Weak Spots in the East

Barbaric attacks in Sri Lanka may mark a change of strategy in global Islamic terrorism. It is increasingly harder to conduct impressive attacks in the West, where activity in the past few years was limited to lone wolves with knives or rented trucks, who attacked random pedestrians.

Bombings in the South Asian nation were not expected – although there have been suggestions that foreign intelligence services may have uncovered the plot several days in advance. But it was not an obvious target – Christians are a small minority in this predominantly Buddhist country. Only 6% out of its 22 million strong population celebrate Easter today. While popular, it also isn’t one of the world’s top tourist hot spots – unlike Bali, targeted 17 years ago in attacks that claimed over 200 lives.

People have gotten used to large outbursts of violence in Africa and Middle East, to a point that few really care about them anymore. But some countries – especially in Asia – are not seen as gravely threatened by Islamic terror and may now come into focus as much easier targets.

High-Level Threats in the West

In Europe or America probability of violence is generally much lower, due to far more advanced security services and a heightened state of alert.

The gravest threat moved higher – to the realm of politics and social activism, where supposed “victimhood” and identity – rather than competences – have become a valuable currency that you can buy popularity with – and influence nation’s politics as a result. That’s how Ilhan Omar was elected.

She campaigned on a typically populist “everything for everyone” platform, that is so common on the political left – with the added benefit of being a female Muslim Somali-American, surely scoring maximum points for identity among the virtue signalling voters in her staunchly Democratic district.

But as she secured her seat, her unsavory nature began to show – most notably in her antisemitism that she no longer felt she had to hide.

Before the elections she dismissed BDS – a movement to boycott and sanction Israel – as harmful or unproductive only to embrace it as she won her mandate. Mere months ago she liberally alleged that Jews or Jewish organizations corrupt congressmen with money or that congressmen supporting Israel hold “allegiance to a foreign country”. Backlash followed, with understandable attacks from the right and damage control from the left.

“I think she has a different experience in the use of words, doesn’t understand that some of them are fraught with meaning,” / Nancy Pelosi

That is a rather polite way of saying that her colleague had no idea what the hell she was talking about.

The problem is – she did. And she meant every word of it.

All of the above could, perhaps, be dismissed as ramblings of an overzealous Congress freshman but they should not be taken lightly coming from a member of House Committee on Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for legislation in the domain of US foreign policy.

Especially as Ilhan Omar has some rather questionable friends…