Further reading: Paceville suicide bombing
The threat of international terrorism hangs over the Western world like a ominous dark cloud. We know it’s out there somewhere but we don’t want to think about it as a living daily reality, until the day it emerges from the shadows of the unknown leaving death and devastation against the innocent in its wake. Then we have no alternative but to face up and deal with the consequences and the aftermath of the new reality now staring us in the face.
Could there really ever be a terrorist atrocity in Malta? That is the question I contemplate when I doubt my thoughts (but just look at Malta’s history).
Going about your daily routine of living life, you could never think or imagine that a murderous terrorist atrocity could ever happen because you are completely and blissfully unaware of the true facts of the threat out there lurking in the unknown. Walking in the worlds that you never pass through, and speaking and listening in the places you will never hear or see.
Who cares is most people’s flippant attitude, indifferent to the idea of a terrorist attack; with it not even a thought in the minds of 95% of the population as they go about their everyday lives. Maybe blissful ignorance is the best approach, but I am sure that the grieving families would think very differently if their loved ones were savagely ripped from their lives, caught up in the full horror and carnage of a terrorist attack in Malta whilst out enjoying themselves.
Only God truly knows what is lurking out there in the unknown and the full terrorist threat facing a Country because there is only so much our intelligence services can know as they seek to defend us from those who are operating in the unknown, whilst they fight against the darkness on our behalf. They are our final line of National defence but they are human, so that makes them fallible, which means we can never ever truly be safe from those with the intent to harm us, especially if their driving motivation is one of ‘war’ which brings you back to the contemplation question; could there really ever be a terrorist atrocity in Malta?
Of course there is the possibility, so the answer is yes, even though doubt of it occurring is the general consensus because of blissful ignorance of the facts and the normal natural doubt of “No, it would never happen” because your mind does not want to think or believe it could happen. Only when you start looking at the facts does a picture start to emerge and you realise that “Yes it could happen”.
300 miles away a civil war is raging in Libya under the shadow of the EU military air supremacy who are seeking the assassination of the living tyrant Colonel Gadaffi who is well known for his State sponsorship of international terrorism against EU Countries and the U.S. Malta being part of the EU and so close to Libya has played a central role in the current actions against Gadaffi and his regime which means that the special relationship the Maltese people rely on is now null and void. That, along with there being an army of thousands of young moslem men from Somalia and elsewhere across Africa now living encamped in refugee camps on the island who arrived via Libya courtesy of their generous Libyan hosts. An army of young moslem men between the ages of 20 - 40 with not much else to do each day but sit contemplating their new lives in Malta, living trapped on a small Christian island in a nasty refugee camp and listening to news of Christian Crusading wars in their local mosques and on their Arab/Somali speaking news channels. God only knows the conversations that go on between them in their tents and containers and what is planned in their hearts and minds for the future.
Add to that mix seasoned jihadi’s from the different conflict zones of the world, or recruiters for the global jihad for those conflict zones living on the island for whatever reason and you have the potential for something very deadly and sinister operating in the unknown of Maltese life.
I have seen the Pakistani and Arab jihadi’s at Friday prayers at the Marsa detention centre mosque, and anyone who knows what they are looking at can clearly see the types of people they are (The eyes of a man are the window to his soul), but in a politically correct world nobody wants to call a spade a spade until it’s too late, or the foolish believe you can judge a man by his smile.
On top of all of this you also now have a newly built massive American Embassy on Malta slap bang in the middle of the Mediterranean between the war zones in North Africa and the Middle East, and the landing target of Southern Europe for the Exodus of African refugees setting off from Libya which makes the Embassy and their hosts target No.1 in this part of the world within the jihadi psyche. Look at the Kenyan bombing for an example.
You only need one jihadi with intent and you have a ticking time-bomb that causes a ripple effect amongst the local Islamic population. But let’s be realistic, there are probably upwards of hundreds of ideological jihadi’s now living in Malta amongst the 4,000 plus refugee/migrants scattered around the island, and in the refugee camps, all talking and preparing for the future.
So will it happen? Only God knows, but one thing is for certain is that Malta on the outside seems to be wholly unprepared for the threat facing its National Security from within, which is a shame considering its rich history dating back to 1565.
One can only hope that if the hereditary Knighthood is still alive, that they step up to the plate and defend the island once again, because at this moment in time the island is currently being occupied by a potential 21st century Islamic foreign army and slowly conquered, not just by the Africans either, but by their moslem brothers the Turks too. Inevitably turning the island into an Islamic enclave within a couple of generations, if not sooner dependent on how quick the refugee population continues to grow, and the level of their overt aggressive Islamisation of Malta and their ability to enter the political sphere takes place. If this happens then the memory of La Vallette and his fellow Knights will have been destroyed in this generation by the current leadership of the Knights of Malta, and will be well documented about in history if we travel another several hundred years into the future.
Are the hereditary Knights of Malta and their inducted few, nothing more than a rich man’s gentleman’s club of high society, cloaked in the ancient garb and making themselves feel good by giving to charity whilst sitting back getting fat from their wealth whilst all around them their island bastion burns from within?
If something does happen in Malta then the question will be asked about the Knights whose achievements from the island of Malta still reverberate to the present day.
What would the Maltese justice system do if it caught a few Arabs plotting an act of international terrorism somewhere in the world on Maltese soil? Probably nothing because to my limited knowledge they do not have any real anti-terror legislation covering such events because the legal system is not up to date with the current threat from international terrorism like other Western Nations who have awoken to the threat staring them in the face.
I imagine there is a big list on the desks of MI6 & the CIA of suspected and actual known international Arab/Islamic terrorists living in Malta or using it as a base due to its lax internal security over such matters. Matters over looked until now because who would have ever thought bombing Gadaffi was on the cards and the ripple effect it could cause that could go right up into the heart of Maltese society and effect the future life of the Nation (remove tourism from the island and what would be the effect?).
Are the Maltese even looking under the surface of reality to see what is going on upon their soil, or are their heads buried deep in the sand?
What would be the consequences if there was a suicide bombing in Paceville, killing scores of foreign tourists, and wounding many more, and the government was warned but did not act to prevent such a scenario?
When I think to myself will there be an attack in Malta, firstly doubt fills my mind because of the false sense of security everyone lives in, and then reality based upon the facts breaks through and it becomes a very real plausible possibility.
Who would have thought that the world would awake to news of a lone Norwegian gunman killing 85 innocent Norwegian children, and blowing up a government building? But it did, and people now face the reality and consequences of this act that was planned in the unknown, out of sight and mind of those who could have prevented it. The same could be said about 9/11 in America of 7/7 in the UK, or even the Pan Am flight Gadaffi was involved in blowing out of the sky over Lockerbie.
Will something happen in Malta? Only God knows, but I pray that it doesn’t, but it is all out there to become happen and become a reality…it might not happen tomorrow but the passage of time brings change and only God knows the future.
As the old saying goes “prevention is better than cure”.
One last passing thought, the war to topple Gadaffi has been going on for several months now, along with his attempted assassination and that of his family, but he survives to this day and has publicly declared about bringing the war to Europe and the Mediterranean. To my knowledge he has not counter striked against his aggressors anywhere in the world yet which could only mean a terrorist atrocity upon their home soil.
How long until the world awakes to a Colonel Gadaffi inspired and funded terrorist attack somewhere in retaliation for the EU-US bombing of him and his Country?
Will it happen? Can it happen? Will it be Malta?
