As the French security forces kept besieging the suspected terrorist Mohamed Merah in Toulouse, I had tweeted the following words three days ago:
"Following #Toulouse incident is increasingly seeming like watching Wag the Dog. I wouldn't get surprised if the suspect is 'eliminated' or if they sustain the 'siege' until the first round of presidential elections!"
So, why does the dog wag its tail?
The point of the cinematic reference is clear. As they really killed him after 32 hours, many questions rose. The ones that puzzle me most are the following:
1) According to French authorities, Merah killed a Muslim soldier on March 11th after stealing a motorbike on March 6th. On March 15th, he killed two more soldiers. The police found his IP address on March 17th, but failed to arrest him before the Jewish school massacre on March 19th. Why?
2) The French police admit that Merah was a usual suspect, considering his suspicious trips to Afghanistan and Pakistan. He got questioned on November. It is reported that he was on the no-fly list of the U.S., although the German intelligence -which is presumably better than the French one on AfPak affairs, denied that he evet got arrested in that region. Considering these facts, even if he was not constantly monitored by the French police, how come did he manage to buy an arsenal of weapons, including at least three Colt .45 pistols, a 9mm Sten submachine gun, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a pump-action shotgun, an Uzi machine pistol, as well as a Colt .357 Python revolver?
3) His first terrorist act targeted Muslims. His second terrorist act was a hit-and-run at a Jewish school in a Western country. It is said that he was recording everything with a video camera. After he was identified, he got himself fortified at his home and initially announced that he would surrender. In the end, he got shot and killed without killing anyone. All these stuff don't really associate with an Al Qaeda terrorist. Some of them reminds more of far-right lone wolfs.
4) It is beyond doubt that French authorities prolonged the siege as long as they could. The Minister of Interior behaved as if he was the spokesperson of this spectacle. Were there any political motives, considering the fact that this kind of "terrorism crisis" was favorable for President Nicolas Sarkozy’s candidacy, which was about to be buried by economic worries?
I don't see any clear answers for these questions and I will ask the most important one in the end, but the current picture inadvertantly reminds me of 9/11, the Mavi Marmara incident and the Dink murder in Turkey.
1) It reminds me of 9/11, when many people alleged that the U.S. intelligence failures could have a malign intent to invade Iraq and to restrict freedoms in America. Following Merah's death, Sarkozy assured his listeners that people who go abroad and "participate in ideological indoctrination that leads to terror" will be prosecuted (beware, immigrants!). Moreover, French authorities will crack down on Internet hate sites.
2) It reminds me of the Mavi Marmara incident that was also seen as an example of deliberate use of disproportionate force for political means. French security forces intentionally exhausted the suspect in 32 hours and then simply executed this 'sitting duck', instead of using tear gas or sleep gas.
3) It reminds of the prelude to the Dink murder. The Turkish colleagues of the French police had suspiciously underestimated the threat posed by a terrorist then, followed by an assassination which may have taken advantage by some political circles in Turkey.
So, now, I won't ask how French police could identify and locate the suspect in less than a day after Jewish children were slained, while they couldn't do it in thirteen days before, when Muslim soldiers were killed, although the evidence and clues stayed same.
I will ask something else:
Right after the school shootings, French police were suspicious about
three former soldiers who were fired for joining a neo-Nazi gang. Following the police revelation about an "Islamist terrorist," these racist suspects were released after being questioned and considered innocent.
I'm asking:
Did French police question these racist suspects as efficiently as they questioned Merah after he returned from Pakistan in November?
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