Consuming Fire on the Mountain of Africa?: Islamist Terrorists from Somalia hit Kenya

RT latest report says Kenyan military spokesperson Colonel Cyrus Oguna confirmed that “most of the hostages have been released, and the Kenya Defence Forces has taken control of most parts of the building," where at least 68 people were killed in an attack. Four military personnel were injured during the latest rescue operation, Kenya Defense Forces stated. Kenyan authorities have regained control of most of the mall and have rescued most of the hostages, Kenya Defense Forces tweeted.

Kenyan forces have launched a major assault to free the hostages trapped inside the mall. US President Barack Obama has also called Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta to say that the US will support Kenya's efforts to bring the perpetrators of the shopping mall attack to justice. Former Kenyan Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, said that the militants had established contact with the country’s authorities. He did not mention the attackers’ demands. Beside Kenyans, among the victims of the attack are also citizens of France, the UK, Canada, China, South Korea and India.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has sent a telegram of condolence to Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, saying Russia strongly condemns this act of terrorism, the Kremlin’s press-service reported. Security forces have “a good chance” of neutralizing the attackers at the shopping mall, said Kenya's president Uhuru Kenyatta. "The criminals are now located in one place within the building. With the professionals on site, I assure Kenyans that we have as good a chance to successfully neutralize the terrorists as we can hope for," he told reporter

At least 68 people are now reported to have been killed according to Kenyan Red Cross and over 200 others wounded by Al-Qaeda-linked militants in a Nairobi shopping mall, as the hostage crisis there has entered its second day. Foreigners are among the casualties. 10 to 15 gunmen are still inside the shopping mall, a Kenyan minister has reported. 30 hostages are still inside the building, according to the country’s officials and Western diplomatic sources cited by CNN. AP journalists reported from the scene that gunfire was heard in the mall on Sunday morning.

They added that following the shooting, two wounded Kenyan security forces were carried from the mall. Israeli advisers are reportedly helping Kenya to work out a strategy to end a siege at the mall. "There are Israeli advisers helping with the negotiating strategy, but no Israelis involved in any imminent storming operation," an Israeli security source told Reuters. President Kenyatta also lost close members of his family. Ghanaian poet, Kofi Awoonor also died in the Westgate attack after sustaining serious injuries. Awoonor was in Nairobi to speak at the Storymoja Hay Festival, a four-day celebration of writing, thinking and storytelling.

Along with Ghanaian poets Nii Parkes and Kwame Dawes, Awoonor was due to perform on Saturday evening as part of a showcase of award-winning poetry from both sides of Africa. He died age 78. One of the smiles of Africa is gone. His son was severely injured too but new report shows he has been discharged from the hospital. Witnesses said the attackers ordered all Muslims to leave the premises, as only non-Muslims would be targeted. "The casualties are many, and that's only what we have on the outside. Inside there are even more casualties and shooting is still going on," Kenya Red Cross Society Secretary General Abbas Guled said.

A police officer inside the shopping centre said the gunmen had barricaded themselves into the Nakumatt supermarket. "We have reports of American citizens injured in the attack, and the US Embassy is actively reaching out to provide assistance," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement, Reuters reports. Al Jazeera International has reported that Al Shabaab, a hardline Islamist group with a stronghold in neighbouring Somalia, told them that they carried out the Nairobi shooting.

"We got three bodies from this shop. And a couple of bodies here," he said pointing to an abandoned hamburger bar, Reuters reports. Some local television stations are reporting that hostages have been taken, but there has been official confirmation. A Reuters photographer earlier said he saw five bodies outside the mall and a former British soldier said he saw four more people who had also been killed.

At least two dozen wounded were wheeled out on stretchers and shopping carts. Many of the victims had sustained what appeared to be superficial wounds inflicted by flying debris. Others were seen walking out of the building with bloodied articles of clothing wrapped around their injuries. "I Personally touched the eyes of four people and they were dead. One of them was a child. Its carnage up there," said a former British soldier at the scene.

Police are currently engaged in an ongoing shop-by-shop sweep of the complex. "They have seven hostages, confirmed," an officer told AFP. Kenyan soldiers were also deployed to take part in the operation to bring the shopping complex back under control. Police helicopters circled over the building as sporadic gunfire could be heard more than two hours after the attack was launched. Police cordoned off the roads surrounding the mall in central Nairobi's Westlands neighborhood.

Kenya’s interior minister said the mall shooting may be “an attack by terrorists.” "It is a possibility that it is an attack by terrorists, so we are treating the matter very seriously," Mutea Iringo, the principal secretary in the Ministry of Interior told Reuters. Asked if foreign security services were involved in the operation to flush out the attackers, he said, "At this stage it has not become necessary yet." Nairobi police Chief Benson Kibue blamed the attack on terrorists, though he did not name a group. Five assailants, armed with AK-47s and grenades launched their attack on the Westgate shopping mall in the Kenyan capital around midday.

Gunmen were said to have lobbed grenades at the onset of the strike. They then proceeded to shoot indiscriminately and took several people hostage at the mall in Nairobi, a senior Kenyan government source said. Armed police arrived on the scene nearly half an hour later and could be heard shouting "get out, get out" as scores of shoppers fled the building. Smoke billowed out of the entrance, which was believed to have been caused by the grenade attack.

"They don't seem like thugs, this is not a robbery incident," Yukeh Mannasseh who was on the mall's top floor when the shooting started, told Reuters. "It seems like an attack. The guards who saw them said they were shooting indiscriminately." Other witnesses said that the gunmen had asked all Muslims to vacate the mall, as only non-Muslims would be targeted in the attack. When asked if the attack was a robbery, one paramilitary officer replied, "No, terrorist".

An AFPTV reporter said police and security guards were trying to secure a multi-screen cinema complex inside the mal where many had taken shelter. The reporter said she saw at least 20 people rescued from a toy shop on one of the upper floors of the building. A shop manager who managed to escape said it had appeared “the shooters had taken control of all the mall.”

The Somali militant group al-Shabaab had earlier threatened to strike the mall, as it is a popular destination for the city’s expatriate community. However, no one has yet to claim responsibility for the assault. One victim said that he had been shot by a man who appeared to be Somali, while others noted the gunmen were speaking in a foreign language. "A Somali guy shot at me. The guy who shot me was carrying a rifle, an AK-47," said  Saptal Singh, who was in a cafe in the top floor of the mall.

The sleeping of Africa on the world stage will eventually consume it. Apparently, most of the people involved in this attack were foreigners. The consuming war of Washington versus Al Qaeda is fast moving around countries close to Muslim-populated countries or countries with a sizable number of Muslim population. One begins to wonder when Africa will wake from slumber and see itself losing in the Imperialism versus Fundamentalism game despite not being a participant and has no interest whatsoever. Nigeria is currently battling its own. Mali just ended and one only hopes for a better future ahead, now Kenya.

Of what benefit is a belief that people use to send wrong signals to the world? Of what benefit is the follower-ship of a country that is really and advantageously secured where it is located but continuously precariously spread its tentacles of hatred with its policies? The two camps are same and Africa seems to be caught between the era of Trans-Saharan and Trans-Atlantic trades again. Somalia has continually been the albatross of the continent as many of today's fundamentalists had received their training in that country since 1991. Al Shabaab has already claimed responsibility for the Kenyan attack. The Twitter account of Al Shabaab which announced the attack has been suspended.

Al Qaeda is Expanding and France is its most Significant Foe

Al-Qaeda’s resilience, ideological strength and expansion in the midst of escalating sectarian struggle has increased the threat it poses - and it will take decades to win the ideological struggle against it, according to a new report.

“There has been a net expansion in the number and geographic scope of al-Qaeda affiliates and allies over the past decade, indicating that al-Qaeda and its brand are far from defeated,” said author of the study and RAND corporation analyst, Seth Jones.

Jones noted that what was once a highly organized group with a strong base in Afghanistan has now reaped affiliates, allied groups, and inspired networks of groups harboring a “hatred of the West” and its allied regimes across the Middle  East.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the suspected ringleader of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, was given as an example of an “inspired” individual who was not a member of al-Qaeda.

The core group itself has seen a general ascendance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), for which a number of possible reasons were given. Four separate subsectors or groups of the militant block were identified: Central al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda allies, al-Qaeda affiliates, and al-Qaeda ideological sympathizers.

The Arab uprisings, which have “weakened regimes” in the region, were given as a primary cause for al-Qaeda’s spread. According to the report, the uprisings created an “opportunity” for al-Qaeda affiliates and allies to consolidate a footing in the regions.

Increasing sectarian struggles in the same areas means that resources available to Sunni Islamic militant groups have also grown, allowing weaponry to spread and be more accessible to militants. Meanwhile, the movement has become “more diffuse and decentralized” as a result of the expansion, Jones stated in a testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week.

Al-Qaeda members “largely run their operations autonomously, though they still communicate with core leadership in Pakistan and may seek strategic advice.”

Because of this diffusion and lack of solid organizational structure to the militant movement, the study found that despite an increasing availability of weapons, the group as a unit is becoming less of a threat to the US. However, ideologically, it is still growing stronger.

“The growth in social media and the terrorist use of chat rooms, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other sites has facilitated radicalization inside the United States,” the study says, outlining how the increased dissemination of ‘propaganda’ information and instructions on how to create bombs has played a key role.

Despite being less of a threat to the US on its home territory, affiliates and allies of the group continue to threaten US and foreign outposts overseas, such as those in Tunisia in 2012.

“Jabhat al-Nusrah’s access to foreign fighters, external network in Europe and other areas, and bomb-making expertise suggest that it may already have the capability to plan and support attacks against the West,” wrote Jones, adding that there seems to be a “growing contingent of foreign fighters – perhaps several thousand – traveling to Syria to fight in the war.”

Most pressing Al-Qaeda threats

Although posing a certain ideological threat to the US, it materialized that the most pressing concerns of the group were considerably more localized than any international ‘end-game,’ the report claimed.

“Most Al-Qaeda leaders are not interested in establishing a global caliphate and do not seek to overthrow regimes in much of the world,” Jones wrote, adding that “they tend to have rather more parochial goals,” focusing predominantly on countries or regions rather than a global jihad.

The study found that their primary international target was, surprisingly, France. “France, rather than the United States, is the most significant foreign enemy,” the report stated.

For al-Qaeda’s current leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, both a “near enemy” and a “far enemy” are identifiable.  For him, “the primary goal is broader: to overthrow regimes in key Muslim countries,” while attacking far-off countries is seen as a means to an end rather than an end in its own right.

However, the document goes on to advise the US on how to counter any direct threats. It encourages the country to implement a “light footprint strategy that focuses on covert intelligence, law enforcement, and Special Operations Forces,” adding that the US should withdraw Afghan forces and instead focus on conducting low-intensity operations in the area as they do in Colombia.

A double-pronged approach would be most effective, combining the ground strategy with an undermining of al-Qaeda’s ideology, the report said, adding that today the US plays no lead role in attempting to do so.

“The struggle against the al-Qaeda movement will be long – measured in decades, not months or years. Much like the Cold War, it is also predominantly an ideological struggle,” Jones concluded.

Russia Today

Kenyan Police Discover Explosives on Transit to the Coastal Region

Kenya continues to battle and tackle insecurity in the land. The rising cases of criminal activities spurred President Uhuru Kenyatta into changing as well as redeploying some of the topnotch in the security apparatus.

Since October 2011, when Kenya's troops went into neighbouring Somalia in pursuit of al Qaeda-linked insurgents blamed for kidnapping security personnel and Western tourists from its territory, it continues to suffer grenade and gun attacks. These attacks are complicated by camps housing the refugees from Somalia according to Kenyan authorities.

Kenyan police discovered a large quantity of explosives packed in boxes on a bus in the capital Nairobi. A senior officer said the explosives were being transported to the coastal region. It was not clear who was behind the consignment of 403 rolls of ammonium nitrate.

The East Africa's biggest economy has been plagued with nightmare over attacks which continue to scare off tourists and investors. Kenya, being on the Indian Ocean coast and bordering Somalia, is vulnerable to the pirates and militants activities.

Patrick Oduma, the officer in charge of police in Nairobi's central business district, said the bus's driver has been arrested and was being questioned over the explosives, which were originally offloaded from a bus that had arrived from neighbouring Tanzania. "The parcel of cartons disguised as books were destined to be transported to Voi," Oduma told Reuters, referring to a town 142 km (92 miles) inland from the port city of Mombasa.

"The explosives, which are rolls of ammonium nitrate, can be used to bring down buildings," he said. Oduma declined to speculate on what the explosives might have been intended for. He said they had been handed to bomb experts and the Kenya Anti Terrorism Police.

United States braces up for Military Action in Syria

President Barack Obama is considering using military force in Syria, and the Pentagon has prepared various scenarios for possible United States intervention. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Obama administration is deliberating whether or not it should use the brute of the US military in Syria during a Thursday morning Senate hearing.

Gen. Dempsey said the administration was considering using “kinetic strikes” in Syria and said "issue is under deliberation inside of our agencies of government,” the Associated Press reported from Washington.

Dempsey, 61, is the highest ranking officer in the US military and has been nominated by Pres. Obama to serve a second term in that role. The Senate Armed Services Committee questioned him Thursday morning as part of the nominating process when Dempsey briefly discussed the situation in Syria.

Last month, the Obama administration concluded that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons during the ongoing battles. Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes said, “The intelligence community estimates that 100 to 150 people have died from detected chemical weapons attacks in Syria to date; however, casualty data is likely incomplete.”

Pres. Obama said previously that the use of chemical weapons would cross a “red line” and likely trigger American intervention. When the White House concluded Assad had relied on chemical warfare, Rhodes said, “both the political and the military opposition . . . is and will be receiving US assistance."

That claim was met with skepticism, though. The Syrian Foreign Ministry called Obama’s claims a “caravan of lies.” Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, later presented to the UN evidence supplied to his government that suggested the Syrian opposition fighters used chemical weapons.

With regards to foreign intervention, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said, “Providing arms to either side would not address this current situation.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and his father, former congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) have also cautioned the White House against aiding Syrian rebels.

“You will be funding today the allies of al Qaeda” by aiding Syrian rebels, Sen. Paul said in May.

On his part, the retired lawmaker from Texas insisted that the administration’s lead up to possible intervention is “identical to the massive deception campaign that led us into the Iraq War.”

That isn’t to say the GOP is entirely opposed to taking any action. Although directly using the American military — either through boots-on-the-ground or unmanned aircraft — has been rarely discussed in public, Sens. John McCain (R-Arizona) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), two long-time leaders within the Republican party, have been relentless with efforts to equip opposition fighters.

"I don't care what it takes," Graham told Foreign Policy’s The Cable earlier this year. "If the choice is to send in troops to secure the weapons sites versus allowing chemical weapons to get in the hands of some of the most violent people in the world, I vote to cut this off before it becomes a problem."

Other US officials have previously said Washington is considering implementing a no-fly zone above Syria, and last month the Pentagon left a fleet of F-16 fighter planes and its Patriot anti-missile system on the border of neighboring Jordan following a routine military drill.

Russia Today

Drones Kill Ten Times more than Conventional Aircraft ~ Expert

An expert on drone casualties has told reporters that the use of unmanned aerial vehicles by American forces has caused 10 times the number of deaths brought on by more conventional aircraft.

Speaking to The Guardian’s Spencer Ackerman, Larry Lewis of the Center for Naval Analyses claimed United States-led drone strikes in Afghanistan are not only more likely to cause civilian casualties than traditionally piloted planes, but the impact of UAVs is 10-fold what would be found by using more antiquated air ships.

Lewis has conducted multiple studies on the use of drones in Afghanistan and made his recent determination after reviewing data pertaining to air strikes that occurred there between mid-2010 and mid-2011, Ackerman reported.

“Lewis told the Guardian he found that the missile strikes conducted by remotely piloted aircraft, commonly known as drones, were 10 times more deadly to Afghan civilians than those performed by fighter jets,” Ackerman wrote.

Lewis said that statistic comes from viewing classified information about the number of civilian casualties, data which he is legally prohibited from sharing. But while his findings in full or only accessible to those with proper standing, an unclassified executive summary of his report offers a mere glimpse into how deadly America’s drone wars really are.

“The US government has described drone airstrikes in operations outside declared theatres of armed conflict as surgical and causing minimal civilian casualties,” the summary begins. “Analysis of air operations in Afghanistan, combined with a review of open-source reports for drone strikes in Pakistan, suggest that these fell short of intended goals.”

Elsewhere, the report acknowledges that the classified nature of these statistics could be preventing Americans from lessening the number of civilian drone deaths in the future.

“While consequence management approaches used in Afghanistan may not translate directly into cases where the US does not want to officially acknowledge its actions, the use of proxies or leveraging relationships with cooperative host-nation governments could provide options during these operations.

Conducting more comprehensive assessments of civilian harm during airstrikes in operations outside declared theatres of armed conflict, followed by effective consequence management efforts, should help to protect the reputation of the US, combat false allegations and mitigate negative second-order effects that can undermine US campaign objectives and freedom of action,” it reads.

Ackerman does not stop short of recalling a speech by President Barack Obama earlier this year at Washington’s National Defense Institute in which he insisted that "conventional airpower or missiles are far less precise than drones, and likely to cause more civilian casualties and local outrage.” On the contrary, however, the unclassified summary notes that drone strike are “an order of magnitude more likely to result in civilian casualties per engagement” than traditional aircraft.

In an earlier address last year, President Obama said drones had "not caused a huge number of civilian casualties” and insisted "this thing is kept on a very tight leash.”

An August 2011 report from the UK’s Bureau of Investigative Journalism found that US-led drone strikes in Pakistan have caused upwards of 775 civilian deaths, with total casualties being at least 40 percent higher than what the US government previously reported. This past February, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) said the number of total kills attributed to US drones is close to 5,000.

“We’ve killed 4,700,” the senator said at an event in his home state. “Sometimes you hit innocent people, and I hate that, but we’re at war, and we've taken out some very senior members of al-Qaeda.”

Courtesy: Russia Today

Middle East Dilemma: Washington calls on France and Britain to arm Rebels; Iran to send troops to Assad

The Middle East is edging closer to a more precarious situation with the recent turn of events. The announcement by Washington to arm Syrian rebels and the recent meeting of Sunnis in Cairo have all added fuel to the Syrian crisis. The Sunnis vow to end the regime of Bashar al Assad.

The prompt result of this was the severing of diplomatic and political ties by the Egyptian President, Mohammed Morsi, with President Assad. President Morsi said there is 'no space or place for Hezbollah is Syria'. He made it resoundingly clear that Hezbollah must leave Syria. Morsi went further to demand a no-fly zone be imposed over Syria.

All this events happening barely 24 hours before the Iranian election (that of Washington) and within 24 hours after the election (that of President Morsi). Within 24 hours after Morsi's declaration, reports came out from Iran that the Islamic Republic will be sending 4,000 soldiers to Syria to help Assad.

Russia too is to go ahead in supplying his S-300 missile batteries to Assad. The US also calls on France and Britain to supply weapons to Syrian rebels thus creating a cold-war-like conflict in Syria. Syria definitely represents one of the last bastions of Cold War alongside North Korea and Cuba.

Hezbollah's involvement and its seemingly rising power after the Qusayr victory seems to have 'alarmed' Israel and its powerful lobby group in Washington. Hassan Nasrallah has vowed that Hezbollah will not leave Syria because it cannot afford it falling into the hands of Israel, the US and al Qaeda.

Washington upon the imposition of a Shi'ite regime in Iraq saw it bolstered Iran, hence, roughly calculates to counter-balance the trend by supporting rebels (Sunni and al Qaeda-linked rebels in Syria) while overlooking the brutality in Bahrain for fear of losing it to another Shi'ite group. Saudi, Bahrain and 'Syria' together will be a great buffer zone to cage Iran for the benefits of oil and Israel.

In now looks as if the main targets of the US and Israel are now becoming full participants; Iran and Hezbollah. This will definitely be a bad, catastrophic and colossal precedent for the Middle East as Washington and Israel have 'effectively' used the Sunni-Shi'ite divide well to their advantage. Arabs are the epitome of their own failure, instability and regional chaos with so-called Sunni-Shi'ite divide.

Their wall has cracked beyond repair to the advantage of Israel and Washington. Palestine is on its own once Iran is taken off the radar. Other Arab nations will only make much noise and Washington cum Tel Aviv can easily pocket them. Iran has been a kind of 'rational' player Israel finds hard to 'effectively' get off the table and the Syrian war looks pretty good for the job to be done. In all these calculations, it is the people that will get to suffer.

Al-Qaeda linked terrorists in Mali may possess surface-to-air missiles

Before the state of emergency was declared in Nigeria, the army reported that members of the insurgent group, Boko Haram claimed they possessed surface-to-air-missiles which many dismissed as part of the lies of the military.

This became evident in a BBC report which showed similar weapon was fired at an aircraft of the Nigerian Airforce after the state of emergency was declared in Maiduguri. Recent discovery in Mali corroborated this position.

An Al-Qaeda missile manual found in Mali suggests jihadists in the region may possess the SA-7 surface-to-air missiles, capable of taking down commercial aircraft, AP reports. Suspicion are that the arms were looted from Libya during the war against Gaddafi.

The 26-page document that AP obtained was recovered from the building that was previously occupied by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Timbuktu. It is also evidence of militant groups actively training its fighters to use the so-called man-portable air-defence systems, or MANPADS.

The writing of the manual for the usage of the weapon indicated that the weapon was present because a manual cannot be written for an imaginary object. AQIM not only has the MANPADS, but also fighters who know how to use them effectively," AP cited Atlantic Council analyst Peter Pham, a former adviser to the United States' military command in Africa and an instructor to US Special Forces as saying.

According to residents, prior to fleeing Timbuktu ahead of French troops’ interference in January, the jihadists attempted to get rid of the paper apparently setting it on fire. However they failed to destroy it completely.

Remaining pages 313 through 338 of the manual to MANPADS contain step-by-step instructions and tips on how to use the weapon, aim the target and change the battery.  It is also illustrated with images of soldiers firing the hardware, which takes training and skill to use.

"This is not a 'Fire and forget' weapon," Bruce Hoffman, director of the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University told AP. "There's a paradox here. One the one hand it's not easy to use, but against any commercial aircraft there would be no defences against them. If terrorists start training and learn how to use them, we'll be in a lot of trouble.”

Another arms expert, N.R. Jenzen-Jones, confirmed that the information on the missile's engagement range, altitude and weight appeared largely correct. It’s not only the manual that suggests that Al-Qaeda fighters have been thoroughly trained to use MANPADS.

Locals have told AP they saw foreign fighters running laps each day, carrying out target practice and inhaling and holding their breath with a pipe-like object on their shoulder.

Those witness accounts could be backed by French forces’ findings during their ground operation in Mali earlier this year, which included elements of SA-7s, such as battery packs, launch tubes, according to unnamed aviation official AP talked to.  

It has been suggested that SA-7 drills have been part of the curriculum at ‘Jihad Academy’ that, according to one of the experts who examined the manual, was located in a former police station, some five kilometers away from the Ministry of Finance’s Budget Division building, where the document was found.

The US has long been concerned about surface-to-air missiles falling in the hands of Al-Qaeda fighters. Worries have been voiced especially loud after many of Gaddafi’s stockpiles in Libya were found looted.

Once launched, an SA-7 directs itself toward the source of the heat, the engine. While many military planes are equipped with anti-missile protection mechanism, civilian aviation and commercial flights are at risk.

“If someone manages to take down a civilian aircraft, it's hundreds of dead instantly. It's a high impact, low-frequency event, and it shows a lot of fear," expert N.R. Jenzen-Jones said.

According to the US Department of State, since 1975, at least 40 civilian aircraft have been hit by different types of MANPADS, causing about 28 crashes and more than 800 deaths around the world.

French forces - which due to the the possibility that SA-7s might have fallen in hands of jihadists, had to change the way they carry their offensive in Mali - continue monitoring the region. According to French aviation officials, who declined to be named, surveillance at Mali’s airport is being conducted constantly.

"There are patrols every day," AP quoted a French officer as saying. "It's one of the things we have not entrusted to the Malians, because the stakes are too high."

Classified documents reveal CIA drone strikes often killed unknown people

A review of classified US intelligence records has revealed that the CIA could not confirm the identity of about a quarter of the people killed by drone strikes in Pakistan during a period spanning from 2010 to 2011.

According to a purportedly exclusive report by NBC News that mirrors findings of an April analysis by McClatchy, between September 3, 2010 and October 30, 2011 the agency’s drone programme over Pakistan routinely designated those killed as “other militants,” a label used when the CIA could not determine affiliation, if any.

The review by NBC News paints both a confusing and troubling picture of the CIA’s reported drone strike success, which three former Obama administration officials feared could have missed or simply ignored mistakes.

Of the 14 months worth of classified documents reviewed, 26 out of 114 attacks designate fatalities as “other militants,” while in four other attacks those killed are only described as “foreign fighters.”

Even more irregular are the cases when entry records conflict on the number of those killed, with one such example indicating a drone attack had killed seven to 10 combatants, and another estimating 20 to 22 fatalities.

By comparison, McClatchy’s April review of drone strikes revealed that at least 265 of up to 482 people that the CIA killed during a 12-month period ending in September 2011 were not senior al-Qaeda leaders, but were instead “assessed” as Afghan, Pakistani and “unknown extremists.” Corroborating media accounts show that US drones killed only six top al-Qaeda leaders during the same period.

One key term in analyzing drone strike records are what are known as “signature” strikes, when drones kill suspects based on behaviour patterns but without positive identification, versus “personality” strike, which is when drone targets are known terrorist affiliates whose identities are verified.

According to an anonymous senior intelligence official who spoke to NBC, at the peak of drone operations in Pakistan in 2009 and 2010 as many as half of all kills were classified as “signature” strikes.

One former senior intelligence official said that at the height of the drone programme in Pakistan in 2009 and 2010, as many as half of the strikes were classified as signature strikes.

Retired Admiral Dennis Blair, the former Director of National Intelligence from 2009 to 2010, addressed NBC’s report with the claim that the precision of drone strikes was superior to those of traditional battlefield weapons.

“In Afghanistan and Iraq and places where you have troops in combat ... you know better with drones who you’re killing than you do when you’re calling in artillery fire from a spotter [or] calling in an airplane strike,” he said.

“This is no different from decisions that are made on the battlefield all the time by soldiers and Marines who are being shot at, not knowing who fired the shot, having to make judgements on shooting back or not. This is the nature of warfare,” added Blair.

As to just how analysts arrive at determining unverified, “signature” drone targets, that system relies on data which draws connections between the unidentified individuals and known militants. That might entail monitoring everything from the frequency that a suspect visits a particular location, meets certain individuals, or makes phone calls and sends emails.  

During a key speech defending his administration’s use of targeted drone killings in May, President Obama defended the CIA’s drone programme as a “legal,” “lethal” and “effective” counterterrorism tool, while at the same time acknowledging some civilian casualties.

A report entitled “Living Under Drones,” jointly released by Stanford University and New York University in 2012, is far less muted on civilian casualties, and argues that the civilian death toll in drone strikes over Pakistan is far higher than is reported.

In the classified reports reviewed by NBC News, for example, of the 600 some killed only one is listed as a civilian, a statistic which Micah Zenko, a drone expert at the Council on Foreign Relations described as “incredible.”

The Stanford-NYU report, for its part, bases its conclusions on 130 interviews, as well as a review of media reports, though the methodology employed can itself be a subject of debate.

Separately, an Associated Press investigation in 2012 reported that out of 10 drone strikes over a period of 18 months, Pakistani villagers claimed that only 70 per cent of those killed by US strikes were militants, with the rest either civilians or tribal police.

The new Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif has called for an end to drone strikes in Pakistan.

Courtesy: Russian Times

Newly elected Pakistani PM, Sharif demands end to US drone strikes

Nawaz Sharif after his swearing in faced the most contentious issue in Pakistan, noticeable in its political campaigns and other facets of its society; activities of US drones on its soil. The US drones have allegedly killed more innocent civilians than militants. Upon the return of Pervez Musharraf to Pakistan, he was booed and looked askance at because he instituted and signed the drone menace.

Pakistan’s parliament elected Nawaz Sharif as prime minister Wednesday. He received 244 votes in the 342-seat parliament, returning him to the Prime Minister’s office for an unprecedented third term. In his first address since taking office, Sharif called on the US to end its campaign of drone attacks in the country’s tribal northwest.

“We respect the sovereignty of others and they should also respect our sovereignty and independence. This campaign should come to an end,” AFP quoted him as saying. Sharif, who was deposed in a military coup in 1999, won the May 11 elections as part of his Pakistan Muslim League-N party.

Yemen launches army operation against Al-Qaeda in East

Recently, United States drone attacks killed top al Qaeda chiefs in Yemen as well as in Pakistan. Days after, al Qaeda appointed other commanders to prove the war must go on.

This definitely was a perfect signal for both the United States and Yemen cum Pakistan that it is battle galore. Yemen understood the message, hence, it is launching an assault.

Yemeni troops backed by tanks and helicopters assaulted an Eastern city on Wednesday to drive out Al-Qaeda-linked militants. Clashes involving dozens of soldiers began early in the morning.

Three soldiers and several militants were killed in fighting at Ghail Bawazeer, north of the Hadramout provincial capital of al-Mukalla, Reuters said. Islamist militants in Hadramout have distributed leaflets in Ghail Bawazeer, the province’s fourth-largest city, saying they planned to establish an Islamist emirate there.

'Your leaders will not be able to protect you': al Qaeda Chief warns Americans

Despite the recent drones attacks which have seen the death of powerful al Qaeda chiefs in Pakistan and Yemen, the group continues to prove it will fight till last and will never relent.

Al-Qaeda’s commander in the Arabian Peninsula has stated that Americans will not be safe unless their leaders respect the security of other countries and do not attack or oppress them, reports AP. In a message posted on a militant website,Qassim al-Rimi also urged Americans to “leave us with our religion, land and nations and mind your own internal affairs.”

The militant chief noted that the recent Boston Marathon bombings and ricin-tainted letters revealed that the US security is no longer under control. Rimi noted that making bombs such as the ones used in Boston in April is within “everyone's reach,” cited Alarabiya.net. “Every day you will be hit by the unexpected and your leaders will not be able to defend you,” he said.

Seven French nationals kidnapped in Cameroon; taken to Nigeria

Armed gunmen have again seized seven French citizens in the north of Cameroon on Tuesday and were heading to Nigeria, media reports say.

A spokeswoman at the French embassy in Cameroon confirmed there had been a kidnapping, Reuters reported.

The tourists were kidnapped in the morning in a small village about 10km from the Nigerian border. The kidnappings come amid a French-led intervention in Mali to oust Islamist rebels. Eight French citizens are being held in the Sahel region by Islamist groups.

This is coming after a new militant group, Ansaru, claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of seven foreigners in Northern Nigeria.  The incessant kinapping cases are not unconnected with the promise of the al Qaeda-linked rebels in Mali to give France and Western nations a 'long war'.

Beyond the Invasion: Western Designs for Mali

The United States is likely to eventually resume direct support for Mali's military, but only after full restoration of democracy through elections, the head of a visiting US Congress delegation said.

Senator Christopher Coons, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Africa, led the first American congressional visit to the West African nation since France sent a military force there last month to halt the advance of al Qaeda-allied islamists.

The United States and United Kingdom have been providing airlift and refueling support for the French-led operation involving hundreds of French and African troops that has driven the Islamist rebels from a string of northern Malian towns in the last five weeks.

Washington has also been sharing intelligence to back the operation, but ruled out sending its own ground troops mainly because of Afghanistan and Iraq's experiences as well as its battered image in the Islamic world.

Coons, heading a four-member delegation from the US Senate and House of Representatives, said both French and African military commanders were happy with the support that Washington was providing, but he indicated they might welcome more.

Asked if increased US support for the military intervention could materialize, Coons said US law prohibited direct assistance to Mali's armed forces because of the military coup there last year that toppled the elected government.

"After there is a full restoration of democracy, I would think it is likely that we will renew our direct support for the Malian military," Coon said.

French and African forces are hunting the Islamist insurgents who have retreated to Mali's remote Northeast, and Malian interim President Dioncounda Traore has said presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in July.

Coons said al Qaeda's North African wing AQIM and its allies in Mali and elsewhere posed a "very real threat" to Africa, the United States and the wider world and he said the United States wanted to be part of the response to this security challenge.

Before last year's coup in Mali - led by a US-trained Malian army captain - the American military had been providing combat training to several Malian army battalions.

But this was quickly suspended after the coup, which plunged Mali into chaos and led to the occupation of its Saharan north by jihadists who hijacked a rebellion by Tuareg separatists.

Although the French-led offensive has driven the bulk of the Islamist forces northwards back up to the Algerian border, there are fears their fighters and sympathizers could strike back with reprisal attacks in Africa and elsewhere.

The election in Mali will be largely determined by Western whims and caprices. France, UK and America's energy interest will determine who wins or not and this will likely contribute to more insurgencies which has always characterised Western interference in nations. This could ruin France's international accolade though they do not care  for as long as the uranium keeps coming.

United States can Kill US citizens with al-Qaeda Link

The legal basis for using drone strikes to kill US citizens has been disclosed in a leaked Justice Department memo.

US officials can authorise the killing of Americans abroad if they are leaders of al-Qaeda or its allies, according to the document obtained by NBC News.

Lethal force is lawful if they are judged to pose an "imminent threat" and their capture is not feasible, it adds.

US drone strikes against militant suspects in countries such as Yemen and Pakistan are deeply controversial.

Under President Barack Obama the US has expanded its use of drones to kill hundreds of al-Qaeda suspects, arguing that it is acting in self-defence in accordance with international law.

Critics argue the drone strikes amount to execution without trial and cause many civilian casualties.

Legal framework
The undated 16-page Department of Justice white paper published by NBC gives more details of the justification for the use of drones outside recognised war zones.

A US study last year suggested Pakistani civilians were being "terrorised" 24 hours a day by drones
It says sovereignty is not deemed to have been violated if the host nation gives its consent, or is unwilling or unable to suppress the threat posed by the individual targeted.

It also sets out a "legal framework" for the use of lethal force against US citizens in foreign countries.

It concludes that such killings do not violate the US Constitution as long as:

An informed, high-level official of the US government has determined that the targeted individual poses an imminent threat of violent attack against the US

Capture is infeasible and the US continues to monitor whether capture becomes feasible. The operation would be conducted in a manner consistent with applicable law of war principles.

The paper adopts a broad definition of "imminent threat", saying it is not necessary to produce evidence that a specific attack is being planned if the target is generally engaged in plotting against the US.

'Remarkable document'
It also asserts that courts should not play a role in reviewing or controlling such decisions. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said the white paper was a "pretty remarkable document".

Anwar al-Awlaki was among three Americans killed in drone strikes in Yemen in 2011. Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the ACLU, said in a blog post the paper revealed "both the recklessness of the government's central claim and the deficiencies in the government's defense" of its drone strike policy.

"This sweeping authority is said to exist even if the threat presented isn't imminent in any ordinary sense of that word, even if the target has never been charged with a crime or informed of the allegations against him, and even if the target is not located anywhere near an actual battlefield," Mr Jaffer added.

The ACLU has helped the relatives of three Americans who died in drone strikes sue the Pentagon and CIA. Their lawsuit claims the deaths were unconstitutional.

Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaeda suspect born in the US state of New Mexico, was killed by an unmanned plane in September 2011.

Samir Khan, a naturalised US citizen who produced an online magazine promoting al-Qaeda's ideology, died in the same missile strike.

Awlaki's 16-year-old son, Abdulrahman, who was born in Colorado, was killed a month later.

The Obama administration has been under growing pressure from politicians in Congress to share more details of its drone strike programme, including secret legal documents.

Last month the UN launched an inquiry into the impact of drone strikes on civilians.

Is Yemen safer than Africa!!?

Africa has been turned into a continent of emigrants; either seeking greener pastures or running from wars and agonies. If Africans run abroad to Europe, the United States, China and other economically vibrant countries in Asia and the Middle East, everybody to a reasonable and good extent will understand. But when Africans run to Yemen, then something terrible is really wrong with the continent.

Yemen is notorious for al Qaeda activities and she is still grappling with fratricidal wars. A shocking and surprising report came out from the UN refugees' Commission that Africans are trooping into Yemen to escape wars and agonies. A fate they are going to meet in Yemen but it looks as if in all, Yemen is preferable to them.

Since 2006, the commission has never witnessed such an influx. The refugees are coming en masse despite the hazards in the maritime travel. The boats are over-packed which makes everything more precarious yet people are not debarred from the journey. Read More 

Africa and Africans need to wake up seriously before all these completely get out of hand. Africans risk becoming the major destroyers of their continent most especially through the greed of the leaders and the coming avarice of some followers likely to be leaders. This is evident in the various rebel movements and sectionalism.

The US and NATO in Mali?

The stage could be set for the coming of the United States and NATO into Mali. NATO and the United Kingdom has reiterated that they will not intervene militarily in Mali with boots on the ground. UK has sponsored France with aircraft and ready to provide more logistics. The call within the Republican circle that Obama should respond to France is reminiscent of Libya.

France has called on the Security Council of the United Nations to discuss and this might shore of international support for the mission. The Islamists on their part have promised France a long war. The have being launching a counter-offensive to drive home the point that the war is continuous and could get to mainland France.

The Obama administration should give France whatever aid it needs to combat Islamist militants in Mali, the top Republican on foreign affairs issues said Tuesday. 

“I expect the Obama administration to honour appropriate requests for intelligence and logistics support from France,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) said in a statement. “When confronting a shared threat, we should have our ally’s back.”

Royce's comments come amid reports that France is beefing up its intervention to roll back Islamists who have taken over the northern part of the desert country and are threatening the rest of the country. The French intervention was requested by the country's president, who took over following a military coup last year that has been denounced by the Obama administration.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Monday the United States has a “responsibility” to help roll back the al Qaeda-linked militants in Mali.

“I welcome France taking the initiative to combat this serious security threat in West Africa,” Royce said. “The vast area of Northern Mali gives these al Qaeda-linked militants space to operate, and the weapons flowing out of Libya makes them deadly. This cancer could not go unaddressed.

“This isn’t avant garde for the French. They have shown leadership in working with Ivory Coast and other African governments to improve security. Paris understands the high stakes.”

If the United States is involved, then NATO cannot be extricated from Mali too. The fear is that another Libya might be brewing in West Africa and more weapons will be in circulation; hence, another vicious circle of violence and instability if they leave.

Counter-Terrorism: Abuse of Intelligence

ABUSE OF INTELLIGENCE

Redefining Counter-Terrorism Strategy

Nothing, it has been said, is new under the sun but the only thing humans have successfully done is to keep off of the learning game despite the whole projection in education. Terrorism is not new in human history but what continues to be new is the increase brutality of conventional military in response. The world has seen the US embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998 as well as the Bali bombing in 2002 and several other attacks in India with the foremost being the Mumbai twin bombings. Russia has several from Chenchya and in the North Caucusus. That on Israel needs no mention. With all these, the world learns not. What is the marriage between conventional military and terrorism? Clearly limited except to tell the people 'Might is Right.'

If the military is the best panacea for terrorism, Israel today will be the safest place in the world. The US today would have gone to bed with all eyes closed after taking on al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan but instead these countries are becoming increasingly insecure. One does not need a sorcerer or a soothsayer to reveal that conventional military has no strategic and long term cure for terrorism. The only advantage of conventional military is on the tactical side. The tactical side must be backed up by the strategic long-term policies which, based on historical counter-insurgency measures must encompass both intelligence and socio-economic revamp. The most crucial fuel of terrorism is social and economic ostracism. When a people feel they are not really valued, alienated and trampled upon, they result to subversion. Perceived oppression begets terrorism.

In case of the current world terrorist activities, terrorism has largely been associated with religion. It now looks as if Islam is Terrorism. Action and reaction are equal but opposite. Going by global events, it is only a locked heart that will fail to see that Islam has been touched with painful hands by powers of the world. Power lies West, culture lies East. Power and culture are at war. Power has shown the world that might is right, culture wants to prove that all wars are war, either by powerful military force or by selective killings. To win the war on selective killings known as terrorism, intelligence must marry root-causes not conventional military. BUT, the first is for power to check itself. Power needs real and deep introspection. Power must not blatantly oppress culture; either its religion or manner of governance. Ironically, conventional military is the best fuel for terrorism because it makes the terrorists defiant and turns people's hearts to them. It is a case of choosing the known devil than the coming angel.

The strategy of terrorism is a semblance of simultaneous attacks from several directions (SWARM). A good question is: How can conventional military fight these acts in all directions? Almost impossible. They have no uniforms, they are readily among the populace. Some of them are capable of even watching an after-blast, in fact, even sample people's comments. Fighting terrorism means the army or conventional military must create the swarm units to swarm the terrorists. This has cogently been elusive in modern military strategy on counter-terrorism. Terrorism cannot be fought with large mass of troops. Terrorists cannot be defeated with powerful and massive military firepower. Civilian casualties is what this brings. The only thing this can and will do is to alienate the population the more thereby creating more and more fertile grounds for the terrorists. Tactical success no matter how blossoming can be locked by strategic failure. Japan today would have been an indirect enemy of the United States after the American occupation if her economy and leaders are corrupt like Afghanistan and Karzai.. Swarms of attacks would have wearied out the US in Tokyo a long time ago.

The only way to counter terrorism is to combine intelligence and long-term strategy of winning the hearts of the people through the destruction of all insurgents gasoline (reasons for insurgency). The ember of annoyance and ill-feelings must be logically extinguished. Every terrorist cell has reasons for actions, both remote and immediate. Intelligence brings out these causes while strategy gradually eliminates them one after the other. Religion-influenced terrorism is on the highest scale today. Terrorists easily relapse to religious dogmatism to gain converts and spread tentacles. Identification of the rationale for the attack(s) must be the first mission. Rather than wage war on the people or show a strong antagonism of their religious belief and doctrine, a consciously sustained campaign of what the religion really stands for and truly preaches should be sought from well-meaning clerics and must be publicly revealed as well as generally debated. First strategy. This will be the foundation of intelligence gathering.

In state-sponsored terrorism, the first strategy should also be rationale identification. After this, the government of the attacked state must be ready to launch swarms of secret missions on the brains behind the cell(s) within the attacking state circles. A perfect illustration is the death of nuclear scientists in Iran. Be that as it may, government over the years have not learn anything worthwhile owing to the numerous superfluous firepower usually employed. The US failed in Vietnam, USSR failed in Afghanistan. The US is again failing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Russia is failing in the North Caucusus and Nigeria is failing in Borno and the Northeastern States. Kenya cannot close her eyes because of al Shabab. ECOWAS could also be preparing to fail in Mali if it employs massive firepower and makes the rebels turn to swarm tactics using cells.

BRIEF LESSON FROM HISTORY

From 1948, Britain was combated with the Malaya Revolutionary Liberation Army (MRLA) insurgents mainly composed of 99% Chinese and few Malays as well as Indians. The insurgents had drawn a map of a three-stage Marxist revolution. The first attack came in June, 1948. Britain wasted no time in reacting. It was swift, ferocious, good co-ordination and excellent perseverance. Major I A Nass says ' Britain remained an outstanding model of success of regular armed forces fighting low-intensity internal insurgency.' Major Daniel S. Challis, writing in the United State of America Command and General Staff College (USCGSC) journal said that 'no better example demonstrates how properly trained forces, committed to a clear strategic objective, can engage seasoned guerrillas on their own turf and win'. British and Malay troops numbered about 60,000 police and later 40,000 Home Guards. To decisively swarm the guerrillas, another private army of Payan Kampong Guards reaching over 20,000 joined the fight.

The approach of Britain was a combination of economic, social, political, psychological and military means. All these were merged into civil action programmes and combat action activities which were resource intensive, requiring long time planning and co-ordination. Real patience. There was no quick-fix approach which Nigeria is employing in the case of Boko Haram. Military operations were brought under police and civilian (political) control at all levels. There was tough curfew enforcement, amnesty was granted to communist insurgents who freely surrendered and there was a nation-wide registration system. All these made the work of the rebels difficult. Registration in particular made it cumbersome for the insurgents to mix freely with the population. Realising the root causes of the insurgency from assessment of the situation, the British embarked on programmes aimed at addressing the fundamental social, economic, psychological and political issues. All these contributed to the demise of the insurgents as they became brutal in response and alienated the people from themselves.

NO LESSON LEARNED

Numerous wars have been fought after that of Britain in Malaya against guerrillas and terrorists with no lessons learned. The most catastrophic are the ongoing ones in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen not excluding Somalia. Nigeria has double to deal with, Boko Haram in the North and Tuareg rebels of Mali in the Sahel. Nigeria's counter-terrorist measures though not sophisticated tend to mirror and tilt towards that of the US. In fact, US is her role model in all ways but good governance and value of citizens' lives as well as sound economy. Even Sri Lanka was able to decisively ward off the Tamil Sea Tigers rebels when the Sri Lankan Navy shifted to light fleet and swift vessels attacking the Sea Tigers from all angles (given the war back to them the way it was coming). More so, the government was also perfecting its political arsenal as well. It was sharpening its governance polemics to win the people's hearts especially after being accused of human rights violations. The US fought al Shabab in Somalia and the Taliban in Afghanistan without good knowledge of the terrain and with no strategy of winning the hearts of the people. Such blunder she committed too in Iraq. Exactly what Nigeria is committing now in Borno and the Northeastern part and ECOWAS might likely commit in Mali.

The only lesson we have learned from history is that we have not learned anything. Not until when nations learn to study the background rationales for terrorism and come up with broad long-term plans and counter-terrorism strategy based on more police actions and intelligence gathering will terrorism subside. The whole affair now is that with all the mammoth military force being employed and deployed, terrorism is on the rise because the people are terrorised in mostly two fronts (militia-terrorism and military-terrorism). The likely result of this is for the people to accept the 'un-uniformed' ones who are likely to eat and sleep with and around them. They will continue to choose the devil than the deep blue sea unless the sea presents a smiling face and reduce aggression to the barest minimum. Until they realise and know the sea will not swallow and drown them before they can decide to swim in it.