Taylor Swift cancels concerts in Austria after ISIS terrorism arrest.

 

Taylor Swift. Fox News/Getty.

Taylor Swift has canceled three concerts in Austria after an ISIS terror plot targeting the events was foiled. Fox News. Two men were arrested for a plot to attack Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna. One of the arrested was a 19 year old "Austrian National". Police found chemicals in his home that they are currently analyzing. Both suspects were found to have pledged their lives to ISIS. The plot was disrupted but it is unclear if all members of the ISIS cell were captured, which lead to the cancelation of the Taylor Swift concert. Swift will closeout her European tour in London. 

My Comment:

This was an extremely serious situation and it was good that it was disrupted. The whole thing is giving me flashbacks of the Ariana Grande concert bombing back in 2017 in Manchester. That attack was specifically aiming for the little girls that were attending that concert and though Taylor Swift fans tend to be a little older, there still would have been a lot of children at this concert. 

It's unclear what kind of plot this is. The mention of "chemicals" being found has lead to some people suggesting that it was going to be a chemical weapons attack, but I find that unlikely, I doubt a couple of teenagers had that much sophistication to launch a chemical attack. My guess is the chemicals were precursor explosives. 

I am guessing the attack would have been a lot like the Manchester bombing. Instead of attacking the concert directly they would have attacked the concert goers as they come or go from the event. Swift herself would have been fine but I am guessing that the attackers would have blown themselves up as the crows were leaving. 

It is still concerning that police aren't sure if this cell has been disrupted or not. These two young men could have been the pawns and the mastermind could still be out there and could still attack other targets in Austria. Though their biggest target is now gone they could still hit other targets, even if it's something as small as a government building or a nightclub. Until they are caught terrorism is going to be on everyone's mind in Europe. 

This also doesn't seem like a "lone wolf" attack either. It seems likely that these guys had some support. They were making a bomb and, again, they were teenagers. I doubt they were doing that without some kind of assistance from a bombmaker. Making bombs is a specialized skill and it takes funding and support to do it, so this seems like a major plot from ISIS itself. 

Why did they target Taylor Swift? Probably just because she is popular. I doubt they like her Western music but the real point is that there were a lot of vulnerable people all in the same place. It probably has very little to do with her specifically but more to do with her being able to draw huge, vulnerable, crowds. 

I do think that there is a rather extreme risk of terrorism right now. The world is on fire and there are a lot of people extremely angry of all political stripes. ISIS is obviously making a comeback since they weren't a priority under the Biden administration after Trump largely defeated them during his term. And the specter of an attack involving Iran or Hezbollah is rather extreme as well. I would be surprised if there isn't at least one major terror attack before the end of the year in Europe or the United States.