2015-01-08

Je suis Charlie

all our thoughts go out to the victims of the barbaric attack on "Charlie Hebdo" yesterday in Paris.

Eight puzzling questions:

1. why did one of the terrorists pauze to pick up a shoe on the ground before entering the runaway car after executing an already wounded police officer?
2. the attack seemed carefully prepared and orchestrated: however: how come did they end up in the wrong appartment building and why did they have to ask for directions to the right adress?
3. appearantly, the police found one of the perpetrator's identity card in the Citroen C3 car. This points to poor tradecraft? Or was it a deliberate clue? Do they want to be caught?
4. Surveillance cameras are ubiquitous in Paris and on French highways: the last runaway car must be known by the police. The exfiltration plan was appearantly well-prepared, yet sloppily executed - they choose random 2nd and 3rd stage vehicles: how long can you stay underground in our society?
****update: suspects located at 11.00 in the AISNE region*** (2015-01-08)
5. French TV coverage is very limited in images; it seems as if there is a ban on information release at this stage. There is an appearant lack of investigative reporting going on.
6. Charlie Hebdo was a very high-profile "soft" target. Close protection was "in place" and "in person" yet unsufficient against a direct hit. Appearantly, there has been increased pressure in the last weeks, why wasn't security beefed up?
7. Almost 24 hours later, no claims for responsibility have been posted on the Internet?
8. How plausible is it that a returning Jihadi trains his brother in just a couple of months in the art of urban guerilla warfare? Both seemed extremely well-trained, cold-blooded and methodic. are there training camps in Europe? And how difficult is it to get modified AK47s these days?