The Islamic Challenge In Europe Continues.
Now it's Belgium!
A right wing, anti-immigration, nationalist party has emerged in the Dutch part of Beligium - Flanders - as the biggest voting block now getting about 25% of the vote.
The reason for this surge of the right in Holland, Germany, France, Austria, and even some of the Scandinavian countries is Islaminc immigration. Europeans have seen a steady stream of immigrants, many from moslem countries including former colonies like Algeria and Morocco. Easy political asylum for "persecuted" moslems and the need to have workers in a continent where the "old Europeans" aren't having any kids anymore.
This was all great until September 11, 2001. On that day the Europeans could no longer ingnore the growing presence of radical, violent, organized, and heavily financed islamic extremists in their midst. Europe was the planning center and stategic "barracks" for the conduct of terrorist acts all over the world.
Having hoped for (not prayed for because the old europeans don't believe in God anymore!) dispensation from becoming the principal target of these terrorists, the Europeans kept a weary eye on the comings and goings, the plannings and executioons of acts, launched from hamburg, Milan, and Amsterdam. But they remained in denial about the threat of radical Islam for themselves.
After 9-11, Afghanistan war, and Iraq the Europeans suddenly realized that the decapitating knives were also aimed at them, as the Dutch discovered with the mureder of van Gogh. The Spanish found to their horror that the suitcase bombs were also aimed at them in the Madrid train massacres. The French began to sweat heavily as they finally faced the reality that the 7,000,000 muslims many living in squalor in the ghettos around Paris were a potential time bomb. The Italians were jolted out of their "Roman nice" when they found massive terror cells in Milan and thwarted the subterranean attack on the US Embassy.
I could continue citing the examples but we can revisit this on an other day.
The point is that the American or "Bushist" position on terrorism and the use of force do have a connection to the European reality. And, the Old Europeans are finally getting it!