Al Qaeda Claims Responsibility for Charlie Hebdo Massacre

Finally the cat is out of the bag. What was suspected has been owned by the terrorist group Al Qaeda. This shadowy group has presence all over the world and there is no shortage of recruits, who wish to die for what they believe is a just cause. The attack on the French Satarical magazine was expected, especially after the magazine published caricatures of the Prophet. The surprise is the complete failure of the French to protect the editorial staff, who were on the hit list.The killings obviously put the scanner on the police. It is obvious that the French police did not take the threats from radical extremists seriously enough.

I have a feeling that French policies have precipitated this attack. Its good to have freedom of expression, but license to vilify another religion could have been censored. Along with this is the lopsided policy of the government. One of these is wasting time in propping a defunct state like Ukraine against Russia. For heavens, I could never understand what France achieved by its Ukraine policy? The pressing need was for a cohesive policy in the Arab lands to counter the extremist element of Islam. Overthrowing a bulwark like Gaddafi, who had hanged many extremists as well as issued an arrest warrant against Osama bin Laden defies imagination. The fact is France is no longer a global power,its reach is pretty limited.That is one reason France cannot strike at the extremists in Middle East or elsewhere. What can be done? France must coordinate with Muslim moderates and USA and hit at any nation organizing training camps for terrorists like Pakistan and Iran. Supporting moderate Muslims will go a long way in this case. Last but not the least the death penalty for extremists should also be on the cards. Death penalty is always a deterrent and doing away with it, means one hand is tied behind your back.