jbg Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 One of the matters little explored regarding the Toulose horrors (link to earlier thread) is how this allegedly deranged "lone wolf" managed to travel three times to the Afghanistan/Pakistan region. Mind you, there are no discount flights to these areas. They are not tourist paradises. They must be rather expensive. Indeed, a quick check of Expedia (link) shows a round-trip fair of $1452 between Paris and Islamabad. There must be costs for additional connections to the Tribal Zone. Similar flights to Kabul run $4,995. What I would like to know is who is paying for this rather expensive transportation, who is feeding the jihadis in both Pakistan/Afghanistan and the West, and why no one is curious. The story excerpted below (link adjacent to headline) briefly mentions Mohamed Merah's love of travel to the world's garden spots. Road to Mohamed Merah's radicalization goes through Afghanistan (link) TOULOUSE, France — For Mohamed Merah, the Frenchman suspected of killing four Jews and three Muslim soldiers in southwestern France, the road to radicalization ran from a delinquent childhood in Toulouse to Kandahar in Afghanistan. Merah, 24, who was holed up in a suburban Toulouse apartment on Wednesday, besieged by police commandos from the elite RAID unit, claimed affiliation with al Qaida and said he wanted to avenge the deaths of Palestinian children, French Interior Minister Claude Gueant said. ******************************************* "His radicalisation took place in a Salafist ideological group and seems to have been firmed up by two journeys he made to Afghanistan and Pakistan," the interior minister said. ******************************************* A French security source said Merah had spent about a year in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region. The gunman said he had undergone military training with al Qaeda in the Pakistani province of Waziristan, Molins told reporters. ******************************************** Instead, they believe he is probably a lone wolf, or almost-lone-wolf, with at most a handful of associates including perhaps his brother. ************************************************ Molins said Mohamed Merah made his own way to Afghanistan without using networks of facilitators under surveillance by Western intelligence. His second Afghan stay in 2011 was cut short after three months when he contracted hepatitis A and returned to France in mid-October, the prosecutor said. Reactions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Weber Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 One of the matters little explored regarding the Toulose horrors (link to earlier thread) is how this allegedly deranged "lone wolf" managed to travel three times to the Afghanistan/Pakistan region. Mind you, there are no discount flights to these areas. They are not tourist paradises. They must be rather expensive. Indeed, a quick check of Expedia (link) shows a round-trip fair of $1452 between Paris and Islamabad. There must be costs for additional connections to the Tribal Zone. Similar flights to Kabul run $4,995. What I would like to know is who is paying for this rather expensive transportation, who is feeding the jihadis in both Pakistan/Afghanistan and the West, and why no one is curious. The story excerpted below (link adjacent to headline) briefly mentions Mohamed Merah's love of travel to the world's garden spots. Road to Mohamed Merah's radicalization goes through Afghanistan (link) TOULOUSE, France — For Mohamed Merah, the Frenchman suspected of killing four Jews and three Muslim soldiers in southwestern France, the road to radicalization ran from a delinquent childhood in Toulouse to Kandahar in Afghanistan. Merah, 24, who was holed up in a suburban Toulouse apartment on Wednesday, besieged by police commandos from the elite RAID unit, claimed affiliation with al Qaida and said he wanted to avenge the deaths of Palestinian children, French Interior Minister Claude Gueant said. ******************************************* "His radicalisation took place in a Salafist ideological group and seems to have been firmed up by two journeys he made to Afghanistan and Pakistan," the interior minister said. ******************************************* A French security source said Merah had spent about a year in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region. The gunman said he had undergone military training with al Qaeda in the Pakistani province of Waziristan, Molins told reporters. ******************************************** Instead, they believe he is probably a lone wolf, or almost-lone-wolf, with at most a handful of associates including perhaps his brother. ************************************************ Molins said Mohamed Merah made his own way to Afghanistan without using networks of facilitators under surveillance by Western intelligence. His second Afghan stay in 2011 was cut short after three months when he contracted hepatitis A and returned to France in mid-October, the prosecutor said. Reactions? Reactions?? It costs me over $2000 to fly Air France to Yaounde,Cameroon...YYZ to CDG to NSI.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted March 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 Reactions?? It costs me over $2000 to fly Air France to Yaounde,Cameroon...YYZ to CDG to NSI.... But you're apparently highly employable. Not the crazed nut he's being made out to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Weber Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 But you're apparently highly employable. Not the crazed nut he's being made out to be. Yes I am... Another interesting thing from the article...His involvment in a Salafist group...If I miss my guess,arent the Salafists the potential king maker for the Muslim Brotherhood in the Egyptian elections? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest American Woman Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 Reactions?? It costs me over $2000 to fly Air France to Yaounde,Cameroon...YYZ to CDG to NSI.... Investigators said that he lived beyond his means, so that has been recognized. His brother, who said he's proud of his actions, is being questioned by anti-terrorist police. From what I've read, the possibility that he had accomplices or logistical help is being investigated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Weber Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 Investigators said that he lived beyond his means, so that has been recognized. His brother, who said he's proud of his actions, is being questioned by anti-terrorist police. From what I've read, the possibility that he had accomplices or logistical help is being investigated. Would'nt shock me if he did... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-TSS- Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 I know it must cost a lot to get into Afghanistan but not a fortune, surely not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted March 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 I know it must cost a lot to get into Afghanistan but not a fortune, surely not? You're missing the point. The guy had to be almost penniless, and yet he was traveling to expensive destinations. Who was paying? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest American Woman Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 I know it must cost a lot to get into Afghanistan but not a fortune, surely not? As I said, the investigators said there was evidence that he was living beyond his means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted March 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 As I said, the investigators said there was evidence that he was living beyond his means. Yes but airlines usually don't extend credit. Someone was funding that living beyond means. I suspect strongly that the Islamists are keeping their cell members in the West fed and happy. That's what I'd like to learn more about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubberMiley Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 Yes but airlines usually don't extend credit. They accept credit cards though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted March 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 They accept credit cards though. Someone had to back him to get such a card. Wherein lies part of the mystery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GostHacked Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 Investigators said that he lived beyond his means, so that has been recognized. His brother, who said he's proud of his actions, is being questioned by anti-terrorist police. From what I've read, the possibility that he had accomplices or logistical help is being investigated. It's rarely a lone wolf scenario. Most of these type of actions reported in the past few years have initially claimed that there was more than one. Fort Hood, Bravek, this guy... all had those reports. Quickly scrubbed from the news media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest American Woman Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 The brother has been charged in the crime. French prosecutors have filed preliminary charges against the older brother of an Islamist gunman who shot and killed seven people during a shooting rampage in southwestern France earlier this month. Abdelkader Merah was charged Sunday with complicity to murder and involvement in terrorism. link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted March 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 It's rarely a lone wolf scenario. Most of these type of actions reported in the past few years have initially claimed that there was more than one. Fort Hood, Bravek, this guy... all had those reports. Quickly scrubbed from the news media. Quite true. Governments like to pretend there aren't serious problems. Dealing with elite issues is far more interesting to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeyhands Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 Someone had to back him to get such a card. Wherein lies part of the mystery. No they didn't. When I was younger I got in to "trouble" with credit cards, the banks are more than happy to extend credit to those who can't afford it. You should see what happened in the US with credit in the last 10-15 years with people purchasing homes! Horrible story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted March 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 No they didn't. When I was younger I got in to "trouble" with credit cards, the banks are more than happy to extend credit to those who can't afford it. You should see what happened in the US with credit in the last 10-15 years with people purchasing homes! Horrible story. SH, aren't you curious to know if there's some organizational backing for this commute between such garden spots of tourism as Pakistan and Afghanistan and Western countries? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubberMiley Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 SH, aren't you curious to know if there's some organizational backing for this commute between such garden spots of tourism as Pakistan and Afghanistan and Western countries? Knowing never involves making things up though. Credit is easy to come by in our society. Unless, of course, you're a devout muslim. In which case, it's not allowed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeyhands Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 Unless, of course, you're a devout muslim. In which case, it's not allowed. There's no such thing as a devout Muslim, either you are a Muslim or you are not. According to them of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted March 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 There's no such thing as a devout Muslim, either you are a Muslim or you are not. According to them of course. That means all Muslims must be devout enough to plow a plane into a building, or go on a shooting spree at a school? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest American Woman Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 SH, aren't you curious to know if there's some organizational backing for this commute between such garden spots of tourism as Pakistan and Afghanistan and Western countries? As I said, that possibility is being investigated. A Frenchman suspected of helping his brother plot attacks against Jewish schoolchildren and paratroopers was handed preliminary murder and terrorism charges Sunday. But Abdelkader Merah denied any role in the attacks. Investigators looking into France's worst terror attacks in years believe Merah helped his brother Mohamed prepare the killings, and are investigating whether they were linked to an international network of extremists or worked on their own. link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogOnPorch Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 Knowing never involves making things up though. Credit is easy to come by in our society. Unless, of course, you're a devout muslim. In which case, it's not allowed. Probably just cashed in his Air Miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Weber Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 Probably just cashed in his Air Miles. Well...Ya gotta use 'em? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleeding heart Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 (edited) Even though I always collected 'em, part of me secretly thought they were useless. But I'm sending my son to Germany with Air Miles. God (or whoever) bless those miles! Sorry for the trite diversion...back to the topic now...... Edited March 26, 2012 by bleeding heart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted March 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 Sorry for the trite diversion...back to the topic now...... I hear, actually, that Pakistan's Indian Ocean beaches are nice this time of the year, and that the skiing up in the northwest is still pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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