Egypt's Coalition of Bullies

Having watched Egyptian bloggers for a while now, they seem to consider most traditional news media as not just biased, but arms of either the International Muslim Brotherhood or the government-dominated rubber-stamping Justice system. The Military has its own influence as well. The assumption of bias holds in most countries, but bloggers in Egypt seem to be looking at the news institutions themselves a perpetrators of deliberate ruse.

Yet, together the three, Government, Brotherhood and Military, with their own news sources seem to form a fairly stable influence infrastructure by Middle Eastern and African Standards. When one gets too powerful, the other two form short term alliances. A similar dynamic occurred in the Soviet Union between the Military, the KGB, and the Kremlin.

The three groups are too focused on each other to spend too much time on other things, except the occasional heated persecution of Coptic Christians. When these groups have nothing else in common, and they become self-destructive, they turn their leaders turn their destructive behavior on Christians. What occurs is a kind of coalition of bullies dynamic since this is the one thing upon which they agree.

In this way, the government demonstrates it has an Islamic heart, and the Brotherhood can show that it has influence in society. This happened in 2005 when the Copts were attacked and murdered for several months at a time when there were some Brotherhood leaders in prison that the government refused to release. After the attacks, tensions eased between the two.

This will only change with prayer, and when the Copts are guaranteed rights. These must include:

• The right to report incidents, and the right to appeal them.
• The right to appeal without being accused of embarrasing the government.
• Non-Egypt based bloggers can pick up the Egyptian Coptic posts and put them on servers elsewhere, moving to insure they protect the identities of those who sent the blogs.

It is not only Coptic loggers who post. They and others are already serving as a way to expose the government, Even though a blogger was recently sentenced to 4 years in prison for insulting Islam and the government. A Brotherhood Blogger has also been put in prison. Those of us in the Blog community have a responsibility to get the word out.

-Shimron Issachar

Al Qaeda Trying To Take the Pan African Jihad to the Next Level

Ethiopia

• Ethiopia is now surrounded on three sides by Regimes supporting Jihad or Jihad Rebels.
• Ethiopia's support of the transitional Somali government in the current civil war in Somalia war reflects that understanding. Their move was a preemptive strike.
• The Union of Islamic Courts, (UIC) the Somali rebel group, using an Ethiopian Muslim Rebel Group, The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)who has been fighting along side them in Somalia just attacked a Chinese oil field in Eastern Ethiopia, with 200 soldiers.
• They killed 74 Ethiopian workers and kidnapped 7 Chinese workers.
  

Somalia

• This is a counter-Attack, trying to retake the initiative they lost when they were attacked by Ethiopian-reinforced government troops before they could attack. (The Union of Islamic Courts had been massing on the Ethiopian border before they attack)
• The UIC, directing the ONLF, will try and leverage the 7 Chinese Hostages to get two things:

1) Chinese pressure on the Ethiopian Government to withdraw from the Somali civil war

2) Freedom to secede from Ethiopia.

• The ONLF will claim it only wants Independence
• If Successful, They will then join Somalia on the side of the UIC to continue their offensive Against Ethiopia.
• The plans are that Somalia, once again controlled by the UIC will once again become the staging are for the Jihad underway against North Africa.
• Recruits will again be brought in, trained and assigned to units in Somalia

Nigeria

• The recently botched elections in Northern Nigeria will be used as Justification for the Muslim Uprising in the North
• Jihadists will try and bring in forces that have been training in under governed areas of Niger and Mali just for this moment.
• The 12 states under Sharia law in the North will then try and launch a civil war, or use the presence of al Qaeda rebels in Northern Nigeria to get concessions
• If they get the concessions they are looking for, They will use these al Qaeda units to attack Western CHAD

CHAD

• Sudan, already in Eastern CHAD, needs a place to move their genocidal forces as the UN Troops come in.
• They will try and send the units across CHAD, supported by government Aircraft, to cut the country in half
• They will try and join up with Jihadist forces coming in from North Eastern Nigeria.

Al Qaeda, now free to recruit and train Jihadist in both the East and the West will then try and launch a new, strengthened call for the Next Caliphate, and ask for recognition for new Islamic republics- In NOrthern Nigeria and Southern Chad. Al Qaeda in Iraq, Somalia, Eriteria, and possibly Madagascar would liekly recognize them.

Prevention: Things that could stop the plan

• If China decides that they need to make a statement, and sends a hostage rescue team to get their oil workers-things could get complicated for their plan.
• If The US sends forces against al Qaeda units as they move as they did in Somalia
• If the Nigerian government decides not to negoitate but attack Northern Nigeria
• A significant Act of God, as has happend before, that thwarts the plan
• Shia movement in Africa that interferes with this sunni plan.(Iran, Hizballa, etc)

My Point is:

Do you guys see the same thing?

Comment

Global Guerrilla Swarming

Swarming tactics have been used successfully in wars throughout history by a variety of organizations from the tribal Parthians (horse archers) to 20th century Germans (U-boats).

Global guerrillas (next generation terrorists) will likely use swarming tactics as part of their doctrine. This technique, in combination with new market-based financing techniques is what's called a killer combo.

Definition. A good place to start an analysis of swarming is Sean Edwards' "Swarming on the Battlefield (PDF downloads). Here's his excellent definition of swarming: a primary maneuver that results in an attack from multiple directions (all points on the compass) by 5 or more (semi) autonomous units on a single target/unit.

The Rest @ Global Guerillas

Jihadists Attack Chinese Oilfield in Ethipoia

Rebels stormed a Chinese-run oilfield in eastern Ethiopia today, killing 74 workers and destroying the facility, guerrillas and government officials said.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front, an ethnic Somali group that has fought alongside insurgents in Somalia, also kidnapped seven Chinese workers, said an Ethiopian government official, Bereket Simon. "This was a cold blooded killing," Mr Bereket, a special adviser to the Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, told Associated Press.

Ethnic Somali rebels kill 74 at Chinese oilfield in EthiopiaAnita Powell in Addis AbabaTuesday

Rebels stormed a Chinese-run oilfield in eastern Ethiopia today, killing 74 workers and destroying the facility, guerrillas and government officials said.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front, an ethnic Somali group that has fought alongside insurgents in Somalia, also kidnapped seven Chinese workers, said an Ethiopian government official, Bereket Simon. "This was a cold blooded killing," Mr Bereket, a special adviser to the Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, told Associated Press. "This was organised."

The rebel group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to AP. It also warned all international oil companies not to operate in the region.
China's official Xinhua News Agency identified the Chinese workers and Ethiopian guards as employees of the Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau, a division of a huge state-run oil company.

Xu Shuang, the general manager of Zhongyuan, based in Addis Ababa, said nine of its Chinese oil workers were killed, seven Chinese workers were kidnapped and 65 Ethiopians were killed.
The attack took place early this morning in Abole, a small town 75 miles from the Somali regional state's capital Jijiga, close to the Somali border. Mr Bereket said several Ethiopian soldiers were wounded in the gunbattle. "The army is pursuing them. We will track them down dead or alive. We will make sure these people will be hunted and be brought to justice."

The Rest @ Guardian Unlimited

Al Qaeda Targeting Christians?

On Sunday, 15 April 2007, The Voice of Martyrs and their blog , and others recently reported that there had been a bombing in Gaza City of a Christian bookstore.

-In the past year, 127 churches have been started in the entire Middle East region.

On Monday, 16 April, 7 Christians were kidnapped on Jolo Isalnd in the Southern Philippines. Their heads were sent to the Military on the Island. on 18 April. An al Qaeda affiliate. Or you can read the same report from ABC news that left out that they were Christians


On Wednesday, 18 April In Ankara, Turkey three Christians were executed in a bookstore
[One Lutheran-Germany Missionary and two Turkish Nationals]. Though no group claimed responsibly, there are growing ties between groups in Turkey and Al Qaeda that go back several years . 10 Al Qaeda members were arrested 5 months ago, and 3 more 3 Months ago.

Terrorist Financing: Status Update

Most of the charges against Saudi businessmen, senior members of the Al-Saud family and institutions accused of financing Al-Qaeda in civil litigation led by South Carolinabased law firm Motley Rice have been dismissed by US judges.

Other US lawsuits against members of the Saudi elite have also failed, but the lawsuits just keep coming. Thus a mogul of the Arab/Islamic financial and media scene, Al-Baraka Investment and Development CorporationAl-Baraka Investment and Development Corporation chairman Sheikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel - who was among those accused in the Motley Rice case - had a suit filed against him last December on behalf of US insurance companies focusing on suspicions of terrorist financing;within the month the case was dismissed by US judge Richard Conway Casey.

A legal source active in defending terrorism finance cases was highly critical of the way such litigation was being dealt with in the USA, calling it a "big mess." Talking to GSN from the Gulf, he argued that there were still no specific procedures in place to fight against claims of links to terrorism, while defence teams suffered from a lack of co-operation from US authorities and the abuse of information; he described this as a "Kafka-like jurisprudence targeting Muslims."

Civil litigation lawyers have not given up on Saudi and other Gulf nationals, but they are increasingly focusing their efforts on major international banks and their alleged role in terrorist financing - representing a shift away from Al-Qaeda towards Hamas and Lebanon's powerful Hizbollah movement.

The Rest @Zawya.com

China Intervens to Help Bring Sudan in Line

China has made it increasingly clear that, where Africa's concerned, Western donors must take the new kid on the block seriously.

China comes with an impressive legacy of economic growth and a new package of solutions for Africa's problems. But it also comes with different rules, such as not interfering in another country's affairs, and giving massive loans with no political strings attached.
At the same time, China wants to look good on the international stage and boost its role as a world leader - and that's where Darfur comes in.

Competition is rife between China and Western donors, and they strongly disagree on many issues. When China and the United States get together to discuss Africa - as increasingly they seem to do - their main focus is Darfur, experts from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) told a meeting at London's Chatham House this week.

China had long opposed international plans to enlarge the peacekeeping force in Darfur. But recently it has been the trigger in getting Sudan to adopt aspects of former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's plan for a larger international force in Darfur, according to Bates Gill and Stephen Morrison, authors of the CSIS report China's Expanding Role in Africa: Implications for the United States.

"We have seen a dramatic alignment with the West on Darfur," said Morrison. "It all remains to be seen as to what that delivers in terms of results."

China's official policy of non-interference isn't just a question of ideology. It's also a question of branding, according to Morrison. "China is going to work very hard as a South-South donor because this is what sets it apart from the U.S. and other Western donors - so the non-interference brand is very important."

Yet the "brand" belies reality, explained Gill, because China does actually interfere when it's in its interests, for example in North Korea. "It intervenes more quietly and differently than other interventionists," he said. "We'll see it probably doing more of this in Sudan in the future."

The Rest @ Alertnet from Rueters

Taqiyya

This Islamic doctrine is worth exploring. I Grant you that there are some Shia-Sunni differences of opinion on how to interpret this doctrine, but how should this impact the Secularist Infidel who is attempting to negotiate in honest dialogue? (See below)

-Shimron

In Islamic tradition, Taqiyya (التقية - 'fear, guard against')[1] is the dispensation allowing believers to conceal their faith when under threat, persecution or compulsion. It is based on Qur'an verses 3:28 and 16:106 as well as hadith, tafsir literature, and juridical commentaries.[2]

Sunnis assert that Taqiyya is an act of hypocrisy that serves to conceal the truth. According to them, Taqiyya constitutes a lack of faith and trust in God because the person who conceals his beliefs to spare himself from danger is fearful of humans, when he should be fearful of God only

From Wikipedia


Further, Al Islam has a position paper on al Taqiyya. And I quote:

"Ibn Abbas also commented on the above verse, as narrated in Sunan al-Bayhaqi and Mustadrak al-Hakim, by saying:

"al-Taqiyya is the uttering of the tongue, while the heart is comfortable with faith."

NOTE: The meaning is that the tongue is permitted to utter anything in a time of need, as long as the heart is not affected; and one is still comfortable with faith."


In Fairness a Sunni Commentator says:

"The (Sunni) commentator of this volume of Sahih Muslim, Abdul Hamid Siddiqi, provides the following commentary:

Telling of a lie is a grave sin but a Muslim is permitted to tell a lie in some exceptional cases, and this permission is given especially on three occasions:

• in case of battle for bringing reconciliation amongst the hostile Muslims
• and for bringing reconciliation between the husband and the wife.
• On the analogy [Qiyas] of these three cases, the scholars of Hadith have pointed out some other exemptions: for saving the life and honor of innocent person from the highhandedness of tyrants and oppressors if one finds no other way to save them. "

Again, from the Al Islam position paper on al Taqiyya.

If I ask a Muslim Scholar if it is the intention of Islam to take my country by persuasion, failing that, submission as a Dimmi, failing that, to kill me and take my family in Land,

...I think he would invoke al Taqiyya and tell me, with a smile, "Islam is a religion of peace and that Jihad is only for the internal war." Yet in his heart he would still be comfortable with his faith and say to himself,

"resistance is futile, you will be assimilated"

-Shimron

Algeria & Moroco Bombings Alegedly Unrelated

What happened yesterday (in Casablanca) has nothing to do with the terrorist acts that neighbouring countries have seen," Benmoussa told reporters. "The (Moroccan) group. . . has no direct link with international terrorist networks."

The Rest @ Stuff Co

Al Qaeda Action in Algeria Spreads to Morocco

CASABLANCA, Morocco - Two car bombs in Algeria Wednesday provided jarring reminders of the Islamic insurgency that wreaked havoc there in the 1990s. It was a signal that yet another large-scale battle with militants may be brewing.

For weeks, the government has been fighting Al Qaeda-linked insurgents in the remote highlands of the North African nation. But these are the first attacks on the capital, Algiers , in years – one hit the prime minister's office in the city center and the other a police station in the eastern outskirts. Together the attacks killed at least 30 people.

In neighboring Morocco on Tuesday, three suspected terrorists exploded suicide belts and another was shot dead as police were chasing them. They were all wanted in connection with another suicide bombing on March 11.

The governments of this region, ruled by entrenched authoritarians, face a confrontation with a growing Islamist movement. Some groups are rising up to challenge the government in elections, and others are becoming more violent.

Source: Christian Science Monitor via the SITE Institute

Africa, One of the Most Important Battle Grounds for Islamic Terrorism

The recent attack in Algeria by Al Qaeda’s Committee in the Islamic Maghreb in Algeria, coupled with the re-emergence and spread of the Islamist presence in Somalia, clearly show two things:

1) That the macro strategy of the core al Qaeda of fomenting the creation of small, autonomous groups to carry out jihad is firmly taking root and

2) That Africa, from the Northern tier to the Horn, with a network to Southern Africa and tactical alliances in West Africa, have made that continent one of the most important battle grounds in the long war on Islamist terrorism.

The rest from Doug Farah

Iran Funds Zimbabwe radio station

-I wonder if Libya Brokered this deal.....

Shimron

Mugabe has in recent years increasingly turned to friendly countries for help [AFP]
Zimbabwe is to set up a new radio station to counter what it perceives as propaganda from outside countries against Robert Mugabe, the country's president.

Zimbabwe's information minister made the announcement after talks on Friday with Rasoul Momeni, Iran's ambassador to Harare, in a deal to refurbish public broadcasting studios in Bulawayo.

Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told the Ziana state news agency: "We are under siege and being bombarded by the Western media broadcasting to our people.

"There will be a revolutionary development in the media. We should be able to tell our own story."

The short-wave station, the fifth to be run by the state, will go on air before April 18 when the country commemorates its 27th independence anniversary, according to the agency and the country's Daily Herald newspaper.

The Rest @ al Jazeera

China Loan's 1 Billion $ to Namibia to Buy Software

The government will engage a Chinese software company to install an electronic management system for the public service.

Cabinet approved that the Office of the Prime Minister could secure funding under a concessional loan agreement signed last month between China and Namibia during the state visit of Chinese president Hu Jintao for the implementation of an Electronic Documentation and Records Management System (EDRMS) across the public service.

This is viewed as a critical project in terms of existing e-governance policy directives.
China offered over N$1 billion as a loan for projects to be identified by Namibia.
The EDRMS project team evaluated various appropriate software solutions and found that the system offered by Chinese outfit CA-China SS Software Technology would be best suited for the requirements of the Namibian public service.
"The system is not only government user friendly, but also offers easy-to-use interfaces and robust application software that will link up with already familiar public service platforms to ensure records and archival compliance," Information Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told reporters last week.

Cabinet therefore endorsed the EDRMS under the auspices of the Office of the Prime Minister on condition that it complies with tender procedures.

Cabinet instructed the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance and the National Planning Commission to discuss the conditions, terms, modality of accessing the preferential loan and credit facility to finance the EDRMS and other priority projects in Namibia with the Chinese Government.

Cabinet also granted approval for the arrangement of the grant and the use of the concessional loans for the EDRMS project by the Export-Import Bank of China, subject to concurrence by the Chinese Government.

The company CA-CSS is a joint venture formed by New York-based commercial software associates (CA) and China National Computer Software & Technology Service Corporation (CS&S). The primary goal of the joint venture was to explore the potential presented by the Chinese software market by leveraging the resources and expertise from both parties.

Retaking Somolia Becomes an al Qaeda Priority

A congressional report on Somalia was released last week. The gist is that al-Qaeda's East African operations are intact, and they're out for revenge. After the ICU lost its hold on Somalia following the Ethiopian invasion, the group's donors started pumping more money into the country. Al-Qaeda's senior leadership is also clearly prioritizing Somalia, as virtually all the tapes they have released since early January mention Somalia in some way. I spoke with a senior U.S. military intelligence officer over the weekend who reports that a number of Yemeni tribes who would have previously sent jihadists to Iraq are now sending them to Somalia instead.

Eritrea continues to provide weapons and logistical support to the ICU, and possibly military advisors as well. While Eritrea provided advisors earlier, they may have been pulled out of the country because a number of them were killed during Ethiopia's invasion.

Tactically, the ICU is exercising a remarkable degree of restraint in its fighting and target selection. It is almost exclusively targeting transitional federal government (TFG) troops and police. Often radical Islamic groups will also kill "collaborators," but thus far the ICU hasn't done so. When the ICU left Mogadishu, it did so on fairly good terms with the clan elders. Obviously the ICU is attempted to keep this good will alive.

Readthe Rest from Daveed Gartenstein-Ross @ The CounterTerrorism Blog

China to provide Military Connection to Sudan

Beijing - China and Sudan will lift ties to a "new height", Chinese state media said, despite world pressure on Beijing to shun Sudan's government over charges it is aiding genocide in Darfur.
Visiting Sudanese military chief Haj Ahmed El Gaili and Chinese Defence Minister Cao Gangchuan agreed the two sides should seek closer ties in military and other spheres, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Military relations between China and Sudan have developed smoothly," Xinhua quoted Cao as telling his Sudanese guest, who is in China for an eight-day visit that began Sunday.
Gao praised the "profound friendship" of the two nations and said China wanted to "further promote bilateral co-operation in various fields."

Read the Rest from Businessinafrica.net