| The U.S., European Union and their African allies are training and equipping the security forces of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government to try to take back the parts of Mogadishu now under the control of an Al-Qaeda affiliate. Large portions of the city, known to most Americans as the site of the 1993 ambush that prompted the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country, is controlled by the al-Shabaab terrorist group. Should Al-Qaeda and its allies succeed in seizing Somalia, they will be able to resurrect the network they lost in Afghanistan and activate their Somali networks in the West to deadly effect. Recent incidents show the terrifying reach of al-Shabaab. An individual in Virginia named Anthony Joseph Tracy that admits having contact with the terrorist group is known to have smuggled 270 Somalis into the U.S., all of whom are believed to remain in the country and have proven extremely difficult to identify. It is improbable that al-Shabaab would use its resources to sneak random Somalis into the country. The odds are that these are their recruits and they are being used to establish sleeper cells in our midst. Considering that less than 20 terrorists were needed to execute 9/11, the number of nearly 300 could have catastrophic consequences. A law enforcement report reveals that 23 Somalis suspected of being connected to al-Shabaab were arrested in Mexico early in the year as they planned to enter the United States. The Mexican authorities released the group on January 21, despite the fact that only 16 had been identified. One of those arrested was Mohamed Osman Noor, a member of al-Shabaab. It is not clear why the Mexicans released them but it is more than likely that the Somalis made their trip to the U.S. as they intended, albeit a little later than they had hoped. Read here | ||
Showing posts with label united states. Show all posts
Showing posts with label united states. Show all posts
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called on the United States and the international community Monday to halt Iran’s nuclear program by refusing to export refined petroleum to that country.
If the United Nation’s Security Council fails to impose this kind of “crippling sanction” on Iran, then the US and the international community should take this step on their own, Netanyahu said, in a lengthy interview with ABC.
“If you stop… Iran from importing refined petroleum – that’s a fancy word for gasoline – then Iran simply doesn’t have refining capacity, and this regime comes to a halt. I think that’s crippling sanctions,” the prime minister said.
“Now if the UN Security Council doesn’t pass it because they’ll dilute the resolution to get acquiescence of their members, then certainly the United States and other willing partners in the international community can enforce these sanctions outside the Security Council,” he went on.
“There is a way to deliver these crippling sanctions. This should be done now,” Netanyahu asserted.
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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Shortly before the uprising in Kyrgyzstan two weeks ago, online news sites posted a series of hard-hitting exposés accusing the family of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev of skimming money from the public coffers, an allegation that touched a nerve in this poor country and galvanized opposition to his government.
When the authorities responded by blocking the Web sites on local servers, complaints came in from the usual places — the Committee to Protect Journalists and Freedom House — but also from an unlikely advocate for free media in the wired world: the Russian Foreign Ministry.
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INSK, Belarus — Kyrgyzstan's ousted president was in exile in Belarus on Tuesday, as the interim authorities controlling the Kyrgyz capital warned he would be imprisoned if he tried to return to the Central Asian country.
Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who fled the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek after an April 7 protest rally that exploded into gunfire and left 85 people dead, had taken refuge last week in neighboring Kazakhstan, then left Monday for an unannounced destination.
Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday that "Bakiyev and his family are in Minsk under the protection of our state and me personally."
His presence, however, could exacerbate Belarus' tensions with both the West and neighboring Russia, as well as with Kyrgyzstan itself.
"We have a mutual obligation to extradite criminals," said Edil Baisalov, chief of staff for interim Kyrgyz leader Roza Otunbayeva. "We expect Belarus to provide protection and security for Bakiyev until he faces justice in Kyrgyzstan for his bloody crimes."
He accused Bakiyev of being responsible for the Bishkek bloodshedRead more
CAIRO — Egypt insisted Monday on its traditional share of the Nile river and warned basin countries against signing a water-sharing agreement in which it is excluded.
The warning came days after Nile basin countries meeting in Egypt failed to agree on a framework to reallocate shares from the river, a longstanding demand by several up-stream countries.
"Egypt's share of the Nile's water is a historic right that Egypt has defended throughout its history," Mohammed Allam, minister of water resources and irrigation, told parliament.
Allam added that Egypt saw the matter as a national security issue.
"Egypt reserves the right to take whatever course it sees suitable to safeguard its share," he said.
"If the Nile basin countries unilaterally signed the agreement it would be considered the announcement of the Nile Basin Initiative's death," Allam added.
The Nile Basin Initiative, the World Bank funded umbrella group of Nile basin countries, has put off signing a water sharing pact over objections from Egypt and Sudan.
At the heart of the dispute is a 1929 agreement between Egypt and Britain, acting on behalf of its African colonies along the 5,584-kilometre (3,470-mile) river, which gave Egypt veto power over upstream projects.
An agreement between Egypt and Sudan in 1959 allowed Egypt 55.5 billion cubic metres of water each year -- 87 percent of the Nile's flow -- and Sudan 18.5 billion cubic metres.
Some of the Nile Basin countries, which include Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo, say past treaties are unfair and they want an equitable water-sharing agreement that would allow for more irrigation and power projects.
Egypt, a mostly arid country that relies on the Nile for the majority of its water, argues up-stream countries could make better use of rainfall and have other sources of water.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon plans to boost U.S. military assistance to Yemen's special operations forces to lead an offensive targeting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, officials said on Tuesday.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates in February authorized $150 million in security assistance for Yemen for fiscal 2010, up from $67 million last year, but the Pentagon has offered few details about the highly sensitive program.
Officials briefed on the matter said the Pentagon informed Congress that it would provide $34 million in "tactical assistance" to Yemen's special operations forces.
"Special Operations forces are uniquely qualified for counterterrorism missions," a U.S. defense official said of the funding. "The United States wants to work with partners in the region to address their terrorist threats."
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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has said on the Jewish state's 62nd anniversary that the United States shares an "unbreakable bond" with Israel and he was confident the relationship "will only be strengthened" into the future.
Despite tensions between Obama and the government of hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the US leader stressed that he looks "forward to continuing our efforts with Israel to achieve comprehensive peace and security in the region, including a two-state solution."
On the anniversary, Obama said in a statement released by the White House that "we once again honor the extraordinary achievements of the people of Israel, and their deep and abiding friendship with the American people."
On Sunday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States "will not waver in protecting Israel's security and promoting Israel's future," while noting while the Jewish state is "confronting some of the greatest challenges in its history, but its promise and potential have never been greater."
Clinton also pointed out that in 1948 it took President Harry Truman just 11 minutes to recognize the state of Israel.
"And ever since, the United States has stood with you in solidarity."
Ties have frayed this year, however. In March, during a visit to the country by US Vice President Joe Biden, Israeli officials announced plans to build 1,600 Jewish settlements in annexed east Jerusalem.
Clinton later called the Israeli move "insulting."
Just days ago Clinton called on Netanyahu to prove his commitment to a Palestinian state, warning that prolonged conflict only strengthened extremists.
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