bavaria’s interior minister, Joachim Hermann, the politician suggested that Germany’s army should be used to aid police in dealing with major terror threats. The debate over whether to deploy the Bundeswehr domestically should not wait “until the next attack happens.” Lawmakers in Berlin are also discussing the possibility of establishing “troops of reservists” to aid police during internal crisis situations, German media outlet Bild reported, citing its own sources.
It appears that a dramatic response in response to the rising refugee threat – unleashed in Europe by Angela Merkel – is not only planned for Germany. Over the weekend, Bart De Wever, mayor of Antwerp and the leader of Belgium’s largest party, the Flemish separatist New Flemish Alliance, took a page right out of the Bush playbook, and said in interview with Gazet Van Antwerpen that Belgium needs a Patriot Act to give authorities more power to crack down on terrorism.
His claim: “mayors, police, and State security need to get information more easily and be able to act to prevent more tragedies.”
“It’s crazy I can’t act until after there has been a incident, even though I know where the young radicals are. I can’t close down a house, I can’t bug a phone, or put someone in custody as a preventative measure. We could do that if we had more power”, the Antwerp mayor explained. “It’s a priority” the government must tackle after summer vacation, creating “more elbow room” to gather information and take preventative action.
Bart De Wever
As a result, the Antwerp mayor is preparing legislative initiatives to discuss a “Patriot Act” when the government meets again. “It’s an absolute priority for me”, he says. According to De Wever, current rules don’t allow surveillance or phone tapping of suspects or detaining people preventatively. “We must be able to pick up ISIS fighters and hold them in prison as long as this war lasts, we must be able to act against their radicalized sympathizers” adding that “sympathy for ISIS is not an opinion but a crime.”
He also said Mosques should be recognized and funded “by us, which means that financing from other states dries up.”
And so history goes back to square 1: a terrorist act, directly inspired by the politicians’ own actions, promptly followed by a crackdown on civil liberties enjoyed by all. Almost as if it was planned that way.
Who knows: maybe in his ongoing inspiration by American proposals, De Wever will next propose a ban on all Muslim immigrants and even building a wall around Belgium to keep the unwanted elements out.
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