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Bulgarian Bomb Report in Hand, EU Must Now Cripple Hizbullah
(Globe and Mail-Canada) Alex Wilner - Until now, the EU has been particularly soft on Hizbullah. Only the Netherlands and the UK have blacklisted the organization, though Britain continues to distinguish between Hizbullah's militant and political wings. France and Germany have been hesitant to ban any part of the organization. They prefer turning a blind eye to Hizbullah's local activities. This means that in much of Europe Hizbullah is free to set up shop and finance its global operations. But now, with the Bulgarian report in hand, Europe has an opportunity to finally get tough on Hizbullah. Blacklisting and sanctioning the organization will freeze Hizbullah's European assets. The timing is perfect for strong European action. The Burgas blast was only one of more than 20 international terrorism plots Hizbullah and Iran tried to orchestrate since 2011. The writer is a senior researcher at ETH Zurich, Switzerland.