Today’s Washington Post tells the story of Muriel Degauque, the 38 year-old Belgian woman who killed herself in a failed terrorist attack in Iraq last month. It is a story that puts a new twist on the War on Terror
MONCEAU-SUR-SAMBRE, Belgium, Dec. 1 — A Belgian woman who carried out a suicide attack against a U.S. patrol in Iraq became a terrorist cell member after marrying the second of two Muslim husbands, authorities said Thursday.
Muriel Degauque, 38, who grew up in this town near the industrial city of Charleroi, entered Iraq from Syria last month and detonated explosives strapped to her body in a failed attack, authorities have concluded.
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In her younger years, Degauque lived a conventional life in southern Belgium. News reports said she ran into problems with drugs and alcohol as an adolescent. After she finished high school, she took on several jobs, including selling bread in a bakery.
So what is it that turned this seemingly normal woman into a killer ? Well, perhaps her conversion to Islam had something to do with it.
Authorities say Degauque had been a member of a terror group that embraced al-Qaida’s ideology. The group included her second husband, a Belgian of Moroccan origin who entered Iraq with Degauque and was killed in murky circumstances while trying to set up a separate suicide bombing.
Experts said converts to Islam like Degauque are often easy prey for extremists because their search for a new identity can make them impressionable.
And it extends far beyond this one woman:
Authorities said the Belgian network had been planning to send more volunteers to Iraq for attacks.
Belgium has been identified as a breeding ground for terrorists in the past and there are currently 13 Belgian and Moroccan nationals on trial for allegedly being members of an Islamic group suspected in recent bomb attacks in Spain and Morocco.
Islamic radical groups linked to the al-Qaida terror network are suspected of setting up networks in Belgium and other European nations with large Muslim communities.
If nothing else, this may serve as a wake up call for Belgium and the rest of Europe. The enemy is among them, its only a matter of time before it acts.
For many in Belgium, Wednesday’s arrests were a chilling reminder that no one is immune.
“Belgium is directly involved in the terrorist threat,” said Justice Minister Laurette Onkelinx.
Well, at least they finally recognize it.
There’s an excellent round-up of other commentary on this story, along with an all-too-approriate graphic at All Things Beautiful
Linked with The Political Teen and Basil’s Blog
