DAILY SHOOTER
European Edition
21st Century Wire
Everyone loves a good story, especially one with a happy ending – and in the US, if that happy ending has a military flavor too – then it makes for an even better story. On closer examination however, this latest random ‘terror’ incident in Paris appears somewhat scripted.
This past Friday, at 5:45 p.m. on a TGV ‘bullet’ train during the height of commuter rush hour in the town of Oignies near the historic town of Arras, a “Moroccan man” was said to be carrying an automatic assault rifle. As if by magic (indeed, magic seems to play a central role in all Daily Shooter events), two plain clothed US serviceman and their ‘childhood friend’ on a European vacation, where hot on the scene – and sprung into action to thwart a potential deadly terrorist attack.
Both President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron have already weighed-in to shower praise of the heroic actions of these three US men and another British citizen involved.
But is that what really happened? Is there more to this picture-perfect story than meets the eye?
HEROES: Americans Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler.
We’re told that the lone gunman was then quickly subdued by Airman First Class Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos, a specialist in the National Guard from Oregon, Anthony Sadler (no military affiliations or government affiliations mentioned) and “British” passenger Chris Norman.
The same script seems to have been circulated to all US media outlets. The New York Times report has particularly colorful, made-for-TV account of the dramatic moment:
“Mr. Skarlatos, who was returning from a deployment in Afghanistan, looked over at the powerfully built Mr. Stone, a martial arts enthusiast. “Let’s go, go!” he shouted”
So, two US military men just happened to be at the exact location and at the exact moment of a would-be Islamic cut-out character with a rifle who was in the process of “opening fire on a random train full of civilians”.
Now if you are thinking to yourself, ‘what are odds of that?’ – you’re not alone.
CNN’s Pamela Brown delivered the all too familiar ambiguous ISIS accreditation to the event, who wasn’t positive whether or not the shooter was, “sympathetic to ISIS, but a full determination on his specific loyalties has yet to be reached.”
CNN’s Poppy Harlow was crowing on Saturday, “The left America as tourists, and now they’ll be returning as heroes.” The three new “American Heroes” are apparently scheduled to meet with French President Francois Hollande on Monday to receive their second medal of honor (see their first medal below) in a ceremony celebrating their ‘heroic act of self-sacrifice’.
Undoubtedly, the last action hero of this event was US Airforce man Spencer Stone, who his colleague say was injured and bleeding during his struggle with the gunman, and then left the gunman to help a bleeding passenger whom Chris Norman, Anthony Sadler and Alek Starlatos said, “would have bled to death,” had Stone not rushed 10 meters over to, “stop the man bleeding from his neck”. It’s also reported that Stone’s thumb was severed and had to be reattached by French doctors. A true story of triumph and valour over adversity.
Watch the raw cell phone video here of the heroic aftermath here:
Most media outlets are claiming that the lone gunman emerged from the train’s toilet “brandishing the gun” before opening fire, and wounding two passengers.
Unfortunately, two separate stories have emerged about how this incident actually happened:
1. Shots Heard, Then Rugby Tackle – Speaking from France, Mr Sadler said: ‘We heard a gunshot, and we heard glass breaking behind us, and saw a train employee sprint past us down the aisle. They saw a gunman entering the train car with an automatic rifle, he said. ‘As he was cocking it to shoot it, Alek just yells, ‘Spencer, go!’ And Spencer runs down the aisle,’ Sadler said. ‘Spencer makes first contact, he tackles the guy, Alek wrestles gun away from him, and the gunman pulls out a box cutter and slices Spencer a few times. And the three of us beat him until he was unconscious.’ (…) ‘Spencer ran a good ten metres to get to the guy and we didn’t know that his gun was not working or anything like that,’ he said. ‘Spencer just ran anyway and if anybody would have gotten shot it would have been Spencer for sure and we’re very lucky that nobody got killed, especially Spencer.’ (Source: Mail Online)
So which was it?
Of course, the real story will have to wait pending an actual ballistics investigation (which may not be made public under a national security letter). Until then, we’re left with two conflicting versions of a story – but both of which maintain that Stone and the others had “saved many lives”. It is still possible that another version of events will be decided later, with one possibility being that rounds were fired as a result of the Americans tackling the gunman.
THAT WAS QUICK! (Image Source: Reuters/Mail Online)
In what might be the strangest ever photo-op in this whole affair – before the blood was even dry on the train seats, within mere hours – the new ‘heroes’ were quickly given “gold medals of bravery” by French authorities. This may very well be the fastest ever issuing of medals of honor in history. Fancy that?
Mystery Man
According to “witnesses” on the train, we’re told that the gunman was carrying a short-stocked Kalashnikov assault rifle, at least five magazines of ammunition holding almost 300 rounds, a handgun, a box-cutter and “some knives.”
No surprise that French authorities announced immediately that the 26-year-old Moroccan drifter was from Belgium and was said to be known to the Spanish authorities as a member of “the radical Islamist movement”, but the only problem here is that after announcing all of that, they still cautioned the public that French police had not fully confirmed his identity.
Lone gunman is hog-tied by American heroes.
In a matter of hours, authorities finally delivered a name for the gunman, who we’re told is one Ayoub El-Qahzzani. Just like the so many other high-profile Daily Shooters – including Charlie Hebdo’s Kouachi Brothers, Garland’s Elton Simpson and Ohio’s Chris Lee Cornell – to name only a few, we also learn that El-Qahzzani was in fact, “known to the security services and was under surveillance.” How convenient. Chalk it up as just another coincidence.
Reuters confirms that this lone gunman was under French police surveillance after foreign security services identified him as “dangerous”. But other media differ:
“French newspaper La Voix du Nord said Spanish authorities had pointed out the man to French police. It was not immediately clear whether he was still under surveillance at the time of Friday’s attack.
Other reports claim he is living in France, and not in Belgium:
“AFP has quoted an anti-terror source saying, ‘He lived in (southern) Spain in Algeciras for a year, until 2014, then he decided to move to France. ‘Once in France he went to Syria, then returned to France.'”
“The paper also cited security sources saying the suspected Islamist militant was seen on a plane to Turkey from Germany in May, and was thought to have visited Syria.” Naturally.
Incredibly, the gunman is connected to the Charlie Hebdo media circus of January 2015. Reporter Nick Fagge from the Mail Online state: “El-Qahzzani has been linked to a gang of Muslim fanatics in Belgium who opened fire on anti-terrorism officers when Special Forces closed in on them near the railway station in the eastern city of Verviers, in January 2015.”
According to mainstream media reports, Stone subdued the gunman and attended to the wounded and also tied up the gunman – all at the same time. If true, it was indeed a heroic act and certainly deserving recognition, but other aspects of the story appear to have been over-hyped and embellished by a media and governments who are desperate to feed the flagging War on Terror narrative. Much was made about the gallant act in Paris and how Stone and his holiday companions had “saved countless lives from a terrorist attack” even though it could not be proven the alleged assailant was a terrorist – and worse – it was revealed that the gunman’s AK-47 had jammed and that he had not known how to fix it.
These facts have been routinely swept under the rug by the media.
WEAPON: From fleeting images on social media, we get a glimpse of the shooter’s Kalashnikov.
“El Qahzzani has denied being part of a terrorist organisation and claims he discovered the Kalashnikov automatic rifle ‘under a bush’ in a Brussels park, La Voix Du Nord reports. It states: ‘According to our sources Ayoub El Qahzzani, who was transferred overnight from Arras to Paris, has explained that he found the guns and took them into the train toilet to understand how they worked, not to carry out an atrocity.'”
Other details also emerge of a 1970’s-style colorful controlled opposition terrorist outfit ala Carlos The Jackal. “The ‘Verviers group’ had been planning to abduct and behead a prominent law enforcement official and post a video of his assassination on the internet, according to a report in the Belgian media at the time.
The pieces are really fitting together nicely.
Happy Ending Sequel to Chattanooga?
From a Hollywood scripting point of view, this would be the sequel to last month’s bizarre Chattanooga Shooting, in which the public were led to believe that five active duty US military men were killed by what the US media described as a ‘ISIS-inspired’, Adam Lanza-like ghost character Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez.
Whereas Chattanooga was scripted as a tragedy, where “the fallen” were killed by an Islamic terrorist on US soil, “Let’s Roll Paris” had a happy ending featuring a few US military heroes.
Like so many of the other high-profile ‘terror-related’ media events, this incident has all the makings of a staged event…
Handler?
According to accounts, there was a second passenger with the alleged gunman. New York Times reported:
“Less than an hour away from Paris, a French passenger got up from his seat to use the toilets at the back of the carriage. Suddenly, in front of him rose a slightly built man. Across the man’s chest, in a sling, was an automatic rifle of the kind favored by jihadists the world over: an AK-47.”
Another key hero character in this drama is passenger, Chris Norman, who the media have been describing as “a British consultant who helps African entrepreneurs find financing in Europe.” A traveling salesman of international third world finance, no less. However, while speaking to media, it’s clear that Norman has a clear South African accent, but is not referred to as South African, but instead as ‘British’. It is not known whether or not Norman has a defense industry or government background. Norman remarked that the gunman was carrying an AK-47, but to date, there is no sign of an AK-47 at the scene.
In almost all of the major media press conferences, Norman appears to be the designated event spokesperson, and in this video he gives a full play-by-play of the event. Oddly, American Alek Skarlatos appears somewhat distant and almost looks disinterested in the video, which is odd considering what has just transpired:
Interestingly, Norman does not refer to gunman Ayoub El-Qahzzani as ‘the man’ or ‘the gunman’, rather, he continually refers to him as “the terrorist”. Considering that no investigation had taken place yet, Norman’s scripted deliver appears to have given away another staged aspect of this media event.
‘Let’s Roll!’ Part Deux
This latest incident reminds us the famous “Let’s Roll!” theatrical segment which has carved itself a niche in the popular folklore mythology surrounding the Attacks of September 11, 2001. As it turns out, the alleged 9/11 GTE from Flight 93 made by Todd Beamer may never have actually said the words “Let’s Roll!” and there are some serious problems with the veracity of that particular story as a whole.
This latest European installment of “Let’s Roll” has echoes of its forerunner. The media narrative is as follows:
“Alek Skarlatos, a specialist in the National Guard from Oregon who was vacationing in Europe with his Air Force friend, Airman First Class Spencer Stone and another American, Anthony Sadler, looked up and saw the gunman. Mr. Skarlatos, who was returning from a deployment in Afghanistan, looked over at the powerfully built Mr. Stone, a martial arts enthusiast. “Let’s go, go!” he shouted.”
Like 9/11, this Paris train event also featured the terrorist tool of choice – a ‘box cutter’:
“‘As he was cocking it to shoot it, Alek just yells, ‘Spencer, go!’ And Spencer runs down the aisle,’ Sadler said. ‘Spencer makes first contact, he tackles the guy, Alek wrestles gun away from him, and the gunman pulls out a box cutter and slices Spencer a few times. And the three of us beat him until he was unconscious.'”
Actors?
There was at least one actor on board during this event. It turns out that French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade was also on board the Thalys train and was given a prominent voice in the media after the fact. According to the Mail Online, “Anglade was on the train during the attack has slammed train staff who he claims locked themselves in an office away from the attacker and refused to help the trapped passengers.”
His comments feed into a predictable security state dialect.
Assuming that this was the latest in a seemingly endless line of “assembly line shooting incidents”, it’s possible that not all of the participants knew what they were taking part in, but if it was a staged incident designed for maximum media effect, then at least one of our four (not so unlikely) ‘heroes’ had to have prior knowledge that the drill would go live, and that a “active shooter” incident would indeed be taking place on the train at that moment.
Problem, Reaction, Solution: Security Agenda
The location of the incident places the agenda at the feet of the France. We’re told that the 26-year-old Moroccan national, who was known to security services, got on the train in Brussels and attempted his attack soon after crossing the French border.
The man handling the French messaging events for this latest Shooter event is none other than French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. What’s interesting is that Cazeneuve has been very publicly coordinating with the British Home Secretary Teresa May – in order to, “tackle immigration routes into Britain”. With all the recent media chaos over immigrant hordes at Calais, this story absolutely begs for a fast-track solution, or at least – some ’emergency measures’. Just 12 months ago, their campaign was launched:
“Britain will contribute 5 million euros ($6.4 million) annually over three years under the deal, according to a joint statement from British interior minister Theresa May and her French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve.”
Later in January 2015, Cazeneuv and May launched a new campaign for a new “European Anti-Terror Database”, when EU interior ministers met in Paris to step up their ‘drive against radicalisation’ and vowed to “disrupt movement of terrorist networks.”
The Guardian confirmed:
“The home secretary, Theresa May, led demands for a new Europe-wide travel database to track the movement of all air, train and ferry passengers at an emergency meeting of EU interior ministers in Paris on Sunday.
“While 4 million people marched in the name of liberty across France, the EU ministers, joined by senior US ministers, agreed to step up their drive against radicalisation, particularly on the internet, and to disrupt the movement of terrorist networks.
The joint statement said: “We are further convinced of the crucial and urgent need to move toward a European passenger name record (PNR) framework, including intra-EU PNR. We are prepared to move forward, adopting a constructive approach with the European parliament.”
May said after the meeting: “There was firm support at the meeting for new action to share intelligence, track the movement of terrorists and defeat their ideology. It is important that we now deliver on these talks so we can keep all our citizens safe from the very serious threat we all face.”
Unfortunately, and yet again, another so-called terrorist which they were “tracking” managed to wiggle free to carry out a completely senseless random attack – seemingly under their noses once again? Bad luck, or something else?
Bare in mind that immigration involving North Africans is also THE hot-button topic for Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration National Front party – currently challenging for power in France.
Here are the dominant points the public are meant to take away from this wonderful event:
1. Be afraid. Constantly.
2. Trains are also dangerous. We must have biometric ID’s to travel on trains.
3. More legislation and more money is needed to track and stop radicalized individuals in Europe.
4. We need to ‘tackle immigration’ from North Africa and the Middle East where all the supposed terrorists are coming from.
5. We need trained military personnel on our trains because they are the only ones who know how to ‘stop a terrorist.‘
6. We must confront ISIS in the Middle East, “before they hit us at home.”
Watch this video summary from Hate the Machine:
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