ISIS in Europe: How Deep is the “Gray Zone”?

In the 1970s and ’80s, Europe was terrorized by Communist armed groups, such as the Germany’s Baader Meinhof (pictured in black and white), which had a “gray zone” of millions of suspected sympathizers. Today’s European jihadists, such the late Paris attack mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud (right), have a much deeper “gray zone” of sympathizers in the Muslim communities of Europe.

 

• Among young European Muslims, support for suicide bombings range from 22% in Germany to 29% in Spain, 35% in Britain and 42% in France, according to a Pew poll. In the UK, one in five Muslims have sympathy for the Caliphate. Today more British Muslims join ISIS than the British army. In the Netherlands, a survey shows that the 80% of Dutch Turks see “nothing wrong” in ISIS.
• Even if these polls and surveys must be taken with some caution, they all indicate a deep and vibrant “gray zone,” which is feeding the Islamic jihad in Europe and the Middle East. We are talking about millions of Muslims who show sympathy, understanding and affinity with the ideology and goals of ISIS.
• How many Muslims will this ISIS virus be able to infect in the vast European “gray zone”? The answer will determine our future.

In the 1970s and ’80s, Europe was terrorized by a war declared by Communist armed groups, such as the Germany’s Baader Meinhof or Italy’s Red Brigades. Terrorists seemed determined to undermine democracy and capitalism. They targeted dozens of journalists, public officials, professors, economists and politicians, and in Italy in 1978, even kidnapped and executed Italy’s former prime minister, Aldo Moro.

Ex-FSB officer to TSN.Tyzhden: Russia involved in London, Paris attacks, ISIS

If you haven’t heard of pink, grey or red terror, you might want to do yourself a favor and read the following from Soviet defector Viktor Suvorov, entitled “Spetsnaz. The Story Behind the Soviet SAS”:

Chapter 15. Spetsnaz’s First World War

An excerpt:

All these operations — because of course none of these events is an accident — and others like them are known officially in the GRU as the ‘preparatory period’, and unofficially as the ‘overture’. The overture is a series of large and small operations the purpose of which is, before actual military operations begin, to weaken the enemy’s morale, create an atmosphere of general suspicion, fear and uncertainty, and divert the attention of the enemy’s armies and police forces to a huge number of different targets, each of which may be the object of the next attack.

The overture is carried by agents of the secret services of the Soviet satellite countries and by mercenaries recruited by intermediaries. The principal method employed at this stage is ‘grey terror’, that is, a kind of terror which is not conducted in the name of the Soviet Union. The Soviet secret services do not at this stage leave their visiting cards, or leave other people’s cards. The terror is carried out in the name of already existing extremist groups not connected in any way with the Soviet Union, or in the name of fictitious organisations.

The enemy behind the enemy is the issue. Take the San Bernardino terrorist attacks, for example, where some level of Russian connection and possible influence is apparent.

The links are there. All you need to do is connect the dots. America is under Russian attack.

Note: Most of the article will remain here, as all others needing more special attention.

 

A former FSB officer tells TSN journalist Andriy Tsaplienko about Russian special services’ involvement in London and Paris attacks / Screenshot from tsn.ua

 

The TSN.Tyzhden weekly TV program has broadcast an interview with former Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officer, which may trigger a real spy scandal. It has been speculated for long that the Kremlin’s puppeteers are behind terrorist attacks in Europe and the United States, but no confirmation has been presented. The experienced agent, former FSB officer specializing in terrorist organizations and counter-terrorism is now giving his testimony.

Such an interview is an extremely dangerous step for the FSB agent with high-level access, alias Yevgeniy, but he has decided to break with the past. The reason why he fled Russia is not that ideological, it is rather personal, according to TSN.Tyzhden.