TERROR IN FRANCE – AT 10:51 A.M. ET:  There has been an Islamic-linked terror attack in Strasbourg, France.  Two are dead, many are injured.  The alleged shooter is at large.

This is critically important.  ISIS has already boasted it will attack targets, including targets in the United States, during the Christmas shopping season.  We don't know if the Strasbourg attack was run by ISIS, but eternal vigilance is called for.  From BBC: 

The Strasbourg gunman yelled "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest" in Arabic) as he opened fire on people enjoying an evening out at a Christmas market, the Paris public prosecutor told reporters.

Rémy Heitz said two people had been killed and one left brain-dead after the attack in the eastern French city on Tuesday.

Twelve were wounded, six seriously.

The man, named by local media as Chérif Chekatt, was known to authorities as having been radicalised in prison.

The 29-year-old was armed with a gun and a knife and escaped the area in a taxi, Mr Heitz said.
The attacker boasted to the driver - who has spoken to police - that he had killed 10 people, and said he had been injured in a firefight with soldiers.

Four people connected to the suspect had been detained overnight in Strasbourg, Mr Heitz added. Sources close to the investigation quoted by Reuters news agency said they were the suspect's mother, father and two brothers.

Hundreds of officers are currently involved in the search for the gunman. France's Deputy Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez earlier acknowledged he may no longer be in France.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said the country had moved to a high level of alert, expanding police powers and increasing vigilance.

He added that border controls had been strengthened and security at all Christmas markets would be stepped up.

COMMENT:  We tend to forget the threat of terror until an attack occurs, but some authorities are saying that the actual threat of terror is greater now than ever before.

The attack in France comes at the same time as the riots in Paris.  The country is in poor shape, with a very unpopular government.  It is vulnerable.

I was in Manhattan a few days ago to hear an economics address, and I must say that I got a creepy feeling when passing the great Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.  I would not be surprised if an attack were attempted in the United States. 

December  12,  2018