Page | 1 CBRNE-TERRORISM NEWSLETTER – December 2016 www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com Page | 2 CBRNE-TERRORISM NEWSLETTER – December 2016 CBRNE-Terrorism Newsletter – 2016© December 2016 Website: www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com International CBRNE Institute Editor-in-Chief BrigGEN (ret) Ioannis Galatas MD, MA, MC PhD cand Consultant in Allergy & Clinical Immunology Medical/Hospital CBRNE Planner Senior Asymmetric Threats Analyst Manager @ CBRN Knowledge Center, International CBRNE Institute (BE) Athens, Greece Contact e-mail: [email protected] Assistant Editor Panagiotis Stavrakakis MEng, PhD, MBA, MSc Hellenic Navy Capt (ret) Athens, Greece Co-Editors/Text Supervisors 1. Steve Photiou, MD, MSc (Italy) 2. Dr. Sarafis Pavlos, Captain RN(ret’d), PhD, MSc (Greece) 3. Kiourktsoglou George, BSc, Dipl, MSc, MBA, PhD (cand) (UK) Advertise with us! (New price list) CBRNE-Terrorism Newsletter is published on-line monthly and distributed free of charge. Starting from 2014 issue all advertisements will be charged as following: Full page (A4) 100€ Double pages (A4X2) 200€ EDITOR Mendor Editions S.A. 3 Selinountos Street 14231 Nea Ionia Athens, Greece Tel: +30 210 2723094/-5 Fax: +30 210 2723698 Contact e-mail: Valia Kalantzi [email protected] DISCLAIMER: The CBRNE-Terrorism Newsletter® is a free online publication for the fellow civilian/military First Responders worldwide. The Newsletter is a collection of papers related to the stated thematology, relevant sources are provided and all info provided herein is from open Internet sources. Opinions and comments from the Editorial group or the authors publishing in the Newsletter do not necessarily represent those of the Publisher or the ICI. www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com Page | 3 CBRNE-TERRORISM NEWSLETTER – December 2016 CBRNE-Terrorism Newsletter is: 1. Read by First Responders in more than 80 countries around the globe; 2. Distributed to more than 700 institutions, organizations, state agencies, think tanks, defense companies, institutions and universities. www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com Page | 4 CBRNE-TERRORISM NEWSLETTER – December 2016 Editorial Brig Gen (ret’d) Ioannis Galatas, MD, MA, MC Editor-in-Chief CBRNE-Terrorism Newsletter Dear Colleagues, One more year to go! It is our line of work to deal only with unpleasant situations but someone has to do the dirty job! December was a turbulent month that sent a clear message: roadmap to global peace is long and full of obstacles… As a matter of fact I realized that we have to do some research in order to discover a single year that nothing bloody significant happened in our planet. Some key-points from the twelfth month: An Afghani immigrant beast killed a young girl in Germany; the same person tried to murder a young girl in Greece as well some years before; Battle in Mosul is keep on going; Daesh seems too hard to die; NATO removes its fleet off shore Somalia; let us see what will happen now; Two very young children acted as suicide bombers: one in Germany (arrested) and one in Damascus, Syria (killed). Both were between 7 and 10yo; Twenty five terrorist attacks in Turkey within 2016 December 20: perhaps the deadliest day in the year (for our part of the world): Berlin truck attack; murder of the Russian Ambassador in Ankara, Turkey; attack against a mosque in Zurich. Chemical weapons are seldomly used in the battle fields of M East by everybody against everybody In Greece our two major poblems are still valid: lack of an effective governance with a vision for the future in combination with confused European strategies and ongoing inflow of illegal immigrants and refugees under the Turkish threat to release millions more if they do not get the visa permit and refugees’ money from EU. What to expect for 2017? If Daesh defeated, hundrends of foreign fighters will automatically become homeless and will seek ways to return to their homelands. We read about big numbers but we do not read about a policy to shield against their return. In that respect, an urban terrorism wave in expected. This time not only in countries perticipated in the coallition against Daesh but to any target possible, anywhere in Europe. They will use market weapons but if circumsanses permits they will use asymmetric approaches as well. They have what we do not have: combat experience. And in combat you improvise to survive – this would be catastrophic in an urban environment crowded with people that only know how to SMS from their mobile phones. Illegal immigration and refugees flows reached a critical point in Greece and Italy. Local citizens initially friendly and supportive attitude is gradually changing mainly due to the new ethics imported and the behavior of the new comers that think our Europe is just another jungle similar to their own. Until now all the big EU mouths did not manage to propose a working solution to control the human tsunami invading our continent. Perhaps it is OK with them to create a buffer country (Greece) and store their problem there. We all have to realize that there is no peaceful solution to the problem. You know and I know that stopping the wars, promoting global prosperity, stop hegemonism and desire for global dominance are things impossible to accomplish. So, what is left to do? Libya might be a coming problem. Situation there is chaotic. Daesh is there and the country might become the new stronghold that will merge all African terrorist groups www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com Page | 5 CBRNE-TERRORISM NEWSLETTER – December 2016 together in a continent that is so fertile for organizations prospering from terror. It would not be a surprise to record piracy in the Mediterranean Sea – not exactly for profit; just for terrorism. Not to mention that the situation with precursor [CWA] chemicals in Libya is still unclear (~800T). Against all that the only solution is solidarity and unity. That would be a change from today’s “only care for my self” attitude. A European UNION with common policies, common support, common defense and response mechanisms is the only solution. Many think that they are far away from the hot zones. But history proved that nobody is far away from terror and the unexpected. We have to decide if it worths to save our civilization or adapt to a new situation that we are not familiar with. We have to declare clear and sound what we want and what we DO NOT want and do whatever necessary for both of them. We have to depend on ourselves and pursue what is best for us but not with stepping on other people and nations. In conclusion: prepare for a very difficult New Year and support our First Responders or even join our First Responders and fight with them. It is a one way road! Sincere, deep from heart, wishes to all of you and your families and be proud for what you do. It is not a profession; it is a mission – make it possible! The Editor-in-Chief Wild life by National Geographic OR Greece in 2017??? www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com Page | 6 CBRNE-TERRORISM NEWSLETTER – December 2016 Greek as an optional language in Russian schools Source: http://www.balkaneu.com/greek-optional-language-russian-schools/ Nov 24 – Russian schools will be taught Greek as a foreign language from January 1, 2017. The final decision and approval of training manuals was signed by the Russian Minister of Education, Olga Vasilieva, on 10th November. A proposal for the teaching of Greek as a language selection from the Modern Greek Literature Faculty at the University of Kuban in Krasnodar (southern Russia), preceded the Ministerial decision, in the framework of the country’s policy for teaching the languages of minorities in the region. It was finally decided that Greek should be taught as a second / foreign language throughout the territory of the Russian Federation and in particular in the fifth and sixth grade as well as in the first three classes of high school. “We are very happy and satisfied because we got to this point, that is, for the Greek language to be visible for the first time in Russian schools. It is a feat that took several years of preparation. The textbooks for the teaching of the Modern Greek Language as a language selection as one of the languages that can be selected by Russian students in the last years of primary school and first years of high school are ready. They were prepared mainly because of the work put in place at the University of Kuban,”stated Aristotle University Dean, Pericles Mitkas, at a press conference for the presentation of the new effort, which was the decisive contribution of the Aristotle’s University ”Jason” program for the establishment and practical support of Greek studies at the universities of the Black Sea zone. “This achievement comes as a result of many years of constant effort by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki to promote the Greek language in the Black Sea countries,” noted Mitkas. At the press conference attended by the new Consul General of Russia in Thessaloniki, Alexander Sermpakof, who pointed out that the introduction of the teaching of the Greek language in primary and secondary education in Russia “creates a strong promotional foundation of Greek in Russia and prospects for further cooperation in the field of culture and education. ” He expressed the hope that ” we have the potential for further spread of Russian in Greece”. “I have been in northern Greece for about two weeks, but I have already noticed that here there is a huge demand for Russian,” he explained. Turkey renews threat to scrap EU migrant deal Source: http://www.ekathimerini.com/213374/article/ekathimerini/news/turkey-renews-threat-to-scrap- eu-migrant-deal Nov 2016 – Turkey's foreign minister is renewing a threat to scrap an agreement with the European Union to stem the migrant flow if Brussels doesn't grant Turks visa-free entry, saying that Ankara won't wait until the end of the year.