2023-10-07 13:01:00
Overwhelmed by gangs out of control, Sweden has just asked for help from its army to try to manage the shootings which are increasing in public spaces. A year ago, in the country of social democracy as a model, such a solution would have been unthinkable.
What happened ? 261 shootings have occurred since the start of the year. Next to Stockholm, the cities of Marseille and Naples now look like peaceful hamlets… Failure following failure, no longer knowing what to do, Sweden deploys its military on its own territory for non-logistical reasons.
It is above all a political defeat. Such changes in mentality in a country close to Belgium once once more raise the question of the use of the army here, in particular to deal with drug trafficking. This week, the head of the Brussels MR David Leisterh, a supporter of such a solution, brought out his now well-rehearsed punchline on our antenna: “We can’t stop traffickers with doves”. Categorical refusal from the army: “No, the military is neither equipped nor trained to replace the police”.
Political declarations from the right and pragmatic response from the army, we might leave it there. But it’s always worth scratching a little. That’s what debate shows like It’s necessary to talk regarding (from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday on LN24) are for.
Why is the military invoked as a last resort when a situation threatens to spiral out of control? Politically, it is the old right-wing card that we are brandishing, that of a return to order by force, in order to speak to electorates concerned regarding their security. Politician tactic: foam quickly dissipated…
But there are still reasons why the proposal – a little off topic today – to mobilize the army to curb drug trafficking will certainly resurface in the future. If we want to stop traffic at sea, before the containers are unloaded in Antwerp, it will be better to get help from the army.
If police patrols become increasingly complicated, an armed escort will be required. If finally, as we already see, weapons that European countries send to Ukraine return via the clandestine market, the police will not be sufficiently equipped to deal with those who shoot at them, when such weapons fall into the wrong hands .
This is a remote possibility, surely exaggerated. But let’s remember that resorting to the army seemed unthinkable in Sweden just a year ago.
1696718279
#talk #army #fight #drug #trafficking
