The current news that the military counterintelligence of Germany (MAD) found in the ranks of the Bundeswehr, several dozen Islamists, not very fresh. At least ten years ago, information about the penetration in the German army of representatives of radical groups were known by the command, but it chose not to advertise. Now the barracks of the armies of NATO countries are literally teeming with the followers of ISIS (banned terrorist organization).
Officially announced details about that in the Bundeswehr identified 20 Islamists, 60 military personnel are under suspicion as sympathetic is only the visible part of the iceberg. From open sources (the German media) can gain information about what the secret service is now investigating the same 320 “suspicious cases”. Not hard to imagine that they are actually even more. At least the Minister of defence of Germany Ursula von der Leyen was forced to more actively insist on enhanced checks of candidates for military service. And the members of the Bundestag are now urgently preparing for the review of the law on checks for recruits.
The first “alarm bell” sounded in 2007, when МАD informed that the Islamist group deliberately sent its members to serve in the Bundeswehr for the purpose of training the treatment of various types of weapons and skills-mine engineer business. It turns out that for a long time, the Islamists learn military Affairs in the German army, and some of them already using these fighting skills into practice in the middle East.
The situation got out of control when there are serious concerns that the Islamists in uniform (active and retired from the army) can be a major force inside Germany, which like many of the European countries have now undergone a massive influx of illegal migrants from Muslim countries. In fact this circumstance was the reason for the current large-scale validation of the Bundeswehr military counterintelligence. Having identified a significant number of Islamists, remembered finally, as before in the German army there were cases when the radicals were in its ranks, and many retired soldiers have gone to Syria and Iraq and fought on the side of ISIS. We know of at least 25 Islamists, who used the experience of German service in combat.
Note that the German defense Minister had insisted on enhanced inspections of recruits, and the bill was presented by the German government in August this year. And only now, after the detection of a major group of Islamists in the ranks of the Bundeswehr, the German Bundestag begins its review. In the case of adoption of such a law, because it will come from 1 June 2017.
Today to enlist in the Bundeswehr, it is enough to be a German citizen (citizenship can be obtained after 8 years of living in the country), to provide a certificate of clearance from the police and swear on the basic law of Germany. Given the shortage of recruits and plans to increase the number of German army to get to it is not difficult for children of migrants, second and third waves, which are only partially assimilated in Germany and profess Islam as their religion. Today, when the influence of Islamist radical groups in Europe has increased substantially, their leaders spend most of campaign work with young Muslims who already have German citizenship.
“The influx of migrants from Muslim countries in Germany led not only to change their traditional way of life of the local population that is frightened by the aggressiveness of the refugees and their wild antics – said the German political scientist Alexander Rahr. – You were right, those experts, who warned that it is impossible in Germany to put such a large number of injured people. Need to know what conditions they came to check the connection ISIS, to give psychological help. And this live bombs that walk around Germany. And if the access to weapons of migrants is limited, they are looking for ways to find it. Through any organization, through smuggling from Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Another way is try to get on service in the Bundeswehr, which gives access to weapons, full legalization and the ability to obtain military knowledge. And these people have a bigger bomb than a bomber a single or just a very unstable person. How to prevent it – is not yet clear. This, it seems, still do not know nor intelligence agencies nor the military itself”.
It is expected that after the introduction of the new law which proposed to the Bundeswehr, there will be a mandatory practice of checking recruits counterintelligence. Thus it will be possible to weed out extremists, terrorists and representatives of the criminal world. However, the full base on such “unreliable” does not yet exist, and the need of the Bundeswehr recruits on a short-term service is about 20 thousand soldiers. And to name their religion when applying for military service in Germany is not necessarily, therefore, the Ministry of defence in this country doesn’t even know how many Muslims serving in its ranks.
The exact number of Muslims in the British army, no one knows, but it seems that among them also there are proponents of radical Islam. And goals of the Islamists are similar to those pursued in the Bundeswehr – the training of military professionals to participate in the fighting. Traditionally in the British army are the thousands of Muslim immigrants from India, Sudan, Egypt and Kuwait. Over the past 15 years, the number of Muslim soldiers in the army, air force and Navy of this country increased by 40 percent.
This trend is in contrary to common belief about the incompatibility of Islam and military service in Western countries. Moreover, the British army creates the conditions for the observance of religious practices to the faithful. But to understand who of the soldiers of the Muslim is a supporter of radical Islam entrusted to the imams chaplains, that such information is not voiced.
In the ranks of the French army there are up to 20 percent of Muslims of the total number of servicemen – tens of thousands. And not all of them found their way to integration, and are among radicals. And in certain circumstances, even peaceful Islam can be used for improper purposes and become subject to extremist interpretations. However, every religion has a hidden dark side, which is filled with intolerance and violence and manifests itself in a particular moment in history. According to a survey of the French political science center CSA, Muslims under the age of 30 in this country are much more active support Sharia believers than older children.
The famous French Foreign Legion, until recently, in principle not accepted into the service of the Muslims, and indeed the corps was alien to any religion. In recent years, this tradition was broken and the Legion along with the chaplains appeared and imams. The soldiers of the legions of the Muslim religion in the territory of continental France are for the most part just a training course and then sent for service abroad. Statistics about adherence to the Islamist soldiers of the Foreign Legion doesn’t exist, especially because most of them get a French passport with fictitious names and place of birth.
In the highly diverse ethnic composition of the US army Muslim soldiers have recently faced discrimination and humiliation. A similar attitude towards them has worsened after November 2009, when a military psychiatrist, a Muslim by religion, was shot at the military base Fort hood 13 people and wounded 30. Played a role in musulmanami and the attacks of September 11, 2001.
In the us army there is, perhaps, the only unit made up exclusively of Muslims – 51-company of military interpreters, created the program “09 Lima”. 90 per cent of the members of this unit are constantly in Iraq and Afghanistan, the rest of the U.S. have to undergo a humiliating test of loyalty and harassment. In other parts of the us army, Muslims prefer not to advertise their religion, although their number is constantly growing. In half million of the U.S. army serve more than 3,500 Muslims.
Author: Viktor Sokirko
Photo: bundeswehr.de, Markus Heine/Globallookpress