Saturday, March 31, 2012
Interesting arrest in Spain (Abu Susu's blog)
Copio de Abu Susu's blog, Interesting arrest in Spain :
According to this report by Fox News Spanish police arrested a man who allegedly worked 8 – 15 hours online every day on behalf of AQ-C, AQAP and AQIM, busying himself with what was described as recruiting and transportation issues. He is also said to have administered one of the world's most important jihadist forums.
Now this clearly sounds interesting, and I fully share @azelin's speculation that this sounds as if the man (apparently a Jordanian-born Saudi) may have been involved in the al-Fajr project.
Al-Fajr kept me quite busy for a while back in 2008 when I published an article about them after I had learned what Western intelligence services believed to have found out at the time - namely that al-Fajr, which appeared then and still appears mainly as a distribution network for propaganda from the outside, was in reality also a secret communications channel linking AQ central leadership with the leadership of the branches and top tier website administrators. This way crude and uncut versions of terror videos were said to be moved.
Another example according to my sources at the time was that AQ central used the communication system for reminding Iraqi cadres of handing over due money in one case. It was also believed that only around two dozens people had the necessary log in information for that „forum inside the forums“ or for what one agent dubbed „al-Qaida's intranet“.
It is of course not easy to judge whether al-Fajr still has that role today. But if it turned out to be true that the man arrested in Spain was in fact an al-Fajr operative, it would be a very interesting case indeed – and one where I would dearly like to follow court proceedings should he ever be prosecuted.
According to this report by Fox News Spanish police arrested a man who allegedly worked 8 – 15 hours online every day on behalf of AQ-C, AQAP and AQIM, busying himself with what was described as recruiting and transportation issues. He is also said to have administered one of the world's most important jihadist forums.
Now this clearly sounds interesting, and I fully share @azelin's speculation that this sounds as if the man (apparently a Jordanian-born Saudi) may have been involved in the al-Fajr project.
Al-Fajr kept me quite busy for a while back in 2008 when I published an article about them after I had learned what Western intelligence services believed to have found out at the time - namely that al-Fajr, which appeared then and still appears mainly as a distribution network for propaganda from the outside, was in reality also a secret communications channel linking AQ central leadership with the leadership of the branches and top tier website administrators. This way crude and uncut versions of terror videos were said to be moved.
Another example according to my sources at the time was that AQ central used the communication system for reminding Iraqi cadres of handing over due money in one case. It was also believed that only around two dozens people had the necessary log in information for that „forum inside the forums“ or for what one agent dubbed „al-Qaida's intranet“.
It is of course not easy to judge whether al-Fajr still has that role today. But if it turned out to be true that the man arrested in Spain was in fact an al-Fajr operative, it would be a very interesting case indeed – and one where I would dearly like to follow court proceedings should he ever be prosecuted.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Francia : 19 detenidos / France arrests 19 suspected Islamists
 |
| Mohammed Achamlane, portavoz de Forsane Alizza, es uno de los detenidos. Foto : AFP/Fred Dufour |
Sarkozy : "19 islamistes interpellés" -- France 1
Siria / Syria
Syria crisis tops Arab League summit in Iraq -- Al Jazeera
Syria vows to reject any Arab League initiatives -- Herald Scotland
U.N. Says Syria Accepts Plan; Fighting Goes On -- Wall Street Journal
Attackers Kill Two Syrian Officers in Aleppo as Violence Continues -- New York Times
2 Syrian colonels gunned down in northern city -- FOX News/AP
Sectarian Violence Is Raging in Syria -- Atlantic Wire
Refugees Say Neighbor Shoots Neighbor in Syrian Crackdown -- New York Times
Syria Systematically Torturing, Killing Children, UN Says -- Epoch Times
Islamists find foothold in Syria revolt -- Reuters
'Friends of Syria' to Meet for Opposition Support -- Voice of America
Fragmented Syria opposition emboldens Assad -- Reuters
Annan's Deal Is al-Assad's Last Chance -- Ed Husain, Council On Foreign Relations
Ousting Syria’s Assad through a ‘soft landing’ -- David Ignatius, Washington Post
Libia : 70 muertos en tres días / 70 killed in three days in Libya
70 killed in three days in Libya -- The Telegraph
Libya militias end ceasefire -- Iol News
Second Libyan Tribal Group Threatens Secession -- Wall Street Journal
Libyan tribe threatens to declare separate state -- FOX News/AP
La huelga, vista desde fuera
Spain engulfed by nationwide anti-austerity strike -- AP
Angry Spaniards strike against labor reform -- Reuters
Millions stay off the job to protest new labor laws in Spain -- L.A. Times
Spanish workers strike against labor reforms -- MSNBC
Spain Vows to Resist Strikers’ Demands to Reverse Labor Law -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Spain Hit By General Strike -- Wall Street Journal
Spanish Workers Protest Labor Reforms -- Voice of America
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Morocco spends more on subsidies to ease public opinion on the political front
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| Nuevo supermercado en Sidi Ifni. Foto : The North Africa Journal |
Morocco spends more on subsidies to ease public opinion on the political front -- The North Africa Journal
Fotos de refugiados sirios / Syrian refugees pictures
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| Foto : Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images. |
The Boston Globe, The Big Picture, The Boston Globe, The Big Picture, Syrian refugees.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Cumbre en Rabat
El comité de dirección la iniciativa "5 +5 Defensa" se reunió en Rabat los pasados días veintiséis y veintisiete de marzo.
Fundada en 2004, la iniciativa "5 +5" comprende la celebración de reuniones periódicas y de ejercicios militares combinados de las fuerzas armadas de Marruecos, Argelia, Túnez, Libia, Mauritania, España, Francia, Italia, Portugal y Malta.
Los proyectos conjuntos incluyen la vigilancia marítima, la seguridad de la aviación, la prevención de desastres, la formación y la investigación, centrándose en la lucha contra el terrorismo, el crimen organizado y el tráfico ilegal de personas.
Más en :
Rabat hosts '5+5 Defence' meeting -- Magharebia
Más en :
Rabat hosts '5+5 Defence' meeting -- Magharebia
Mohamed Merá tenía conexiones con la DCRI, según el ex jefe de la DST
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| Mohammed Merá. Foto : Reuters / France 2 television |
Los enigmas de 'Yusuf, el de Toulouse' -- Las Provincias
Monday, March 26, 2012
Forsane alizza, "caballeros de la gloria", jugando al "paint ball" (video)
El muerto firmó su último "tweet" Mohamed Merah-Forsane Alizza.
Y aquí tenemos a los forsane alizza, a los "caballeros de la gloria", jugando al "paintball" :
Gentileza de Don Carlos.
En palabras de mi Amigo, ocultar sus intenciones no es uno de sus defectos...
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Mohamed Merá no era un "lobo solitario"
Copio de Doña Jytte Klausen, The Wall Street Journal, France's Jihadist Shooter Was No Lone Wolf :
Mohamed Merah, the Frenchman who assassinated three French paratroopers of North African background and then launched a terrible attack on a Jewish school --murdering a teacher, his two young sons and an 8-year-old girl-- claimed to act for al Qaeda.
Skeptics have dismissed the claim, saying al Qaeda barely functions anymore.
But Merah was no "lone wolf" and did indeed bear the imprint of al Qaeda.
Young and alienated, Merah had served two years in a juvenile prison for robbery. Was he rejected by French society because of his Algerian background? "He snapped," say friends. After prison, he was completely cut off from reality, said his lawyer.
In fact, Merah was practically a prince in French jihadist circles.
His mother is married to the father of Sabri Essid, a leading member of the Toulouse radical milieu who was captured in Syria in 2006.
Essid and another Frenchman were running an al Qaeda safe house in Syria for fighters going to Iraq.
In a 2009 trial that came to be known in the press as "Brothers for Iraq," they and six others were convicted in France of conspiracy for terrorist purposes.
Essid was sentenced in 2009 to five years imprisonment.
Family contacts could have been instrumental in setting up Merah's jihadist contacts and facilitating his travels to South Asia.
Le Monde reports that the Pakistani Taliban and the Uzbek Islamic Movement trained Merah to become a killer.
In 2010, he was captured in Afghanistan (reportedly by Afghan forces) and handed over to the French government, yet French media report that he was able to return to Northwest Pakistan in 2011.
The French police have confirmed that Merah was under periodic surveillance in recent months.
That he slipped through and was able to carry out his attacks will become a source of criticism and self-recrimination on the part of the generally efficient French police. It certainly suggests that he had help from a network.
In executing his attacks, Merah did everything by the jihadist textbook.
He made sure he would die a martyr's death that would be witnessed on television screens around the world.
He murdered with a video camera strapped to his body, making him star and director of his own epic.
He told journalists his videos would soon be uploaded.
In the attack at the Jewish school Monday morning, Merah held a little girl by her hair while he paused to reload his gun.
He then shot her.
In a recording found in his apartment he tells another victim, a soldier: "You kill my brothers, I kill you".
This is theater.
The Internet was his friend. "I have changed my life . . . on video," said one of his last tweets (in French) during the siege.
His account ID featured a black knight on a horse holding high the flag of jihad.
He signed that last tweet "Mohamed Merah-Forsane Alizza".
Forsane Alizza, or "Knights of Glory," is a France-based jihadist media organization that was banned in January by French authorities after they discovered members preparing to train in armed combat.
The ban made little difference, as content was uploaded to new sites.
A website using the Forsane Alizza alias is still active --and registered with a domain name registrar and Web hosting company based in the state of Washington.
Two hours before the police arrived at his apartment, Merah was calling a French TV station.
He appears to have had the media on speed-dial and was an active user not only of Twitter but of Facebook and YouTube. (Authorities took down his online outlets one-by-one on Wednesday).
Merah's shootings in Toulouse again shatter the illusion that counterterrorism can be 100% successful.
Jihadist terrorism exploits our freedoms and opportunities in a global campaign linking foreign insurgencies and extremist activism in the West.
Highly scripted and planned with the assistance of accomplices in and outside of France, Merah did not act in isolation.
Ms. Klausen. a professor of politics at Brandeis University and author of "The Cartoons That Shook the World" (Yale University Press, 2009), is founder of the Western Jihadism Project, which tracks and analyzes the development of jihadi networks in the West.
Y siguen faltando 150 kilos de explosivo (Grenoble : 150 kg d'explosifs volés).
On Algeria/Mauritania/AQIM/MUJWA
Copio de The Moor next door, Back from a minor hiatus :
Your blogger has been absent from this space for some time. This is
unintentional; other projects have taken up much time. This post tries
to touch on something the things this blogger has been considering in
the interval since the last regular post went up — on Algeria,
Mauritania and MUJWA in very general terms. It is incomplete, more posts
will continue on a more or less regular basis from now on.
Since the last post, which drew many comments because it was
incomplete and was written more or less on a time crunch. The comments
left by readers are worth reviewing as they clear up confusion on some
important points on what were then recent events in Mauritania. That
post was trying to get at something that still stands: Mauritania is
facing many structural political problems at several levels and these
almost certainly take first place when compared to issues like the
terrorism file (which is important on its own and in its own way and
more so when added on to these other troubles). The last two months saw
impressive and in some cases unprecedented manifestations of popular
protest; this week Nouakchott saw what was perhaps the largest single
demonstration in its history, numbering, depending on what source one
looks at, 40,000 people (and possibly more) a number which speaks for
itself in a country of roughly 4m people, close to a quarter of whom
live in or near the capital city. The discontent mentioned in the last
post and several others before has grown over the last several months,
owing to the standard inequalities and injustices suffered by
Mauritanians and others in north-west Africa, not to mention the
relatively dire food security situation, the upsetting of grazing
patterns in the eastern part of the country brought on by the conflict
in Mali, the not so special style of corruption preferred by the current
president and leadership which is more narrow that in the past and less
satisfying to key parts of the tribal and business and social fabric.
This blogger has more thoughts on the last part of this and has written
about it before (and will put more on the blog soon); in the meantime
there are multiple fine resources for some of the recent events in the
way of protests. The youth movement, which looked as if it were going to
petter out a few months ago has increased its online presence and has
put up much in the way of images and videos on Facebook, Twitter and the
rest of the social media board. The trouble likely to come from the
election fiasco will be a key flash point soon enough (probably more so
than in Algeria, for some comparison). It used to be said that nothing
ever happened in Mauritania (aside from coups), that it was a “quiet”
country. This idea is less and less appealing. Great coverage of recent
events, including Nasser Weddady’s recent posts here, here and especially here where he has posted the opposition coalition’s 43 page manifesto demanding a national unity government (in
Arabic), on the grounds that the government has been essentially
extra-constitutional since the government pushed back last year’s
elections (this situation sort typifies the kinds of challenges facing
Mauritania this blogger has tried to emphasise in the last several
months) and Lissa Hunt’s recent tweets and posts. Right now is a critical time for Mauritania.
Your blogger no longer agrees with himself in whole when it comes to the Algerian elections. He wrote a piece for Fair Observer at
the end of December (which was published at the beginning of January)
regarding the prospects for Islamist parties in the May elections there.
The view was the elections do not particularly matter; at that
point it was difficult to say what “might” happen other than that one
can say it is likely few Algerians will vote with relative confidence.
It is now clear the consensus in the regime is that some iteration of
Islamists, be it the MSP-led coalition of Islamist parties taking seats
from parts of the FLN and RND or some of the small secular parties or
the several recently formed Islamist parties getting seats on their own
and thus making up a divided but more numerous stake out for the
religious trend generally. Whatever the case the lower house less
important than much foreign press coverage and commentary has made it
out to be — do not forget the upper house, the Majlis al-Ummah, a third
of which is appointed by the president and which has veto power over the
lower house. What will come out of the constitutional reforms that are
being ginned up for this year may change this, though it is doubtful.
And if “Islamists” perform in line with the trend seen elsewhere in the
Maghreb the outcome will probably look more like Morocco, with palace
Islamists (the MSP, which as this blog and many, many Algerians have
noted, has been in government for close to a decade and its members
still serve in the cabinet in important and lucrative posts such as
public works; meaning there are probably thick files on them held by the
security services which may help regulate them if they attempt to get
out of line as has happened in the past), than Egypt or some such. There
are plenty of other trends more interesting than the elections to watch
in Algeria and to take as indicators of the mood in the country; some
of these overlap with the elections (or will do so) and some of them
stand on their own. The succession issue at the top of the regime and in
the deep state probably matter more than how the lower house get
rearranged. There was the notable resignation of Sa’id Sa’di from his
post as the chief of the Rally for Culture and Democracy which has
earned a bum rap from many for various reasons — its more or less
supporting for the military, its aggressive secularism, its ideological
direction, whatever one wants. This blogger wrote about its
(ex-)leader’s links with the head of the security services last spring
and its participation in the February protests. That well known
relationship is yet another dingy point on Sa’di’s reputation with many
Algerians who pay attention to him. Rumours after his resignation,
though, suggest he probably suffered some pressure from the regime as a
result of his activities and rhetoric in 2011; realignments and subtle
shifts look likely for small factions and cosmetic elements supportive
of or tolerated by the regime.
The Movement for Unity and Jihad (MUJWA) has been described in
various ways: a “splinter” from AQIM, a reorganisation of the group’s
southern front, a victory for Algerian or some other intelligence
service in infiltrating and splitting up AQIM, and other things. There
is not enough information available on the group or its membership to
assess the validity of such claims. One has to start up with certain
assumptions in order for most of these theories to work out. Some of
these have more support based on what is known of MUJWA’s leaders and
recent AQIM activities – or rumours and reports of AQIM’s activities –
other have less support. As yet not many of them are particularly
convincing based on the available information about the group.
The narrative in the group’s initial (and thus far only) propaganda
video does not jive easily with the theory that the group is a
“reorganisation” of AQIM’s operational structure and that the group is
not really a splinter faction — it announces a break with AQIM, and
essentially rephrases and reframes AQIM’s narrative against western
powers and jihad for its own purposes. The group’s first operation, the
kidnapping of European aid workers in October 2011, and its first
announcement in December suggest it may have formed in the early autumn
or that the group’s members went rogue from AQIM after the October
operation. Relatively little is known about the key individuals
associated with the organisation: Virtually all of them, from the
group’s reputed leader, Hamada Ould Mohamed Khayrou to Sultan Ould Badi
appear to be Arab Mauritanians or Malians from the Azawad (from north of
Gao especially). And their attacks thus far, the October 2011
kidnapping of European aid workers and the recent suicide bombing at
Tamanrasset, suggest a north-ward orientation, not surprisingly done in a
fashion similar to AQIM itself. At present the group’s objectives and
trajectory appear contradictory and even confusing. This blogger is not
prepared to make conclusions as his friend Andrew Lebovich has in terms of the group’s true motives
or nature based on such little information at this stage, though his
analysis has important points, for example on possible
coordination/communication between MUJWA and AQIM make some sense and
are compelling. His point on both groups demanding the release of Major
Abderrahmane Ould Meidou is also worth considering; and as he
reocognises in the update to his original post on the issue, social and
personal relations between the group are somewhat inevitable given
MUJWA’s genealogy. This is one of the more important elements — Hamada
Ould Mohamed Kheirou (also Khayrou/Khayri/Kheiry) is an individual whose
background and relations with AQIM’s leadership is worth considering
and comparing with other Mauritanian leaders of late such as Khaled
Chinguitti, who was promoted at some point in 2011 and had taken
on important operational leadership roles and was reportedly killed some
months ago fighting with MNLA men in Mali, though his death was
reported by only one source (ANI; though readers may be aware of other
reports that do not rely on the ANI account, if they exist). As more
information stacks up a more or less clear picture may materialise. Or
it may not. At this point this blogger does not agree or disagree with
any particular analysis of the matter per se.
The group presents interesting questions: What tensions exist in the
relationships within and between AQIM’s southern katibat and suryiat in
terms of their ethno-national composition? Much attention goes to
supposed tensions between two of AQIM’s southern commanders, Belmokhtar
and Abu Zeid; what about tensions at lower echelons? What personal
factors would contribute to driving a group of Mauritanian and Azawadi
Malians out of AQIM into a new group oriented southward (at least in its
rhetoric)? (This could speak to their area of operation and potentially
their relationships with other groups operating in the area.) What kind
of longevity will this group have in a competitive environment where it
must compete with groups such as the MNLA and Ansar ed-Din in addition
to AQIM? What will AQIM’s ultimate response to MUJWA be? At present
there are more questions than answers.
Somalia pirates: EU approves attacks on land bases
Somalia pirates: EU approves attacks on land bases -- BBC
Inland Somali pirate bases to be targeted -- The Telegraph
EU extends range of its anti-piracy patrols, allowing strikes inside Somalia -- Washington Post/AP
EU authorises warships to hit Somali pirate lairs -- AFP
EU Navy cleared to attack pirates on land -- Global Post
EU ships to hit Somali pirates' land bases -- Defence Management
EU extends Somalia counter-piracy operation by two years -- Reuters
EU Extends Counter-piracy Operations Off Somalia By Two More Years -- RTT News
EU to back strikes on Somali pirates -- News24
Friday, March 23, 2012
Fernando Reinares : The evidence of al-qa`ida’s role in the 2004 Madrid attack
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| Foto : Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images |
Fernando Reinares, CTC : The evidence of al-qa`ida’s role in the 2004 Madrid attack
Thursday, March 22, 2012
La que se nos viene encima
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| Foto : AP |
Religion and climate change fuel chaos in Sahel -- Der Spiegel
U.S. Defense Department develops map of future climate chaos -- Scientific American
Golpe de Estado en Malí
Mali soldiers say president toppled in coup (video) -- Al Jazeera
Malian Army Says Government Overthrown, Elections Planned -- Bloomberg Business Week
US worried by unrest in Mali, African nation long held up as example of thriving democracy -- The Washington Post
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Soeren Kern, GEES : "Jihadists "Liberating" Spain for Islam"
Copio de Soeren Kern, Stonegate Institue: Jihadists "Liberating" Spain for Islam :
Nine Islamists accused of planning terrorist attacks aimed at "liberating" Spain for Islam are standing trial in Madrid.
Spanish public prosecutors say the men -- Salafi-Jihadists who belonged to an Islamist cell known as the "Army of the Messiah"
(Ansar al-Mahdi) -- sought to "free" the cities of Ceuta and Melilla,
two Spanish enclaves in northern Africa, from Spanish rule and thus
begin the Islamic re-conquest of Spain.
Salafism is a branch of radical Islam that seeks forcibly to
re-establish an Islamic empire (Caliphate) across the Middle East, North
Africa and Spain, which Salafists view as a Muslim state that must be
reconquered for Islam.
Much of Spain was ruled by Muslim conquerors from 711 and 1492;
Salafists believe that the territories the Muslims lost during the Spanish Reconquista
still belong to them and that they have a right to return and establish
their rule there. This belief is based on the Islamic precept that
territories once occupied by Muslims must forever remain under Muslim
domination as part of the Waqf [detained or preserved] -- a religious
endowment now implicitly owned forever by Allah.
Spanish prosecutors say the jihadist cell operated out of the Darkawia
mosque in the El Príncipe Alfonso neighborhood of Ceuta. The ringleader
of the group is a Moroccan imam named Mohammed Abdessalam, who
prosecutors say "preached the most extreme version of Islam."
The jihadists are accused of plotting a series of bombings in Ceuta,
including churches, the city's main port and other parts of the city's
infrastructure, in an effort to "duplicate the train bombings that
occurred in Madrid on March 11, 2004." The Madrid bombings, which killed
191 people and wounded 1,800, are considered to be one of the worst
terrorist attacks in modern European history.
Prosecutors are seeking prison sentences of eight years for each of
the suspects, whose trial is taking place at the Spanish High Court
(Audiencia Nacional) in Madrid.
The trial comes as a leaked secret report prepared by Spain's
National Intelligence Center (CNI) in January warns that Salafi
Islamists pose the greatest threat to security in Spain.
The document warns of "alarming symptoms" of the presence in Spain of members and cells of an Islamist group, Takfir wal-Hijra, which subscribes to the "most radical and violent version of Salafi-Jihadism".
Takfir wal-Hijra doctrine promotes "jihad without rules" by accepting
non-Muslim practices such as drinking alcohol and drug trafficking as a
cover for extremist activities. The group aspires to subjugate the
entire planet under a "global caliphate ruled exclusively by Islamic
Sharia law," according to CNI. Members of the group are now firmly
established in Barcelona, Madrid, Málaga and Valencia, among other
Spanish cities.
The CNI document states that police have detected Takfir activities
in four mosques in Barcelona and two mosques in Valencia. The mosques
are "led by radical imams from Algeria and Morocco" and are centers for
"proselytization and recruitment of new members using religious
instruction as a decoy".
The CNI report echoes earlier warnings by American and Spanish
officials who contend that the autonomous region of Catalonia in
northeastern Spain is "a major Mediterranean center for radical
Islamists," according to diplomatic cables that were obtained by Wikileaks and published by the Madrid-based El País newspaper in December 2010.
The three cables, all of which are from the US Embassy in Madrid, say
that Catalonia has become "a prime base of operations" for Islamic
terrorists; and thanks to uncontrolled immigration the region, it now
has a "large Muslim population susceptible to jihadist recruitment".
The documents also provide insights into the extent of the links
between Islamic terrorists and organized crime in Barcelona, which the
cables call a "crossroads of worrisome activities." The problem is so
grave that the United States has proposed setting up an intelligence hub
at the U.S. Consulate in Barcelona to counter the growing threat.
A five-page cable, dated October 2, 2007,
for example, describes the link between mass immigration to Spain
during the past decade and the rise of radical Islamism in the country.
The document, which is classified secret and apparently authored by
then-Ambassador Eduardo Aguirre, states: "Heavy immigration -- both
legal and illegal -- from North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria)
and Southeast Asia (Pakistan and Bangladesh) has made Catalonia a magnet
for terrorist recruiters. … The Spanish National Police estimates that
there may be upwards of 60,000 Pakistanis living in Barcelona and the
surrounding area; the vast majority are male, unmarried or
unaccompanied, and without legal documentation. There are even more such
immigrants from North Africa. … They live on the edges of Spanish
society, they do not speak the language, they are often unemployed, and
they have very few places to practice their religion with dignity. …
Individually, these circumstances would provide fertile ground for
terrorist recruitment; taken together, the threat is clear."
The cable also describes the "amorphous threat represented by the
nexus of terrorism, crime and drug trafficking" in Catalonia, which the
document says has become an international magnet for drug trafficking,
human trafficking, money laundering, illegal smuggling, prostitution,
organized crime and counterfeiting.
"There is little doubt that the autonomous region of Catalonia has
become a prime base of operations for terrorist activity. Spanish
authorities tell us they fear the threat from these atomized immigrant
communities prone to radicalism, but they have very little intelligence
on or ability to penetrate these groups," the cable states.
The sad irony is that many of Spain's problems with Salafi-Jihadism
are self-inflicted. Catalonia, for example, has a very active separatist
movement that seeks the independence of Catalonia from Spain. Catalan
separatism is based on the idea that Catalonia is a separate nation with
its own unique history, culture and language.
In an effort to promote the Catalan language, Catalonian
pro-independence parties for decades have promoted immigration from
non-Spanish-speaking countries, especially from Arabic-speaking Muslim
countries, in the rather short-sighted belief that these immigrants
would learn the Catalan language rather than speak Spanish.
The end result of this disastrous immigration policy is that Catalonia is now the "New Mecca of the Most Radical Islamism," according to the Catalan nationalist party Plataforma per Catalunya
(PxC), which is having second thoughts about the wisdom of promoting
Muslim immigration as a strategy to achieve Catalan independence.
In any event, Salafi preachers -- who do not believe in democracy and
teach that Islamic Sharia law is above Spanish civil law -- are now
calling on Muslims who are eligible to vote in Spain to support Catalan
separatist parties as a means firmly to establish Islamism in Catalonia.
Abdelwahab Houzi, for example, is a Salafi jihadist preacher in the
Catalan city of Lérida, where 29,000 Muslims now make up around 20% of
the city's total population.
Houzi, who adheres to the radical Wahhabi sect of Islam, recently said:
"Muslims should vote for pro-independence parties, as they need our
votes. But what they do not know is that, when they allow us to vote, we
will all vote for Islamic parties because we do not believe in left and
right. This will make us win local councils and as we begin to
accumulate power in the Catalan autonomous region, Islam will begin to
be implemented".
Soeren Kern is Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Siria / Syria
Syria: Overview -- Yahoo News
Syria Live Blog -- Al Jazeera
Syria: 'heavy fighting' in Damascus - Monday 19 March 2012 -- The Guardian
Intense Fighting Rocks Syrian Capital -- Voice of America
Syria: heavy firefight breaks out in Damascus -- The Telegraph
Fighting Flares in Elite Area of Syrian Capital, Activists Say -- New York Times
Syrian forces fight with rebels in rare Damascus clashes -- FOX News/AP
In Syria, clashes reported in affluent Damascus district -- L.A. Times
Syrian troops fight rebels in rare clashes in regime stronghold of Damascus -- Washington Post/AP
Syrian rebels move in on key Damascus neighborhood -- CNN
Rare gunbattle erupts in Damascus, signaling rebel presence -- Washington Post
Upscale neighborhood becomes Syria battleground -- MSNBC
'Heavy fighting' shakes Syrian capital -- Al Jazeera
Syria car bomb kills 2, injures 30 in Aleppo -- L.A. Times
Explosion Hits Aleppo; Syrian Crackdown Continues -- Voice of America
An Iraq-style civil war seems to be taking off in Syria -- Haaretz
Syria accuses Arab states of role in new bomb attacks -- Sydney Morning Herald
Western powers draft new U.N. council statement on Syria -- Reuters
Syria: dramatic increase reported in foreign arms supplies to Assad regime between 2007-2011 -- The Telegraph
Syria arms imports surge, most provided by Russia -- Reuters
Syria stocking up on Russian weapons, report says -- CBC/AP
Report, Visit Push Syria's Russia Connections to Fore -- The Moscow Times
Russian navy's oil tanker makes stop in Syrian port -- FOX News/AP
Black market for weapons nearly depleted, smugglers to Syria say -- Toronto Star/L.A. Times
Russia Seeks Red Cross Cooperation on Syria -- RIA Novosti
Red Cross Chief Urges Syria Aid Access at Talks in Moscow -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Russia 'positive' on Syria daily aid truce: ICRC -- Reuters
Violence in Syria: Whodunnit? -- Economist
Syria's conflict has significance far beyond its borders -- Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times
Why Syria Won't Get the Libya Treatment from the West -- Vivienne Walt, Time
It’s right to intervene in Syria, but we shouldn’t do it -- Kelly McParland, National Post
Syrian Regime Resembles Mafia Cartel -- Spiegel Online
Syria Live Blog -- Al Jazeera
Syria: 'heavy fighting' in Damascus - Monday 19 March 2012 -- The Guardian
Intense Fighting Rocks Syrian Capital -- Voice of America
Syria: heavy firefight breaks out in Damascus -- The Telegraph
Fighting Flares in Elite Area of Syrian Capital, Activists Say -- New York Times
Syrian forces fight with rebels in rare Damascus clashes -- FOX News/AP
In Syria, clashes reported in affluent Damascus district -- L.A. Times
Syrian troops fight rebels in rare clashes in regime stronghold of Damascus -- Washington Post/AP
Syrian rebels move in on key Damascus neighborhood -- CNN
Rare gunbattle erupts in Damascus, signaling rebel presence -- Washington Post
Upscale neighborhood becomes Syria battleground -- MSNBC
'Heavy fighting' shakes Syrian capital -- Al Jazeera
Syria car bomb kills 2, injures 30 in Aleppo -- L.A. Times
Explosion Hits Aleppo; Syrian Crackdown Continues -- Voice of America
An Iraq-style civil war seems to be taking off in Syria -- Haaretz
Syria accuses Arab states of role in new bomb attacks -- Sydney Morning Herald
Western powers draft new U.N. council statement on Syria -- Reuters
Syria: dramatic increase reported in foreign arms supplies to Assad regime between 2007-2011 -- The Telegraph
Syria arms imports surge, most provided by Russia -- Reuters
Syria stocking up on Russian weapons, report says -- CBC/AP
Report, Visit Push Syria's Russia Connections to Fore -- The Moscow Times
Russian navy's oil tanker makes stop in Syrian port -- FOX News/AP
Black market for weapons nearly depleted, smugglers to Syria say -- Toronto Star/L.A. Times
Russia Seeks Red Cross Cooperation on Syria -- RIA Novosti
Red Cross Chief Urges Syria Aid Access at Talks in Moscow -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Russia 'positive' on Syria daily aid truce: ICRC -- Reuters
Violence in Syria: Whodunnit? -- Economist
Syria's conflict has significance far beyond its borders -- Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times
Why Syria Won't Get the Libya Treatment from the West -- Vivienne Walt, Time
It’s right to intervene in Syria, but we shouldn’t do it -- Kelly McParland, National Post
Syrian Regime Resembles Mafia Cartel -- Spiegel Online
Monday, March 19, 2012
Africa: U.S. counterterrorism strategy at risk
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| Foto : The American Spectator |
Africa: U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy at Risk -- The American Spectator
Lethal "cocktail" threatens Africa's Sahel -- Reuters
Mali clashes displace 95 000 -- News 24
Esta mañana alguien hace el yihad en Toulouse
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| Foto : AFP |
Tres niños y un adulto acaban de morir a tiros en un colegio judío de Toulouse.
La semana pasada fueron acribillados tress paracidistas en Toulouse y en Montauban
Y siguen sin aparecer los explosivos robados en Grenoble...
Sobre los paracaidistas aseinados la semana pasada:
2 French paratroopers shot dead on street -- FOX News
French probe into killing of paratroopers broadened to include counterterrorism investigators -- Washington Post/AP
France boosts security after soldiers killed -- CBC/AP
Three soldiers shot by assailant on scooter in southwest France -- L.A. Times
Three French soldiers shot dead at ATM -- The Telegraph
French authorities link soldiers' fatal shootings -- CNN
France steps up security as troop shootings linked -- AFP
France paratroop killings spur ban on off-base uniforms -- BBC
Investigators baffled by killings of French soldiers -- Independent
Regreso al futuro
Ese año --1820-- el puente que nos unía con nuestros hermanos del otro lado del charco estaba carcomido por la broma y el ejército peninsular que partía hacia la que fue nuestra primera guerra civil del XIX se rebeló contra un rey nefando.
Una nueva invasión extranjera, los cien mil hijos de San Luis, partiría las dos Españas, la peninsular y la americana.
España es América y América es España.
La independencia de las naciones americanas no fue otra cosa que una
enorme guerra civil.
A lo largo del XIX y del XX las dos Españas --la de allí y la de aquí-- se han consumido en dictaduras y guerras intestinas, domeñadas por las potencias hegemónicas de cada momento.
Pero España sigue.
Todos --los de allí y los de aquí-- llevamos la misma sangre, los mismos apellidos.
Hablamos el mismo idioma, nos emocionamos con los mismos culebrones, rezamos al mismo Dios...
Todos --los de allí y los de aquí-- nos negamos a nosotros mismos a diario.
No somos Españoles. Somos vascos. O somos catalanes. O somos argentinos. Nada que ver con los chilenos. O somos venezolanos. Los colombianos son otra cosa. ¿Honduras y Nicaragua? Por favor. No compare. La duda ofende.
Eso es algo típicamente Español. Es nuestra mayor debilidad.
Visto en perspectiva resulta ridículo.
El divide et impera funciona.
¡Y cómo !
Cualquiera que haya estado en Puerto Rico sabe de lo que hablo.
¿Qué decir del comunismo marxista en Cuba?
España nunca tuvo colonias. No podía tenerlas porque para todos --lleváramos taparrabos o fuéramos el César Carlos-- regía a una misma Ley.
En mi edición facsímil viene una relación, una lista, de los diputados que el diecinueve de marzo de 1812 aprobaron nuestra Constitución, la de todos, la de los de aquí y la de los de allí...
Siguen algunos ejemplos.
El que quiera ver la lista entera la tiene aquí :
ALVAREZ DE TOLEDO, Diputado suplente por Santo Domingo
ANDUEZA, Diputado por el Ayuntamiento de Chachapoyas, Virreinato del Perú.
ARIAS DÁVILA Y MATÉU, Diputado suplente por el Virreinato de Santa Fe.
BEYE CISNEROS, Diputado por la ciudad de Méjico, Virreinato de Nueva España.
CASTILLO, Diputado por Costa Rica.
COUTO IBEA, Diputado por el Virreinato de Nueva España, en Cádiz el día 20 de septiembre de 1810 por los cuarenta y uno electores que formaron lista conjunta con los de Guatemala y Filipinas.
Etc, etc, etc.
ARIAS DÁVILA Y MATÉU, Diputado suplente por el Virreinato de Santa Fe.
BEYE CISNEROS, Diputado por la ciudad de Méjico, Virreinato de Nueva España.
CASTILLO, Diputado por Costa Rica.
COUTO IBEA, Diputado por el Virreinato de Nueva España, en Cádiz el día 20 de septiembre de 1810 por los cuarenta y uno electores que formaron lista conjunta con los de Guatemala y Filipinas.
Etc, etc, etc.
Es más --mucho más-- lo que nos divide que lo que nos separa.
España vuelve. Demografía manda.
Y vuelve en América.
La peninsular fue la semilla que, cumplida su función, decae.
Es cada vez menos España y más Europa (o África, según se mire).
El nombre es lo de menos.
Pronto se hablará un mismo idioma desde Alaska a Tierra del Fuego, si Dios quiere.
¡ Hispania vincit !
Karzai: los estadounidenses en Afganistán son "demonios".
Los estadounidenses en Afganistán son "demonios".
Afirman que quemaron Coranes por error pero --en realidad-- se trataba de "actos satánicos que nunca serán perdonados a través de disculpas".
La masacre de 16 niños afganos, mujeres y hombres por un soldado norteamericano "no era el primer incidente, de hecho fue el incidente número 100, el 200 y el 500".
Quien dice esto es el presidente Karzai.
Gulf Widens Between U.S. and a More Volatile Karzai -- The New York times
'Karzai Only Said What Everyone Already Thinks' -- Spiegel online
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Hay algo que no nos cuentan / There is more happening out there that they are not telling us ...
El pasado viernes, dieciséis de marzo, el presidente Obama firmó una nueva orden ejecutiva ampliatoria de una orden previa --emitida en plena "guerra fría", en 1950-- dirigida a "preparar los recursos para la defensa nacional" (National Defense Resources Preparedness).
Ni Kennedy ni Bush habían hecho nada parecido ni en la crisis de los misiles de 1962 ni después del 11-S.
Esta orden da al presidente el control total sobre todos los recursos en los Estados Unidos en tiempos de guerra o de emergencia: energía, producción de todo tipo, transporte, comida, e incluso los recursos hídricos.
La orden no limita su aplicación a tiempo de guerra, e incluye el control de los recursos en determinadas situaciones en tiempos de paz.
Resumen de opciones:
(1) La más plausible. Se trate de una simple "actualización" de una norma anticuada.
(2) Voluntad de protagonismo de Obama. Ganas de pasar a la Historia o ganas de querer hacer lo que ningún otro presidente se ha atrevido a hacer.
(3) Un problema "económico" (real) : Endeudamiento con China.
(4) Un problema "militar" (real) : consecuencias de un ataque de Israel a Irán.
(5) Un cataclismo (apuntado por Vulcano en el foro de las FAS).
Resumen de opciones:
(1) La más plausible. Se trate de una simple "actualización" de una norma anticuada.
(2) Voluntad de protagonismo de Obama. Ganas de pasar a la Historia o ganas de querer hacer lo que ningún otro presidente se ha atrevido a hacer.
(3) Un problema "económico" (real) : Endeudamiento con China.
(4) Un problema "militar" (real) : consecuencias de un ataque de Israel a Irán.
(5) Un cataclismo (apuntado por Vulcano en el foro de las FAS).
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
African AQ-linked groups using advanced IEDs (Marine Corps Times)
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| Efecto de la detonación de un IED en Afganistán. Foto: US Army |
African AQ-linked groups using advanced IEDs -- Marine Corps Times
Etiopía ataca Eritrea / Ethiopian troops attacks Eritrea
Ethiopian Troops Enter Eritrea -- New York Times
Ethiopian troops attack Eritrea to retaliate for rebel strikes -- Washington Times/AP
Ethiopian troops attack rebels in Eritrea -- Reuters
Ethiopia and Eritrea History: Decades of Unrest -- Voice of America
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