This brief Fjordman essay focusing on Islamic terrorism in
Spain then expanding his understanding to all the European Union (EU) is
something concerned Americans should understand the implications that are
applicable to the USA thanks to eight years of Obama/Dem immigration policies.
JRH 10/16/17
******************
How Barcelona Became a Victim of the Barcelona Process
By Fjordman
October 12, 2017 4:00 am
o The Barcelona Process, promoted by the EU, has helped to
facilitate a greater presence of Islam and Muslim immigrants in Western Europe
-- thereby also increasing the Islamic terror threat there. That result was
perfectly foreseeable.
o When the number of people who believe in Islamic Jihad
doctrines rises, the likelihood of experiencing jihadist attacks increases as
well.
o
It is unlikely, though,
that European political leaders will point to this connection. Doing so would
be an indirect admission that Europe's leaders have actively increased the
Islamic terror threat against European citizens. This is the brutal truth they
do not want exposed.
The murders on the pedestrian street of La Rambla in
Barcelona on August 17, 2017 were not the first Islamic terrorist attack in
Spain. On March 11, 2004, 192 people were killed, and around two thousand
injured, in the Madrid train bombings.
In hindsight, that attack marked a new phase in the modern
Islamic Jihad against Europe. After the Madrid bombings, London was hit with
deadly bombings on July 7, 2005. In recent years, the frequency of jihadist
attacks on European soil has increased dramatically.
It is probably not a coincidence that Spain was an early
target of Islamic terror. The Iberian Peninsula, present-day Portugal and
Spain, was for centuries under Islamic rule. Militant Muslims have
repeatedly made it clear that for them, reconquering Spain is a priority.
The
murders on the pedestrian street of La Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017
were not the first Islamic terrorist attack in Spain. (Image source: JT Curses/Wikimedia Commons)
Ironically, some people in Barcelona seem to view tourists
who pay for short-term visits as a greater threat than Muslim immigrants who
come to stay permanently. One can hear similar reactions among some radical
left-wing activists, for instance, in Greece.
Mass tourism can potentially cause problems such as
overcrowding and local pollution. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that only a
few days before the terror attack in Barcelona, some locals were complaining
about an invasion of tourists. One radical left-wing group, Arran, published footage
of tourist bikes in the city having their tires punctured in acts of deliberate
sabotage. Of course, the problem might be even greater if there were too few
tourists.
Meanwhile, a real invasion of Spain and Europe is taking
place. For years, huge numbers of illegal immigrants from the Islamic world and
Africa have been entering, especially through Greece or Italy.
Spain, too, has seen a spike in the number of illegal immigrants.
The Spanish-controlled enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa are under
increasing pressure as points of departure for migrants.
The Madrid bombings in 2004 were immediately followed by the
election in Spain of the Socialist politician José Luis RodrÃguez Zapatero. His
policy of appeasement of Islam and the Islamic world was, sadly, not the first.
Western Europe's appeasement of Islam stretches back at least to the 1970s.
With the 1973 oil embargo, Arab countries in the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) used oil as a weapon
and tool for blackmail. European countries started giving concessions to Arabs
to ensure their oil supply and, they doubtless hoped, avoid terrorism. These
concessions were not just limited to economic affairs. They also included
opening Western Europe up to Islamic culture and Muslim immigration. The author
Bat Ye'or has written extensively on this subject.
As part of the Euro-Arab Dialogue, a Euro-Mediterranean
Partnership between the EU and the Arabic-Islamic world was launched in 1995
with the so-called Barcelona Process.
Its purpose was to strengthen the
ties between Europe and the Arab world in the fields of trade, economy,
environment, energy, health, migration, education, social affairs and cultural
cooperation.
This Process has been in force for decades. Despite it, the
increasingly stronger ties between the EU and Arab Muslim countries rarely
receive critical scrutiny from the European mass media. There is even a Union
for the Mediterranean, which most Europeans have never heard of.
As the official website of the European External Action
Service (EEAS), the diplomatic service of the European Union (EU), stated in
October 2017:
"The Union for
the Mediterranean promotes economic integration across 15 neighbours to the
EU's south in North Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans region. Formerly
known as the Barcelona Process, cooperation was re-launched in 2008 as the
Union for the Mediterranean.... Projects address areas such as economy,
environment, energy, health, migration, education and social affairs. Along
with the 28 EU member states, 15 Southern Mediterranean countries are members
of the UfM: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Israel, Jordan,
Lebanon, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestine, Syria (suspended),
Tunisia and Turkey. Libya is an observer."
The Islamic Republic of Mauritania in western Africa, a full
member of the Union for the Mediterranean, has the same formal status there as
Denmark, Sweden, Germany, France, Italy and Poland. Although Mauritania was the
last country officially to ban slavery, it is still widely
practiced there to this day. Yet the country regularly cooperates with the EU
on matters of importance to the future of the EU.
The Barcelona Process, promoted by the EU, has helped to
facilitate a greater presence of Islam and Muslim immigrants in Western Europe
-- thereby also increasing the Islamic terror threat there. That result was
perfectly foreseeable. When the number of people who believe in Islamic Jihad
doctrines rises, the likelihood of experiencing Jihadist attacks increases as
well.
It is unlikely, though, that European political leaders will
point to this connection. Doing so would be an indirect admission that Europe's
leaders have actively increased the Islamic terror threat against European
citizens. This is the brutal truth they do not want exposed.
__________________
Fjordman, a Norwegian historian, is an expert on Europe, Islam and
multiculturalism.
Gatestone Institute is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization,
Federal Tax ID #454724565. Donate to Gatestone Institute.
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