Is the problem Egypt or France?
AEIdeas
While much remains unknown about what brought EgyptAir Flight 804 to crash in the Eastern Mediterranean, the final moments of the plane—along with the fact that the flight reportedly had three air marshals on board—seem consistent with a bomb.
If that is true — and again, the investigation has yet to begin so the unknowns outweigh the knowns — then this would be the second bomb attack on a plane heading to or from Egypt and so probably represents the final nail in the coffin of Egyptian tourism industry, at least for the immediate future.
The EgyptAir plane making the flight from Paris to Cairo, after flight MS804 disappeared from radar, May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann.
There is much to criticize about President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, but it would be backwards to suggest that the terrorism Egypt now faces has been the result of his crackdown on Islamist groups. After all, radicalism in the Sinai predates Sisi and former president Mohamed Morsi, and has its roots in more complicated ethnic and historic dynamics.
The problem with the latest apparent attack, however, is that it was initiated in Europe.
The problem with the latest apparent attack, however, is that it was initiated in Europe. The EgyptAir flight took off from Paris. Charles de Gaulle airport has already had problems with radicalism. Investigators are certainly going to need to consider whether any terrorist was able to bypass security through the intervention of ground staff at the Paris airport.
If there was a bomb on board MS804 and it was placed there in Paris, then it also suggests that the same vulnerability that brought down Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie in 1988 still remains. And, if the terror plot was enabled by collaborators or cells in Paris, then it is the third blow against French intelligence in recent years and makes maintaining visa waivers with France the equivalent of playing Russian roulette with American air travelers.
Sounds like it could be a repeat of EgyptAir 990 out of JFK in1999 when the reserve copilot took control of the plane and crashed it into the Atlantic while reciting I am full of Allah or something similar. American aviation authorities ruled it a suicide crash, the Egyptians refused to accept the ruling.
Maybe we should keep muslims away from airplanes UNTIL THEY ARE PROPERLY VETTED.
Until we figure out the PROPERLY VETTED bit we will continue to see more and more issues like this. Nothing wrong with those properly vetted, BTW.
Lester .. it’s not just a concern regarding “Muslims” per se … it’s far more complex than that premise, but that IS one of the elements (in limited scope),generally limited to extremists, but I am still leery about that, as I am VERY familiar with historical power politics. Even the subtleties should be heeded; actually, ESPECIALLY the subtleties!
People who don’t know Muslims personally, will naturally be suspicious, but even those of us who know many Muslims, know that mankind in general is not policing itself very well, and in some cases, neither are some of the institutions and their “leaders” who are charged with implementing laws and policies, fairly and justly — Corrupt union members and greedy/dirty attorneys (and their corrupt entourages) need to be eradicated too … and there are many dirty actors …FAR TOO MANY!
I guarantee you it’s affecting the economy, social and public access, many other aspects are intricately tied to many dynamic parameters that must constantly be re-assessed, and NOT with the same “algorithms.”
No one is talking about overpopulation either… those will be explosive political and social issues, combined with reduced productivity in US Industry, manufacturing etc … and that’s also a result of external policies, not just national ones. Rubin made an excellent call on the UN Lackadaisical attitude regarding nuclear arms dev .. and NO ONE should take that subject lightly! Frankly, I don’t trust ANYONE with a nuke, and it’s not likely that I’ll trust even those without one, anytime soon .. human behavior is far to unpredictable, and emotionally charged, in far too many cases!!!
“If you can’t trust those in power to have decent character, then don’t allow certain characters to obtain sovereign power,” and I’m not just referring to M.E. politics!
So my question of the day:
What happens when the tech crunch reaches the end of its “useful life”?
Those companies will be re-integrated or fall off the grid entirely … If they don’t hold at least some level of ethical reins, then We the People will get screwed even worse, no matter IN WHICH INDUSTRY those same actors reside.
None so far not know what happened.
The fact is that the technology has surpassed human perception and at the same time social rivalry increases.
Thank you!