Quantity of Explosive Found in Belgium Surprises Officials

[MowCowWhoHow III]

Source: New York Times

The announcement by the Belgian authorities that they had confiscated more than 30 pounds of the explosive TATP from a dwelling used by the attackers in Brussels was, in some ways, an expected development. But it contained one detail that bomb-disposal technicians and security officials regarded with surprise: the quantity of the particular explosive involved.

TATP, also known as triacetone triperoxide, is a white, crystalline explosive also used in the attacks in Paris in November, though it caused few casualties compared with the terrorists’ assault rifles. Highly unstable and sensitive to shock, friction and heat, it breaks down quickly in air. And while it can be made with basic chemistry skills and relatively simple equipment, it is more dangerous and tedious to manufacture than a commonly used fertilizer-based explosive, ammonium nitrate, which an American official, citing intelligence shared by Belgium, said the attackers had also used.

Unlike ammonium nitrate, TATP is typically seen in small quantities, not in the tens of pounds. One American official who had reviewed the intelligence related to the bombs in France and the newer intelligence from Belgium said the recovery of more than 30 pounds indicated an increased capacity since the Paris attacks. And that figure did not include any explosive actually used in the bombs that killed 31 people on Tuesday.

The Belgian authorities also said they had recovered nearly 40 gallons of acetone and eight gallons of hydrogen peroxide, materials used in producing TATP. They made no mention of the acids needed as catalysts or chemicals often used to rinse TATP crystals and remove impurities.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/24/world/europe/brussels-explosives-tatp.html

[6chars]

1. maybe the authorities should just leave people alone

maybe it just provokes terrorists when authorities try to arrest them.

on the other hand, if I were advising the EU, I would say they have to take some serious steps to protect their capital. The repeated terrorist attacks are an existential problem for them, and they are spending time debating nonsense.

[Democat]

3. Leave people alone? These were convicted violent criminals

They probably should have kept them in jail.

[Duppers]

7. I think 6chars

was expressing some assholy sarcasm there.

[Democat]

2. Belgium police need to review their policies

There is little doubt that a lot of people knew what these men were up to and didn't alert police. Also, two of the suspects were sentenced to jail but somehow released.

The Belgium authorities need to improve their sources, step up surveillance of convicted terrorists, and keep convicted violent criminals in jail.

[Blue_Tires]

17. For starters, they don't have anywhere near

the manpower to watch everyone all the time...

Secondly, Brussels has sadly been a Jihadi convention for years now, so there too many there for them to even deal with...

[Surya Gayatri]

4. K & R. Thanks for posting, MCWH.

I believe you're in Belgium, right? Solidarity from here in Paris. The EU is in for a rough ride, I fear.

Nous sommes tous bruxellois et belge!

[leftynyc]

5. Continues to sound like

the Belgium police were quite content in ignoring what was right in front of their faces. They have a lot to answer for.

[safeinOhio]

6. Very underfunded and understaffed

compared to other countries.

[7962]

9. Yes. And Like many others, they're more afraid of being accused of profiling.

Instead of looking at the reality of their part of the world. Here, we have raging debates over calling an area a "no go zone", as if what you CALL an area is more important than what it actually IS. Ask the Belgians what this neighborhood is & how often the authorities every actually go in to arrest anyone.

[leftynyc]

10. When Europeans

continue to look to the political right because the left is so afraid of their shadows and are more concerned about being pc than in protecting their citizens, maybe then people will wake up.

[Blackjackdavey]

15. police work

Seems to me, good old fashioned intelligence, security and police networks could have done a better job by simply keeping an eye on the source and purchase of these materials without needing to resort to ethnic profiling. In fact, in comparison to keeping track of bomb making materials, keeping track of an entire population of individuals seems like a far less efficient approach.

[all american girl]

13. The different police departments doen't talk to each other...it's a big problem.

[Angel Martin]

14. not just the authorities ignoring what is going on

the production of these types of explosives stinks to high heaven. If done in a apartment, everyone in the building would know about it.

Here are some instructions for firefighters to identify explosive labs.

"Indicators of manufacturing:
• Foul odors/caustic fumes
• Metal corrosion
• Strong chemical odors from exterior drains or sewers
• Dead vegetation
• Paint discoloration
• Structural damage
• Multiple fans in multiple windows
• Refrigerators and coolers "

http://my.firefighternation.com/profiles/blogs/recipe-for-disaster-the?q=profiles/blogs/recipe-for-disaster-the


The elephant in the room here is the widespread collaboration between the residents of these muslim enclaves and the terrorists - not reporting explosives labs, and hiding terrorists on the run.

When the support for terrorists gets to this scale, the authorities are no longer operating just a counter-terrorism program. It's becoming more like a counter-insurgency.

[christx30]

18. Do you want to be the person

that accuses a Muslim of being a terrorist, with the risk that it's not true? People are ripped apart for that these days.
"People died, but at least no one accused me of racism."

[Angel Martin]

19. I understand the pressures that people can face

in a tight knit, minority community.

-intimidation and threats from fanatics
-not wanting the community to look bad
-targeted by the PC media for disrupting the narrative


given all that, it is still possible to call the police anonymously and suggest they check out the terrible chemical smell coming from apt 402 in such and such building.

or call the police anonymously, letting them know that someone looking like Salah Abdeslam just walked into the Molenbeek metro station.

after every attack there are calls for moderate muslims to denounce the violence.

I don't care about that.

What I want is for more muslims to act like normal citizens when they see that something really horrible is being planned.

in europe right now it is not happening.

[dembotoz]

8. this must be why my mom never let me have a chemistry set

understand they add something to fertilizer so it don't go boom

so the bad guys just go to plan b

maybe we need to put chemistry majors on the do not fly list

[rtracey]

11. really

Really, the amount of explosives surprised the Belgian authorities.... Were you also surprised when Keir Simmons of NBC went through your border check zone and he's car was not stopped, actually he said he didn't seen any guards at the checkpoint. He actually drove through without stopping... Complacency will destroy this world, and sorry, but the US needs to stop being the "where we you" country to all these other countries. Belgium knew the Paris attackers were there, they we monitoring them... WTF......raid them, kill them....BUT NOT AFTER YOUR COUNTRY IS ATTACKED. Why do some many countries step up security AFTER they are attacked, do it now, and help prevent in the future.

[GummyBearz]

12. Because of politicians

Our left leaning politicians go to great lengths to be PC towards certain religions and immigrants.

Our right leaning politicians probably don't mind waiting until after the country is attacked, as it will improve the odds they can get even more surveillance, invasion of privacy, and authoritarian type laws passed.

Its the average day citizen, both us on the left as well as those on the right, who are calling for this developing crisis to be dealt with before it escalates to the next level. Too bad those who are supposed to represent us are a bunch of jack holes.

[oberliner]

16. Everything seems to surprise Belgian officials

They really need to get on the ball over there.