Until the European elite realizes the necessity of a radical change in order to safeguard our continent, all speeches about reinforcing security will be but hot air, Magyar Idők columnist József Horváth writes.
Confidence in the legal system is one of the main pillars of all police, law enforcement and intelligence work. The belief that as long as they follow the letter of the law, they will have the support of the rulers, politicians and citizens. This is most crucial in intelligence work, with operations often spanning over several government cycles.
During the 1972 Munich Olympic Games Palestinian terrorists hijacked a group of Israeli athletes, finally killing 11 of them while German police shot five of the terrorists, the rest escaped and were celebrated as heroes in Libya. Then Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir ordered Operation Sword of Gideon, to identify, find and liquidate all who perpetrated, planned and financed the attack. The operation lasted nearly twenty years and several governments came and went, but there was no doubt whatsoever that the operation must be completed.
On September 11, 2001 terrorist group Al Qaeda conducted a tragic attack against several targets on the East Coast of the United States. Two days later, President George W. Bush announced on television that the country will spare no resources in finding and punishing the perpetrators. On May 2, 2011, during the presidency of Barack Obama, Bin Laden was killed in Operation Neptune Spear.
Unfortunately, Western Europe today shows an entirely different picture. Sami A. of Tunisian origin arrived in Germany in 2005. He was under the surveillance of German intelligence for the previous 13 years. They established that he was a member of Al Qaeda, received military training in Afghanistan and served as Bin Laden’s bodyguard. While in Germany, he attempted to radicalize others, sired four children and all the time received EUR 1,167 social support per month.
Eventually, in June 2018 he was ordered to be deported to Tunisia where he was also wanted. But a court in Gelsenkirchen vetoed the deportation and ordered the Immigration Office to bring him back because he could be subjected to torture in Tunisia. Now he is awaiting the verdict.
I think the above examples are self-explanatory. Not only are intelligence services denied the additional funding required for their growing and increasingly dangerous workload but even the law fails to support them.
And this will inevitably lead to decreased efficiency, moral dilemmas within the secret service ranks and many will outright resign. Instead of Operation Sword of Gideon or Neptune Spear we are sadly witnessing Operation Hijacking of Europe.
