Tazeen Hasan points to some strange inconsistencies in the investigation into the Bastille Day attack in France. The analysis is based on reports from mainstream new outlets like The Telegraph, Independent, Daily Mail, BBC, and French papers La Figaro and Liberation. In-text links can be checked for authenticity and further references.
TAZEEN HASAN | Caravan Daily
After brutal terrorist attacks in Orlando, Istanbul, Baghdad, Dhaka and Medina, recent French and German attacks appear to mark a new set of tragic events in Europe. The heaviest death toll has been observed in France where the Riviera city of Nice was targeted violently on Bastille day. The killer has been identified as a 31-year-old Tunisian-born French citizen, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel. More than 84 people lost their lives when he allegedly used his truck to mow down the crowd assembled to watch the fireworks on the coastal promenade. This is the third major terrorist attack in France since January 2015.
According to leading French Newspaper, La Figaro, French anti-terrorist executive has ordered the French city authorities to delete all CCTV footage of the Nice attack. However, the city authorities have refused to delete evidence considering it illegal. Moreover, the officers in charge said they do not have the jurisdiction to delete footage. The French government absurdly claims that it wanted to prevent ISIS from gaining access to videos of the attacks for the purposes of propaganda. We know that those who seek to destroy the criminal evidence are actual perpetrators of the crime themselves. What does French anti-terror police trying to cover? and Why?
French Police has ordered the city authorities to delete all CCTV footage of Bastille day attack
Once again, the Bastille day investigations have revealed severe inconsistencies in the official narratives like San Bernardino and Orlando shooting incidents. The French citizens as well as the European Muslim community, has a right to know why anti-terror authorities expressed a desire to destroy the evidence?
Is it a coincidence that since the Charlie Hebdu massacre in January 2015, almost every terrorism incident has followed the same pattern? The perpetrator is always killed and usually on the spot. The alleged terrorist Bouhlel has also been killed by the police. So no one is there to stand a trial or answer sensational questions. Once again his identity papers are found nearby like the Syrian passport found in Paris attacks (remember Saudi pilot’s passport found in World trade center rubble after 9/11.)
French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve has said there is no evidence yet linking Isis to Bouhlel.
It is also observed that video footage identifying the terrorist is never found even if the attack is carried out in a closed public area like San Bernardino community Centre or Orlando night club. Ironically, independent footage does exist in Bastille attack but is blatantly ordered to destroy by investigative agencies.
It is also worth noting that in most of the terrorist incidents the perpetrators are already known to local intelligence agencies or police suggesting it is a “known wolf attack” rather than a “lone wolf” one. Unofficial news reports claimed that Bouhlel had been known to the police for violence, theft, and robbery but not for terrorism-related charges. Like the alleged Orlando shooter Omar Mateen, Bouhlel was not a practicing Muslim. A report published within three hours by British daily The Telegraph cited multiple interviews with neighbors and claimed that the alleged killer was obsessed with sex, alcohol, and drugs. “Bouhlel’s phone is said to be full of messages, videos and photographs, including ones of men and women he had recently slept with,” says the telegraph report. The report also claimed that Bouhlel was “regularly in trouble with the law.” However, police did not verify whether the suspect had a criminal record or not.
French people used Twitter hashtag #ISISclaim to mock the terrorist group for accepting responsibility for every terrorist incident
While French authorities haven’t discovered any link, ISIS has accepted the responsibility through Amaq News agency disseminated once again by SITE Intelligence (Search for International Terrorism Elite) –ran by renowned terrorism analyst Rita Katz. Katz publicly claims to find ISIS released videos before anyone else since the death cult began beheading western journalists in 2014. However, this time claim has been mocked by French people using a Twitter hashtag #DaeshRevendique, or #ISISClaims. Everything from losing the Euro 2016 final to climate change and from Donald Trump accepting the presidential nomination to Brexit have jokingly been attributed to the terrorist group under the hashtag #ISISclaims. Interestingly, later SITE removed the alleged ISIS claim regarding Nice attack from its web-site.
French intelligence chief already predicted 20 days back that ISIS would be using Trucks as weapons in the next terrorist attack
The terrorist, however, has changed gear this time and has used a truck as a weapon to carry out the carnage. According to La Figaro, French domestic intelligence chief Patrick Calvar predicted in advance ( exactly 20 days earlier on 26th of June 2016) that ISIS or Daesh would use trucks as weapons. This has also become an established pattern now that accurate predictions are made by intelligence before the terrorist attacks but the same institutions remain powerless to prevent those terrible incidents.
French public and institutions have raised questions about the absence of security on the promenade on Bastille day, despite the state of emergency in France. In a speech two days after the attack, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said “national police were present and very present on the Promenade des Anglais” but he later backtracked on his claim that national police were stationed at the entrance to the promenade in Nice.
How Could Bouhlel make its way through the promenade blocked by 64 national and 42 municipal police officers?
It should be noted that the promenade de anglais was supposed to be blocked by traffic police vehicles on Bastille day. How could Bouhlel make its way through the blocked promenade? Initially the police was silent but later authorities changed narrative that the truck “forced its way through, by driving onto the sidewalk,” bypassing a check point where police vehicles blocked the entrance to the promenade. It added that 64 national and 42 municipal police officers had worked together to secure the area, along with 20 soldiers. Later Cazeneuve denied that national police was present.
French newspaper Liberation has claimed Mr Cazeneuve lied about the whereabouts of the national police officers and cars, and accused French authorities of lacking transparency. Lack of Security and transparency as well as changing narrative by the interior minister give birth to another set of alarming questions.
Shortly after Charlie Hebdu Massacre, Limouge’s Deputy Police Commissioner Herlic Fredou, who was investigating the background of the accused Kouachi brothers, was found dead in his office mysteriously.
Gearoid O Colmain, an Irish Journalist and Political analyst based in Paris has pointed out some inconsistencies in the official Bastille day story writing “there is something rotten with the France Judicial police” and “the video evidence so far presented does not match the story.”
Colmain further recalls that shortly after Charlie Hebdu attacks, Limouge’s deputy Police Commissioner Helric Fredou was found dead in his office mysteriously before the publication of a report on the relationship between Jeanette Bougrab, a former press secretary of Nicolas Sarkozy, and one of the deceased in the attack, satirical caricaturist and journalist, Stéphane Charbonnier also known as Charb. Fredou’s family was not allowed to see his dead body for 24 hours. The police commissioner had said he shot himself because he was suffering from depression; a claim denied by Fredou’s family doctor.
These inconsistencies are constantly ignored by mainstream media which otherwise seems to investigative minute evidence concerning terrorism incidents. “The relationship between Bougrab, who is close to all the leaders of the French Zionist movement, and Charb, was one of the most controversial aspects of the Charlie Hebdo massacre story. Fredou was also investigating the background of the Kouachi brothers who were accused of the massacre. They had lived in the town of Limoges,” Colmain further writes.
Questions have also been raised about the absence of any blood stains on the road in the footage recorded in the aftermath of the carnage which killed 84 people and injured more than 200 -at least 25 of which are in critical condition on life-saving machines. Consider, this large collection of photos by Daily Mail. Interestingly the official death toll has not been changed since despite the official narrative that 25 injured people are on life-saving machines.
Suspiciously, according to leading French newspaper LaFigaro, French anti-terrorist executive has ordered the city authorities to delete all CCTV footage of Bastille day attack -in written without citing any reason. The city refused to delete evidence as it is illegal. Moreover, the officer in charge said he doesn’t have the jurisdiction to delete footage. Ridiculously, the French government has claimed that it wanted to prevent ISIS from gaining access to videos of the attacks for the purposes of propaganda. The French citizens as well as the European Muslim community, has a right to know why anti-terror authorities expressed a desire to do so?
While Cazeneuve admitted that no link has yet been found between ISIS and the attacker Bouhlel, French president Francois Hollande extended the ongoing state of emergency for three more months reiterating that France, “is under threat from Islamic terrorism.” and he would strengthen military “action in Syria and Iraq.” Prime minister Manual Valls has rushed to declare “France will have to live with terrorism.”
The media coverage in the aftermath of the attacks remained focused on the point that terrorism has become a normal part of our lives and that Europe needed a permanent state of emergency. Some of the geopolitical analysts shockingly maintained that extension of the state of emergency is a pretext for Martial law enforcement in France. Furthermore, there are strong conjectures that such incidents could well push France toward Frexit (French exit from the European Union), as various poll results including Pew Research Centre’s poll have indicated that 61 percent of the French citizens have already display anti-EU sentiments.
Independent analysts are comparing this fresh wave of terrorism in Western Europe to Gladio Operation in which public places were bombed by CIA and some European Governments during the Cold War to destroy the image of Communist parties. It should be noted that the Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti officially acknowledged the existence of Gladio Clandestine operation on 24 October 1990. If this point of view is considered, the current scenario replaces the communist threat by the refugee threat.
Like preceding incidents of terrorism, contradictory reports emerged in French media shortly after the attack. For instance, one report cited that Bouhlel watched Isis beheadings online and dated a 73-year-old man. Authorities have been caught flip-flopping the official narratives frequently regarding links to ISIS. Why doesn’t police and media make it clear whether alleged terrorist is a depressed individual as some reports regarding French and German attacks as well as Orlando shooting are suggesting or they are religiously motivated? Regardless of the fact that attackers were religiously motivated or not, these incidents following almost same pattern are intermittently carried out in the west since January 2015. Why were there no such occurrences so frequently before 2015? at least not on such massive scale. On the other hand, inconsistencies and frequent shift in official accounts as well as lack of transparency suggest false flag operations like Operation Gladio.
This fresh wave of worldwide terrorism has engulfed our beautiful planet since the emergence of the death cult called ISIS or Daesh. These terrorism incidents with a marked pattern should be carefully examined avoiding the subjective ‘Clash of Civilization’ loaded worldview if we really want to find out the solution. This child-murdering so called Jihadist cult has killed more Muslims around the world than non-Muslims proving itself ruthlessly anti-Muslim rather than pro-Muslims.
What ever be the motives, they are simply pushing France towards a Frexit.
An objective analysis is needed keeping in mind the touchstone who is benefiting from all this gruesome spate of blood? These incidents are certainly serving anti-refugee political powers in Europe to ban the influx of refugees caused by NATO adventure in the Middle East? They may also provide an excuse to prolong military operations as French Government is pledging to increase resources to the bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria since the recent attack. This may also be a pretext to extend emergencies and enforce martial law. What ever be the motives, they are simply pushing France towards a Frexit.
