“Al Qaeda-Arabian Peninsula is probably the most operationally active of any of the al Qaeda franchises in the region,”

I didn’t know you could own an al Qaeda franchise! I wonder if that’s a profitable venture…

On a more serious note: Thanks for the story, David.

Do you really think Obama could be stupid enough to open up a 3rd front in this war? With the current economic climate and support for Bush’s wars very low, would Obama be that ignorant?

O never met a war he didn’t like.

I can’t see any justification for him pursuing this on more than a Special Forces scale, unless he’s already resigned to not getting re-elected. If that’s the case, I see no reason for him not to go in there full throttle.

Maybe O will see this as an opportunity to get out of Afghan. and concentrate on small police actions with special forces. I don’t like the idea, but I think it would be better than what we’re doing now—fewer casualties.

Another front in the War on Terra means more military recruiting (decrease in jobless numbers), increased demand for war toys, increased profits for war profiteers, population control in an African nation. How can Obama pass up the opportunity?

Already has opened up a 3d & 4th fronts with drones. Apparently that’s not good enough for Levin.

Because the citizens, at least more than 9 years ago, or 7 years ago, will hate him for it. Like I said @3, if he’s okay with that, then I can see it as a distinct possibility. But I really think O wants to be remembered well, and wants a second term.

The worst thing we could possibly is get involved in that awful mess in Africa. It could spill over to every country there and be deadly for us.

The U.S. has so f’d up Somalia during every administration in recent memory. It would be a shame to break a perfect record at this point.

You’re such a dreamer. That is very sweet.

Media spin has made the drones seem more like an extension of tactics within the Iraqi/Afghani conflicts. The majority of people I’ve talked to don’t even know about the drones, let alone see them as seperate fronts.

I’m in agreement, I think the drone attacks in other countries constitute acts of war that are not covered by the Iraqi/Afghani conflicts. They are 3rd and 4th fronts. But try getting Joe-Blow next door to see it that way.

Maybe they’ve already forgotten the whole Black Hawk Down situation.

I was bein’ snarky but Obama certainly has a way of allowing the military to call the shots.

I’m waiting for O to assassinate a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil, using a drone. Maybe it will happen to Joe Blow, or his next door neighbor.

Naw, they’ve got the Philly PD to do that kind of stuff here. And the Chicago PD and Oakland PD and…

Here’s an opinion piece on the subject.

Limited jurisdiction & abilities. Drones can go everywhere.

Limited abilities? The Philly PD burned down an entire block with 1 helo and 1 bomb. Chicago PD made Fred Hampton’s apt look like Swiss cheese. *g*

The wrong lesson that the Obama Administration should take from this terrible Bush foreign policy blunder would be to start providing “military assistance” to the transitional government, leading to a mission creep that could open up a new front in the so-called war on terror.

But I think Obama wants new fronts. It is these wars that are used as an excuse to take away our rights. If Obama seriously was trying to end the wars instead of perpetuating them, he’d just be looking at closing Gitmo instead of relocating Gitmo to Illinois to continue the indefinite detentions. If Obama saw this war mentality as something temporary that he’s transitioning the country out of, he wouldn’t be trying to erect permanent structures in futherance of war.

Two words: “Fusion Centers”

Yeah, I remember those discussions.

Unless, of course, the new goal is

mission creep that could open up a new front in the so-called war on terror

which is entirely possible. War Presidents get re-elected, after all.

More drones! Also.

Here’s another. I’m getting a lot of use out of this link today.

“Before the American-backed invasion of 2006, Somalia had achieved a precarious but growing level of stability for the first time after many years of anarchy under the violent rule of warlords. But this government was made up of a broad coalition of Islamic groups. And although the coalition, led by moderates, was not remotely as extreme as, say, the sectarians of Saudi Arabia, it was outside the control or clientage of the Potomac Empire, and thus could not be allowed to survive.

And so the CIA’s warlords and Washington’s Ethiopian proxies went to work. The coalition was destroyed — and with it the hopes of a moderate, secure, independent Somalia, working out its own destiny, its own path toward development. In the resulting swamp of carnage and suffering, only the extremists were left standing to confront the extreme violence being inflicted by the forces of ‘civilization.’

Now the brutal — and brutalizing — cycle of violence spins ever more furiously, feeding on its own momentum, lashing out beyond the borders, and creating its own nightmare world where whole generations are being devoured.

As Ditz says, the bombing in Uganda is a contemptible, abominable crime — as is the killing of all innocent people by the forces of organized violence. But it did not come out of nowhere, it did not spring from some abyss of mysterious, mystical, motiveless evil. It was an entirely rational act within the system adopted — and imposed — by the “Great Powers,” which holds that the slaughter of innocent people is a perfectly acceptable way to advance your political, economic and ideological agendas.

The United States and Great Britain (among other defenders of civilization) have practiced this for centuries. Yet for centuries, they have always been surprised — shocked — outraged — when the “lesser peoples” follow their example and strike back in like manner. What is high policy for the Great is base terror when employed by the Low.

[...]”

There’s a lot more of the article.

http://www.chris-floyd.com/articles/1-latest-news/1989-leading-by-example-elites-apt-pupils-launch-surge-in-uganda.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+empire_burlesque+%28Empire+Burlesque+-+Chris+Floyd%29

China would surely like to ensure that the Oil-silk route, which brings in 70% of crude oil required by them, is kept trouble free and open all the time, as entire Chinese economy today depends on this Oil-silk route. The remote possibility or even a thought of the possibility of this supply route going under India’s control near Malacca straits, is making them extremely uneasy. India, it appears, is well aware of this leverage in her hand. Any suspicion of any Chinese misadventure in Kashmir or on China India Border could make India react here in the Gateway to Malacca straits. India has been building up naval capability in this region and has recently acquired Boeing P80 , U.S. made submarine hunter-killer planes equipped with harpoon Missiles. China finds it difficult to react to this strategic depth, because of the distances involved and the deep rooted suspicions of the ASEAN countries. She has been trying though, to build a series of friendly ports in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Pakistan along this route, to ensure maritime security. The efforts however have not met with much success so far.

- from “Guarding the oil- silk route,” July 9, 2010

There are about 50 countries in Africa. Whatever “it” is — military action? terrorism? — maybe next time you post you can be a bit more specific about what you mean and avoid generalizing an entire continent?

What I meant is that there is so much unrest in many of the African countries. Even in Kenya which came as a surprise to me. Some have horrible dictators and little or no freedom at all. Many are starving. If it is possible to make a bad situation worse, I imagine that our presence would do it. American is rather ham-fisted working with other countries. I was giving my opinion. If that offends you, just ignore me.

“The wrong lesson that the Obama Administration should take from this terrible Bush foreign policy blunder (they aligned with Ethiopia to overthrow the Islamic Courts Union in 2006) would be to start providing “military assistance” to the transitional government”

OK – I am confused – there are links between al Shabaab and al Qaeda – the Hizbul Shabaab – called here “Al-Shabaab”, or simply “Shabaab”, is the Youth Wing of the ICU. While Shabaab is both radical and somewhat independent organization under the ICU umbrella, how did tossing the ICU out of power increase the ICU’s power – given that Shabaab is part of the ICU.

Now Shabab does have a problem with abducting journalists, harassing youngsters who are their into hip-hop, and of course murdering folks in hospitals – a bit more than the standard sharia clan court (courts were by clan which is why “union” was necessary) ban on smoking and of course treating women like crap (sex mutilation to young female children makes Polanski pedophilic rape seem innocent).

Like Afghanistan and its clan/warlord system with sharia law the cause of the Taliban, this is a war we should not get involved in. But “2006 blunder” is not clear to me.

Oh by all means…
Let us start fucking with militias in Somalia again…

Why the fuck not?

Big O I am sure has no problem with this.

Perhaps blunder is too polite a word.

“[...]

Other cases in the report include:

Haboon, a 56-year-old woman from Mogadishu, who said her neighbour’s 17-year-old daughter was raped by Ethiopian troops. When her 13 and 14-year-old sons tried to defend their sister, the soldiers beat them and took their eyes out with a bayonet. The mother fled. It is not known what happened to the boys. This girl is in a coma as a result of the injuries she sustained during the attack.

Guled, aged 32, who said that he saw his neighbours “slaughtered”. He said he saw many men whose throats were slit and whose bodies were left in the street. Some had their testicles cut off. He also saw women being raped. In one incident, his newly-wed neighbour whose husband was not home was raped by over twenty Ethiopian soldiers. (Garowe Online)

Ceebla’a, aged 63, from Wardhiigley, said she fled Mogadishu on 15 November 2007 with her young children after some shooting in the area. One day she saw three men leaving their shops being picked up by Ethiopian soldiers for investigation. The next morning she saw the bodies of the three men on the street. One was strangled with electrical wire. The second had his throat cut. The third had been chained ankle to wrist, and his testicles had been smashed. (Amnesty report)

These Ethiopian troops were armed, trained and funded by the Bush Administration, then sent into Somalia as a proxy army for yet another Terror War “regime change” operation in late 2006. American military forces have been directly involved in the operation, on the side of the invaders, throughout the conflict, from the very beginning to this day — as evidenced by the U.S. missile attack last week that killed at least two dozen civilians in the course of an “extrajudicial” assassination of a Somali insurgent leader.

American forces have bombed fleeing refugees, slaughtered innocent herdsmen and destroyed villages in attempts to assassinate a handful of individual alleged, on shaky and specious evidence, to be “part of” or “associated with” or “linked to” al Qaeda. American agents have seized refugees from the Somali war, including U.S. citizens, and had them “renditioned” to the notorious prisons of the Ethiopian dictatorship. And as we have noted here many times, the Bush Administration has sent in death squads to “kill anyone left alive” after American strikes.

[...]”

http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/3/1503-willing-executioners-americas-bipartisan-atrocity-deepens-in-somalia.html

How long do they think the Aemrican people will keep being affected by the words “al Qaeda”?
I’ve noticed here lately Osama hasn’t been mentioned at all. No fake movie clips no statement of “we will bury you” no nothing.
Too bad Benazhir Bhutto had to die for telling David Frost Osama was dead.

That’s the only place the Bush dictatorship failed…widening the war fronts. Now it’s up to Obama to do it

I don’t think it would be too hard to come up with quite a few more failures than that…

I guess al Queda-Boo! is out of fashion. They seem to be casting around for someone, though. Perhaps they’ll pay some Somalis to kill some Americans in gee some kind of terra attack.

Well, I hope not.

they don’t even need to do it anymore their wars are so taken for granted. the answer? Cut Social Security and aid to those pesky states, throw more people out in the streets and arm the desperate so they can get another civil war going…..

Guess if the only stimulating you can do for the economy is war,………….

Chris Floyd, quoted above has written some good and impassioned pieces on Somalia. If you wish to follow these events in clear eyed detail, follow africa comments, from this week:

New al-Qaida threat: Somali group claims blasts

Al-Shabab has long threatened to attack outside of Somalia’s borders, but the bombings late Sunday are the first time the group has done so.

“We warned Uganda not to deploy troops to Somalia, they ignored us,” said Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, al-Shabab’s spokesman. “We warned them to stop massacring our people, and they ignored that. The explosions in Kampala were only a minor message to them. … We will target them everywhere if Uganda does not withdraw from our land.”

Setting ethical issues aside, that statement makes it pretty clear that the target was civilians in retaliation for those civilians in Mogadishu killed on an increasingly regular basis by the majority UPDF AMISOM forces & TFG-allied troops trained on Ugandan soil. H.S.M. organized protests in several locations last week condemning such, as well as the IGAD call for additional foreign fighters to prop up the TFG. Media reported one protestor, for example, holding up a placard reading “AMISOM killed my Dad.”

At this point all of the press coverage has been focusing on this being the first terrorist attack by H.S.M. outside of the Somali border and how the earlier fears of H.S.M. are now coming to fruition & validated. And the U.S.G. has been quick to make public noises, as one would expect, in support of their proxy Uganda and to send in the FBI et al.

It’s taken several years and untold numbers of dead for the threats of retaliation to now manifest in a bloody spillover in the region, to create a new bonafide international terrorist threat inside Somalia. What happens next will be shaped largely by the responses of the international community. One safe bet, though, is that impunity continues for their forces in Mogadishu and the focus will primarily remain on the body count and blood on the hands of H.S.M. Reports on Monday have AMISOM shelling the usual neighborhoods again overnight Sunday and throughout the day.

…
Interesting how the majority of all media act to reshape the story from the Sunday attacks in Kampala by labelling it a twin bomb blast/attack when there were three unique bombs between the two locations. This is then used as a way to throw in a sentence claiming that twin bombings are a hallmark of al-Qa’idah.

A large number of reports even claim they were simultaneous explosions – for instance even Uganda’s New Vision states that
“Simultaneous explosions ripped through crowds watching the World Cup final at Kyadondo rugby club and the Ethiopian Restaurant in Kabalagala.” None of the three bombs detonated simultaneously and the restaurant bomb went off approx an hour or more before the ones at the rugby club.

So let’s see….

Iraq has lots and lots of oil.

Afghanistan is the biggest narcotics supplier in the world, both in the black market and pharma.
Oh, and those (not so) newly discovered minerals.
Lots and lots of minerals worth tons of money.

Doesn’t Africa have diamonds?
Oil too, I think.

A clear pattern is developing….

Not to mention the billions upon billions in profits from all the weapons used to kill brown people.

Somalia has oil, that was one of the reasons the US went there in 1993 under Bush 1. It didn’t have much to do with humanitarian then. The oil majors are all watching. There is a lot of oil in East Africa, with huge recent finds in Uganda. Somalia is also critical for the seabasing, part of full spectrum dominance, and for monitoring the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

With its huge coastline Somalia has enormous fishing reserves that are being poached out of existence, primarily by Asian and European fishing fleets. This is a far bigger piracy in dollars than the ships seized by Somali pirates. The international navies there “fighting pirates” are more likely to be protecting illegal fishing fleets.

US allies, the Ethiopians and the Kenyans, prefer Somalia remain fragmented and unstable, particularly Ethiopia, which has a long history of interference and destabilization in Somalia. That Ethiopia is a US ally and proxy costs the US enormous credibility in Somalia, compounded by the Ugandan proxies with AMISOM constantly shelling Somali civilians.

good. al-Shabab’s got to be got and the Sudan isn’t all that savory either.

I appear to have not been clear – the sharia law under the union sucked and was clan based – the term moderate used by Chris is relative to Saudi Wahhabism – and indeed the horror of female genital mutilation exists to some extent in Somali, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Oman, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran – but it is in Somali that it seems to be everywhere, so I question the term “moderate” for the union.

But it is a political fight that is not ours.

I only question how 2006 was a blunder relative to stopping al Shabaab – it was part of the Union and the Union was not about to control them, so not doing the invasion would not have advanced stopping al Shabaab.

We agree al Shabaab is not our concern – and war sucks and innocents get harmed in war – but in terms of the apparent US objective, it is hard to see how there would be less of the young persons side of the union – al Shabaab – if the invasion had not occurred.

It looks like the same shit as the Israelis and Palestinians to me – “Yeah but those guys are worse!”. They both suck. If you follow the links I put up there, apparently US soldiers were mowing down refugees from AC-30′s. Which side is the ‘bad guys’ requires a pretty fine distinction, easy for us to type back and forth about.

Thanks!
I appreciate the detailed info.
:)