The Patriot Post® · Update on Manchester

By Gary Bauer ·
https://patriotpost.us/opinion/49268-update-on-manchester-2017-05-25

British authorities reassured the public after the Manchester atrocity that life will go on as usual. But, of course, it’s not going on as usual. The terror alert level across the United Kingdom has been raised to “Critical.”

The Telegraph reports, “Up to 5,000 soldiers will be deployed on the streets amid fears that the Manchester suicide bomber had accomplices preparing further attacks, [Prime Minister] Theresa May has announced.”

A man carrying a large knife was arrested near Buckingham Palace. The Changing of the Guard, a tourist favorite, was cancelled.

Multiple reports indicate that Salman Abedi, the 22-year-old suicide bomber, had traveled to Syria and Libya, perhaps as recently as just a few weeks ago. So this known extremist may have been regularly traveling to a known war zone controlled by ISIS. There may have also been links to Al Qaeda.

His parents left Libya to escape the Gaddafi regime, and recently returned to their home country. They had concerns about their son’s radicalization in England and briefly took his passport away from him.

Intelligence officials believe that the bomb was large and relatively sophisticated, suggesting that it was built by someone else and that Abedi was just a mule who delivered the device. At least three more suspects have been arrested, including his 23-year-old brother.

Children as Bombs

Yesterday I reminded readers that murdering innocent children isn’t a new low for Islamists. They have frequently aimed their attacks at young adults and children — whether its concerts and night clubs or schools. What I did not remind people of is how often Islamic supremacists use children as human bombs.

Boko Haram regularly uses children as homicide bombers.

Hamas does the same — using summer camps to train children for jihad.

During the Iraq war, Al Qaeda strapped bombs onto youth with Down Syndrome and sent them into markets while someone else detonated the bombs. ISIS, which knows no limits to its cruelty, has continued the practice.

Left-Wing Lunacy

Meanwhile, we are told that life will go on. Flowers are left at makeshift memorials and celebrities offer tweets and songs. On the Left, the confusion continues. Nothing seems to shake it from its delusions.

Katy Perry reacted to the Manchester atrocity by saying, “No barriers, no borders, we all just need to co-exist.”

I say, “You go first, Katy. Fire your guards, cancel the security system on your estate and open your doors to the next round of Middle East refugees.”

And while Islamic supremacist websites are celebrating the attack, left-wing sites are warning the rest of us against Islamophobia. As you know, “phobia” means an irrational fear of something. Well, how many more Islamic terrorist attacks have to take place, how many more innocent people have to die, before the Left no longer considers our concern to be irrational?

But the Lunacy Award goes to Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, who gave her State of the City address Tuesday night at a mosque. She went there to assure Minneapolis’ large Somali Muslim community that it had nothing to fear from Donald Trump because she and other progressive city leaders would protect them.

As you may know, the Somali community in Minnesota has been a hotbed of Islamic supremacism. Nine Somalis were sentenced last year for providing support to ISIS. More than two dozen have left the country in recent years to fight for the terrorist group Al-Shabab.

According to Fox News, Mayor Hodges did not urge members of the mosque to reject those in their community who support Islamic extremism. And, in case you had any doubt, yes, she is up for re-election this year.