Time for Resupply for Al Qaeda in North Africa

The "Libya civil war has provided an opportunity to transfer weapons into the Sahel and AQIM."

- Mohammed Benhammou

-Shimron Issacahr

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Foreign policy experts at two forums this week examined the seismic changes of the 'Arab Spring' and focused on the importance of U.S. and European engagement with progressive leaders in the Middle East and North Africa for determining whether the current unrest will lead to reform, repression, or violent revolution.

Well-armed mercenaries recruited by Col. Qadhafi from Mali, the Polisario Front in Algeria, and elsewhere, and resurgent terrorists from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), are stocking up on arms from Libya and are eager to exploit unrest in the region after Osama bin Laden's death.

At an Atlantic Council symposium, "Preventing the 'Arab Spring' from Becoming the 'Season of Discontent,'" policy experts discussed the uncertain forecast and how to promote positive change in this pivotal part of the world.

Analyst Geoffrey Porter said "every country in the Middle East and North Africa is different" and must be understood on its own terms. Dr. Anouar Boukhars of McDaniels College pointed to Morocco where "reform efforts have strengthened its legitimacy," citing King Mohammed VI's March 9 speech on constitutional reforms. Dr. J. Peter Pham, moderator of the panel, saidMorocco's reforms were "triggered by an inside reality and not imposed from the outside," and successful reform in other countries must be "internally driven."

Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies emphasized the importance of understanding that the 'Arab Spring' unrest is being driven by demand for economic as well as political change. Long-term solutions will require strategic choices in an uncertain climate.

Ambassador Edward Gabriel said the U.S. and Europe can play a key role in promoting positive change. He proposed a 3-part "long-term strategy with countries that have taken reform seriously," such as Morocco and Jordan, to build partnerships for growth and "strategic dialogue" to better understand change shaping the region.

Prof. Yonah Alexander of the International Center for Terrorism Studies warned that al-Qaeda and state-sponsored terrorism are "alive and well" in the Maghreb and Sahel, where terrorist incidents have risen 500% since 9/11 and are a global as well as regional threat. He also noted the concerns expressed by NATO officials about mercenaries in Libya.

At the Association for the Study of the Middle East & Africa (ASMEA) forum, "Terrorism in North Africa After bin Laden," investigative reporter Richard Miniter warned "AQIM is taking advantage of the 'Arab Spring' to expand and grow." ProfessorRichard Rene Laremont of SUNY said AQIM's "narrative was weakened because change came through mass civil demonstrations, not terrorism," but that it would be reinvigorated if reforms aren't realized.

Spanish journalist Jose Maria Gil Garre, noted that AQIM has succeeded in part because it can "depend on support of military elements of the Polisario," a separatist group based in Algeria, as local guides to "carry out its arms trafficking, kidnapping, and drug-trafficking in the Sahel."

Mohammed Benhammou, of the Moroccan Center for Strategic Studies, said that "600 members of the Polisario" answered the call for mercenaries in the Libyan conflict, because decades ago "Qadhafi was the father of the Polisario"—"now they are returning the favor." Benhammou warned the "Libya civil war has provided an opportunity to transfer weapons into the Sahel and AQIM."

He added that while "Morocco has been a model for the region" with its reforms, "Algeria has taken a wait and see attitude." Benhammou cited the need for "economic integration" in the region, which currently has one of the lowest cross-border trade rates in the world. Laremont added that Algeria needs to "realize it is in its interest to stop bickering with Morocco and cooperate" to address economic and security challenges facing the region.

The Rest @ The American Moroccan Center for Policy

Polisario Front Linked To Al Qaeda

The Polisario Front is fighting for Independance for Western Sahara, A region South of Morocco on Africa's west coast. They appear to have created significant connections to AQIM, al Qaedas Organization in the Sahel.

This suggests the likelyhood that a deal has been struck between them, so that when Western Sahara becomes a separate nation, It will become an Islamic State, following the lead of The Islamic Emerite of Somalia, The Islamic Emerite of Yemen, The Islamic Emerite of the Caucuses, etc.

Formal terror training camps will follow, as the "dream caliphate" Islamist multi-nation continues to be formed out of little ppockes of countries controlled by Al Aqeda and funded by Ikhwan business networks.

Shimron Issachar

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Zakia Abdennel

RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco said it had arrested a member of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) among 26 others who planned to attack security services and rob banks using weapons they hid in an area of the disputed Western Sahara.

Quoting an interior ministry statement, official media said Moroccan security forces recently broke up the 27-member cell and had discovered weapon caches in Amghala, an oasis located in the disputed Western Sahara.

"Moroccan security services have succeeded in dismantling a terrorist cell of 27 members, among whom is a member of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb who was tasked by this organisation to set up a rear base in Morocco where it would plan terrorist acts," it said.

The ministry did not say when or where they were arrested.

"Members of the cell, supervised by a Moroccan citizen who is in the Al Qaeda camps in northern Mali, have been planning terrorist acts using explosive belts and car bombs that mainly target security services and to rob banks to fund their terrorist projects," it added.

The cell members also planned to send recruits "to AQIM camps in Algeria and Mali to undergo paramilitary training before returning to Morocco to execute their destructive plans using the weapons discovered near Amghala," it added.

Mohamed Darif, an expert on Islamic militancy in Morocco, said the latest arrest is the first to suggest the existence of links between AQIM and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front which seeks independence in the Western Sahara.

"It is only a matter of time before Moroccan authorities officially announce the existence of links between this cell and the Polisario Front. This would give credence to the Moroccan thesis on the existence of links between AQIM and the Polisario," Darif said

The Polisario has been battling for independence for the Western Sahara for 35 years.
Since the rise of AQIM over the last few years, the Moroccan government has said that giving territory to the Polisario in the Western Sahara could make it a haven for Islamist militancy.
Algeria, Polisario's main supporter, is itself battling AQIM militants, some of whom are the inheritors of a movement which led to a bloody civil war from 1991 to 2002.

Violence linked to militancy is rare in Morocco, a staunch Western ally with a reputation for stability that has helped to entice millions of tourists to visit the country.

The last big attack was a series of suicide bombings in the economic capital, Casablanca, in 2003 that killed 45 people.

Since then security services say they have rounded up more than 60 radical cells.

The Rest @ Reuters.com