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NOV 2020 Part A.Pdf 1 HZS C2BRNE DIARY – November 2020 www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com 2 HZS C2BRNE DIARY – November 2020 HZS C2BRNE DIARY– 2020© November 2020 Website: www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com Editor-in-Chief BrigGEN (ret.) Ioannis Galatas MD, MSc, MC (Army) PhD cand Consultant in Allergy & Clinical Immunology Medical/Hospital CBRNE Planner & Instructor Senior Asymmetric Threats Analyst Manager, CBRN Knowledge Center @ International CBRNE Institute (BE) Senior CBRN Consultant @ HotZone Solutions Group (NL) Athens, Greece Contact e-mail: [email protected] Editorial Team ⚫ Bellanca Giada, MD, MSc (Italy) ⚫ Hopmeier Michael, BSc/MSc MechEngin (USA) ⚫ Kiourktsoglou George, BSc, Dipl, MSc, MBA, PhD (UK) ⚫ Photiou Steve, MD, MSc EmDisaster (Italy) ⚫ Tarlow Peter, PhD Sociol (USA) A publication of HotZone Solutions Group Prinsessegracht 6, 2514 AN, The Hague, The Netherlands T: +31 70 262 97 04, F: +31 (0) 87 784 68 26 E-mail: [email protected] DISCLAIMER: The HZS C2BRNE DIARY® (former CBRNE-Terrorism Newsletter), is a free online publication for the fellow civilian/military CBRNE First Responders worldwide. The Diary is a collection of papers/articles related to the stated thematology. Relevant sources/authors are included and all info provided herein is from open Internet sources. Opinions and comments from the Editor, the Editorial Team or the authors publishing in the Diary do not necessarily represent those of the HotZone Solutions Group (NL) or the International CBRNE Institute (BE). www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com 3 HZS C2BRNE DIARY – November 2020 www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com 4 HZS C2BRNE DIARY – November 2020 Editorial Brig Gen (ret.) Ioannis Galatas, MD, MSc, MC (Army) Editor-in-Chief HZS C2BRNE Diary Dear Colleagues, November 2020, Perhaps the worst month of the year! The second wave of the pandemic and lockdowns all over; terrorism in Europe (France and Austria); instability in SE Mediterranean due to Turkish offensive policy; a 6.7R earthquake between Greek islands and Turkish coastline and a parody of elections in the mighty US that still does not know who will be their President next year! The only good thing was the progress made in expected vaccines. But even then, there is a noble or not so noble “war” between companies ahead – six of them; all good; all Western of course. Nations are now preparing for the moment that products will be available in the markets. The problem is that people were given the impression that when vaccines will be in their healthcare system, pandemic will be magically over. My estimate is that life will be back to normal or whatever this is, around late Spring/early Summer 2022. This means that there will be many waves to overcome and many problems and obstacles to be confronted with. But people do not want to be told the truth. Mainly because they are already planning their Christmas’ parties and festivities as if nothing wrong with that. In the midst of a war, there are many that still believe that the coronavirus is a hoax; that people do not die because of Covid-19; that all that is attributed to something called the New Order of Things or the Great Reset – something that nobody knows exactly what it is so everybody is free to propose their own interpretations! You see, stupidity is as airborne as the coronavirus. Terrorism in central Europe is not a new phenomenon and there are no immune countries. The problem is that even after the last bloody wave, the EU is unwilling to face the beast in the eyes and take measures surpassing politics and businesses. France was left alone to face the problem with small support of Austria but I am sure that there are many nations that are annoyed because someone is throwing stones in their still waters. During 2020, the EU had many opportunities to prove that the word “Union” is the correct word to use and be proud of. Perhaps it is time to go back to the old name, “Europe” that is enough to geographically define the people residing in this continent. In that respect, each country would be alone to manage terrorism and the clash of civilizations without silly alliances and hypocritic solidarity and other unknown words. First Responders are in the front-line of this global war, whether it is the pandemic or terrorism, doing their best shielding their societies, their fellow citizens, and families. They are the few and the brave, the modern “heroes” of mass media that will be forgotten tomorrow when their services will be not be further required. But people forget that duty is not an on-off switch but a constant conscious condition and way of life that is not fed by clapping but only by a sense of serving people to walk through life as safely as possible. So, be prepared First Responders especially now that Christmas is just a month away and many will try to destroy what is left of our already injured nirvana. The Editor-in-Chief www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com 5 HZS C2BRNE DIARY – November 2020 Giant Images of Prophet Mohammed Appear on French Govt Building Source: https://www.india.com/news/world/giant-images-of-prophet-mohammed-appear-on-french-govt-building-4182239/ Oct 22 – A French city defied Islamist terrorism by projecting huge images of Charlie Hebdo caricatures on a local government building on Wednesday as heavily armed police officers stood guard. The projections, which included caricatures of Prophet Mohammed, came as part of a French national tribute to middle-school teacher Samuel Paty which took place on Wednesday evening. Paty, a history teacher in the greater Paris area, was murdered on Friday by a refugee Islamist terrorist after Paty showed caricatures of Prophet Mohammed to his students in a class on freedom of speech. The images were projected onto two town halls in the Occitanie region – Montpellier and Toulouse – for four hours on Wednesday evening. Regional mayor, Carole Delga, was quoted by FranceBleu, a network of local and regional radio stations in France, and a part of the national public broadcasting group Radio France: “There must be no weakness in the face of the enemies of democracy, facing those who transform religion into a weapon of war… those who intend to destroy the Republic.” In 2015, Islamist gunmen attacked the offices of Charlie Hebdo and killed most of the paper’s editorial board for publishing caricatures of Prophet Muhammad. The court cases surrounding the killings finally being heard this year led to another attempted attack in September 2020, with a new would-be killer attempting to attack the old offices of the paper again. www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com 6 HZS C2BRNE DIARY – November 2020 The latest attack over the Charlie Hebdo caricatures took place last week when Samuel Paty was beheaded after showing the drawings of Prophet Mohammed to his students in a freedom of speech class. Paty’s beheading has prompted a strong response from the French government, including police raiding individuals and organisations that expressed support for the attack and attacker in the immediate aftermath of the beheading. A well-known mosque in a northern suburb of Paris was shut down by French authorities as part of their clampdown on Islamist groups and suspected extremists. Recent (Oct 2020) decapitation threat against the Mayor of Bron (10 km east-southeast of central Lyon) French President Emmanuel Macron is under pressure to come up with an effective response to the latest in a series of Islamist terror attacks that have rocked France since the 2015 Charlie Hebdo massacre. www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com 7 HZS C2BRNE DIARY – November 2020 More than 240 people have died from Islamist violence since 2015, prompting opposition politicians – particularly on the right – to accuse the government of waging a battle of words rather than taking decisive action. Has Turkey Gone Too Far? Source: https://i-hls.com/archives/104620 Oct 21 – NATO member Turkey has tested its Russian-made S-400 air defense system. The move was condemned by the United States. The Turkish television channel A Haber, which is close to the government, said on its website that Turkey’s military test-fired the Russian S-400 in the Black Sea province of Sinop. It based its reports on an amateur video, reportedly filmed in Sinop, showing a contrail shooting into the sky. Other media carried similar reports. Turkish military and defense officials have refused to comment on the reports. The U.S. State Department said the missile launch is “incompatible with Turkey’s responsibilities as a NATO ally and strategic partner” of the U.S. A Defense Department spokesperson said, according to voanews.com: “We have been clear: an operational S-400 system is not consistent with Turkey’s commitments as a U.S. and NATO ally. We object to Turkey’s purchase of the system and are deeply concerned with reports that Turkey is bringing it into operation.” www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com 8 HZS C2BRNE DIARY – November 2020 According to defensenews.com, Washington strongly objected to Turkey’s acquisition of the Russian anti-aircraft system and suspended Turkey from its high-tech F-35 fighter jet program, saying the S-400 is a threat to the stealthy aircraft. It has also warned Ankara that it risks U.S. sanctions if the S-400 system is activated. Turkey insists it was forced to purchase the Russian system after Washington refused to sell it the U.S. Patriot system. Russia delivered the first batch of the Russian defense system last year. Turkey had initially said the S-400 would be operational in April but it has since delayed activating the system. During a visit to Turkey earlier this month, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated that the S-400 cannot be integrated into the NATO air and missile defense system and can lead to sanctions by the United States.
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