FBI Counter-Terror Official: Al Qaeda 'Thrives' After Dictators Fall

[CaféAuLait]

FBI Counter-Terror Official: Al Qaeda 'Thrives' After Dictators Fall

Al Qaeda Releases New Web Video, Official Says Al Qaeda in Yemen More Dangerous Than Osama Bin Laden's 'Core' Group

On the same day reports emerged of a new al Qaeda video that praised the revolutions sweeping the Arab world, one the U.S.'s top counter-terror officials warned the terror organization "thrives" in the political unrest that follows.

"The governments of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen have drastically changed in the last six months," FBI Assistant Director of Counter-Terrorism Mark Giuliano said Thursday. "They are now led by transitional or interim governments, military regimes, or democratic alliances with no established track record on counterterrorism efforts. Al Qaeda thrives in such conditions and countries of weak governance and political instability -- countries in which governments may be sympathetic to their campaign of violence."

FBI Counterterror Official: Al Qaeda 'Thrives' After Dictators Fall - ABC News

Copyright © 2011 ABC News

 

[waltky]

Shoulda sent the Navy Seals in after him...

Anwar al-Awlaki targeted in US military attack in Yemen
May 7, 2011 : Anwar al-Awlaki was reportedly the intended target in a US military attack that left at least two suspected al Qaeda militants dead in Yemen.

The U.S. drone aircraft attack that killed two midlevel al Qaeda militants in Yemen on Thursday was targeting the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a U.S.-born radical known for encouraging attacks on the United States, U.S. media reported. CBS News and The Wall Street Journal, citing Yemeni and U.S. officials, said on Friday that Anwar al-Awlaki was not hit when a missile was fired at a car in southern Yemen on Thursday, killing two brothers believed to be al Qaeda militants. "We were hoping it was him," a U.S. official told CBS News. The U.S. Defense Department declined to comment on the reports.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, is estimated to number about 300 fighters with strongholds in remote mountain regions in the provinces of Shabwa, Abyan, Jouf and Marib. It is thought to be behind numerous attacks on government targets. The group is said to have inspired attacks by Muslims inside the United States -- including the Fort Hood, Texas, shootings in which an Army psychiatrist is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 32 -- and twice smuggled explosives aboard aircraft headed to the United States.

Yemen's Defense Ministry confirmed Thursday's drone attack had killed two al Qaeda militants, identifying them as brothers Musa'id and Abdullah Mubarak al-Daghari. Washington considers the Yemen-based al Qaeda branch the world's most active terror cell. With the killing in Pakistan earlier this week of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, some officials believe Awlaki's group now represents the gravest danger to the United States and other Western nations.

Source

See also:

US drone in Yemen missed al Qaeda’s al-Awlaki: report
Sun, May 08, 2011 - The US drone aircraft attack that killed two midlevel al-Qaeda militants in Yemen on Thursday was targeting the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a US-born radical known for encouraging attacks on the US, US media reported.

CBS News and the Wall Street Journal, citing Yemeni and US officials, said on Friday that Anwar al-Awlaki was not hit when a missile was fired at a car in southern Yemen on Thursday, killing two brothers believed to be al-Qaeda militants. “We were hoping it was him,” a US official told CBS News. The US Department of Defense declined to comment on the reports.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is estimated to number about 300 fighters with strongholds in remote mountain regions in the provinces of Shabwa, Abyan, Jouf and Marib. It is thought to be behind numerous attacks on government targets.

The group is said to have inspired attacks by Muslims inside the US — including the Fort Hood, Texas, shootings in which an Army psychiatrist is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 32 — and twice smuggled explosives aboard aircraft headed to the US.

Yemen’s Defense Ministry confirmed Thursday’s drone attack had killed two al-Qaeda militants, identifying them as brothers Musa’id and Abdullah Mubarak al-Daghari. Washington considers the -Yemen-based al-Qaeda branch the world’s most active terror cell.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2011/05/08/2003502728

 

[waltky]

al-Qaida got a foothold in Yemen in anticipation of departure of Saleh...

Yemeni city in al-Qa'ida control
May 30, 2011 : MORE than 200 suspected al-Qa'ida gunmen have taken control of the south Yemen city of Zinjibar after two days of fighting with security forces that left 16 dead, an official said last night.

The Yemeni opposition accused embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh of having allowed Zinjibar, capital of Abyan province, to fall to the gunmen to raise fears concerning al-Qa'ida and boost his flagging international support. The suspected al-Qa'ida fighters "were able to gain control of the city of Zinjibar . . . and took over all government facilities", except for the headquarters of the 25th mechanised brigade, which is besieged by militants, the security official said.

Residents reported heavy fighting in the city on Friday and Saturday, and that gunmen had freed dozens of prisoners from the main prison in Zinjibar. One witness said the gunmen executed soldiers who surrendered, and that residents were unable to bury them. Dozens of families fled towards Aden, the main city in the south, among them Nazir Ahmed Said, who said he left because "the city is under the control of gunmen who say they are from al-Qa'ida".

"Saturday morning, the gunmen called on residents by loudspeaker to go out and reopen their shops, but few answered because they are afraid," he added. The security official estimated that more than 200 militants had attacked the city. "The lack of concern from the authorities is unfortunate," he said, adding that "the leadership in Abyan province left the area before it exploded". He was among the last security staff to quit the city, he said.

Mr Saleh has since January been holding out against the revolutionary spirit of the Arab Spring, with protesters calling for him to quit office after 33 years in power. He has been a close partner of Washington in its fight against al-Qa'ida, but US and other former allies have called on him to go. The latest dilemma came shortly after the President and the country's most powerful tribal chief agreed to end five days of gunbattles that killed 124 people.

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[waltky]

Civil war in Yemen...

Yemen Crisis Worsens as Tribal Fighters Battle Presidential Loyalists
June 01, 2011 - Witnesses tallying deaths say at least 39 people were killed in fighting

Large explosions rocked Yemen's capital Sana'a on Wednesday as members of the nation's most powerful tribal federation kept up their fight to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh. At least 39 people are reported killed and dozens of others wounded in the past day. As the situation worsens, some are looking beyond the current crisis to envision a post-Saleh Yemen. Government and tribal fighters are battling for control of key ministry buildings in the capital, while the home of Hashid tribal chief Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar continued to come under attack.

Gunfire echoed across Sana'a as ambulances ferried the injured to hospitals. Some residents continue to leave the city to seek relative safety in outlying villages, while those remaining are stockpiling basic supplies, including food and gasoline. Even in the chaos, political protesters continue their vigil in the capital, pressing their demand that President Saleh step down.

In the southwestern city Taiz, anti-government demonstrators are still reeling from a brutal crackdown that began Sunday and left dozens dead. Also in the southwest, militants are consolidating their hold on the city of Zinjibar. Reports indicate the fighters want to form an Islamic emirate in the region, but there are conflicting accounts of their exact aims beyond ousting President Saleh.

The focus on pushing Saleh from power is a possible unifying force among the various opposition groups. But Nasser Arrabiyee, a Yemeni writer and political analyst in Sana'a, says a larger vision is needed. "Saudi Arabia and the United States are almost the key players in the Yemeni crisis in terms of thinking what is the next step after Saleh," said Arrabiyee. "The people, unfortunately, internally, the opposition here only think on how to remove Saleh, how to oust Saleh. This is the problem of the Yemeni opposition."

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[Dr.Drock]

No surprise, things like the War in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Al-Qaeda loves all they have to do is keep moving and we're providing them the best recruiting tool anyone could imagine.

 

[waltky]

Saleh losin' control of Yemen...

Yemen slides into civil war
June 1, 2011 : President Ali Abdullah Saleh has retained control of Yemen for 32 years by managing the country's numerous unrelated conflicts. Now, they are flaring up again – and appear to be beyond his control.

After months of trying to tamp down unrest, Yemen's embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his security forces have become embroiled in a conflict that meets all the classic definitions of a civil war. He and his security forces are now fighting on three main fronts: In the capital of Sanaa, Saleh loyalists are engaged in a pitched battle with tribesmen under the direction of Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, leader of the powerful Hashid tribal confederation; Islamist militants have taken control of the southern province of Abyan; and in the southern city of Taiz, Saleh's Republican Guard violently dispersed protesters. Yemeni government forces have reportedly killed more than 50 people since Sunday.

Saleh has maintained power for 32 years through deft handling of the country's various conflicts – reuniting north and south Yemen after a civil war, securing the loyalty of tribal leaders through a generous patronage system, and drawing aid from the West to fight Islamist militants including Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). However, analysts appear increasingly uncertain that Saleh will be able to pull out of this chaotic situation, which reflects deep divisions that go beyond the popular dissatisfaction with Saleh's leadership, writes Khaled Fattah in a Guardian Op-Ed.

Saleh cannot hold on for ever, and he will find it increasingly difficult to negotiate the terms of his departure. But while his exit from the political arena will be a symbolic victory for the people, his replacement with another leader will not save the country from its divisions.

Yemen is a deeply fractured country that is in conflict with itself.

In Sanaa, a brief truce between Saleh and Mr. Ahmar has completely disintegrated. In the most recent round of fighting, tribesmen took over the headquarters of the ruling party, as well as several other government buildings in the Hasaba neighborhood, despite heavy shelling by the government. The tribesmen were fighting partially to defend the residence of Sheikh Sadiq al Ahmar, whose home – also located in Hasaba – has been targeted by the government in recent days, Al Jazeera reported. Residents told The New York Times that it was the fiercest fighting they had seen yet.

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[Gadawg73]

I guess that FBI guy would also have opposed our funding of the foundation of the folks we are now fighting in Afghanistan back when we supported them fighting the Russians.
Monday morning QBing in the FBI is a tradition dating back to Janie Edgar Hoover to date.

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - kill all dem Taliban - kill `em all...

Pakistan militant Mullah Nazir killed 'in drone attack'
3 January 2013 - The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says Mullah Nazir's death has created a "power vacuum"

Senior Pakistani militant leader Mullah Nazir has been killed by a US drone strike, security officials say. He died with at least five fighters when two missiles struck his vehicle in the north-west tribal district of South Waziristan. He was leader of one of four major militant factions in Pakistan and was accused of sending fighters to Afghanistan in support of the Taliban. Mullah Nazir is one of the most high-profile insurgents killed by drones.

He had survived several attempts to kill him, including a suicide bomb attack blamed on rival militants in November. He and his fighters were reportedly hit by the missiles on Wednesday while preparing to change vehicles. His pick-up truck had apparently developed a fault in Angoor Adda, near South Waziristan's main town of Wana. Reports say Mullah Nazir's deputy, Ratta Khan, was also killed in the attack. Officials also said four militants were killed in a separate attack in North Waziristan, but their identities are not known.

'Significant blow'

Local residents were quoted as saying that they had heard on mosque loudspeakers announcements that Mullah Nazir was dead. Funeral prayers were said for him. Mullah Nazir's group is one of several militant factions operating in Pakistan's restive north-west - in recent years there have been divisions among these groups. Analysts say Mullah Nazir formed an alliance with the government and opposed the Pakistani Taliban, with whom he was at odds because he favoured attacking US forces in Afghanistan rather than Pakistani soldiers. After November's attack on him, his faction told a rival group led by Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, to leave the Wana area.

Reports say he was also seen as an enemy of militants from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), and praised by Pakistan for expelling Uzbek and other foreign fighters from Pakistan in 2007. His death could be a contentious issue between Washington and Islamabad, they add, because the Pakistani military views commanders like him as key to keeping the peace internally. For years, he was a key figure involved in supplying fighters and support to the Afghan insurgency, says the BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad.

More BBC News - Pakistan militant Mullah Nazir killed 'in drone attack'

See also:

Taliban's Mullah Nazir death spells trouble for Pakistan
3 January 2013 - Mullah Nazir rose from the ranks of the Taliban in 2007

The killing of Taliban commander Mullah Nazir in a drone strike comes at a time of important changes in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. When he came to prominence in the spring of 2007, American forces were keeping troop levels in Afghanistan to a minimum, as their energies were focused on the war in Iraq. The Pakistani military was then consolidating a string of peace agreements it had signed with militant groups in the Waziristan region, as part of a strategy that appeared to barter internal peace for a safe Taliban haven on the Pakistani border with Afghanistan.

Today, the Americans have largely withdrawn from Iraq and have managed a troop surge in Afghanistan. They are now planning a drawdown of troops there in just over a year's time. The Pakistanis are releasing Taliban leaders from custody to facilitate peace negotiations with the Afghan government, in an apparent bid to avoid the looming risk of political and economic isolation.

All this while the Pakistanis have resisted growing international pressure to launch a military operation against what many call its "assets", including Mullah Nazir's faction, in the Waziristan region. So in a way the killing of Mullah Nazir is viewed by some as a dent in the Pakistani strategy to prepare for the Afghan endgame in a smooth, calibrated fashion.

For the Americans, he is a prized catch. He was the head of one of the three major militant groups in the Waziristan region that focused their attacks on the Western troops in Afghanistan. The other groups are the Haqqani network and the faction led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur. Mullah Nazir is also one of only three top level Pakistani Taliban commanders to have been killed by a drone, the others being Nek Mohammad and Baitullah Mehsud.

'Double blessings'

 

[tjvh]

Anyone who actually believed that by simply killing OBL the WOT would magically disappear hasn't a damn clue... Besides, wasn't Obama's election in 2008 going to unite the planet in peace and harmony?