Russian Jets in Private Army to be Stationed in Iceland

It looks like Russia finally did find a way to make their move into Iceland...

-Shimron Issachar
**************
Cash-strapped Iceland to host “private army” – and Russian jets

Published 31 August, 2010, 17:35

Iceland is set to give a private army contractor the green light in what critics are calling the most ambitious move by a corporation to perform tasks once reserved for national militaries.


Few countries have suffered worse from the global crisis than Iceland, an island of 320,000 in the northern extremes of the Atlantic Ocean that was once hailed – due to its commitment to sophisticated, albeit highly risky financial services – as one of the wealthiest and most developed nations in the world. Those halcyon days are over.

Today, the debt-ridden NATO country is struggling to contain the fallout from a massive exodus of talent as highly educated residents flee the island for employment opportunities elsewhere. These dire economic conditions, observers say, paved the way for a mysterious “private army” to assume control of an airbase in the country.

The private military training company, ECA Program Ltd., reportedly paid $160 million to fill the security void left in the country after the US military abruptly yanked its forces from the Keflavik airbase in March 2006.

According to military analysts, the company will purchase up to 30 Russian-built Sukhoi-27 fighter jets from Belarus and base them at Keflavik where air forces worldwide may pay to use them for mock “dogfights” in aerial war games.

The planned purchase of the fighter jets, which are heavily employed by the air forces of Russia and China amongst others, represents the largest single order for military aircraft by a private investor.

The first shipment of aircraft is expected in October.

Despite the economic boost it will provide to the cash-strapped country, the project is facing harsh opposition.

One group, called the Campaign Against Militarism (CAM), has expressed its condemnation of the ECA Program, claiming the company is a front for a mercenary group that was denied permission to operate in Canada. CAM is also known for its efforts to force Iceland out of NATO.

Mercenaries or market players?

According to information available on its website, ECA “answers the training needs of armed forces around the globe.

This is possible thanks to the fielding of an integrated system that is composed of individual assets such as aircraft, drones, cruise missile simulators, ground based air defenses, radars, passive ELINT components and jamming complexes.

The integration is obtained thanks to the resilient, fully off-road mobile, Command and Control, Communications, Counter-measures (C3CM) backbone.”

At the same time, ECA Program Ltd. stresses that it is “fully independent from any specific government and thus more open to international cooperation” and is not “representing, or influenced, by any military-industrial complex.”

Despite these words of assurance, the project is facing increasing hostility as well as suspicion as not all of its claims are adding up.

Melville ten Cate, ECA’s Dutch co-founder, told the Financial Times that ECA has agreed to buy 15 Sukhoi Su-27 “Flanker” jets from BelTechExport, a Belarusian arms export company, with the option to purchase another 18 of the aircraft.

The Financial Times report, quoting an anonymous company official, said the government was “close to giving conditional approval to ECA,” while adding that Reykjavik would “consult its NATO allies” before a final decision was made, he added. So far, so good. But upon further investigation, there appears to be some loose threads in the official story.

The FT article went to say that “much about the deal is shrouded in mystery and several defence industry officials have questioned its credibility – including some that Mr. ten Cate says are involved.”

BelTechExport, for example, denied knowledge of the deal on Monday, after having “previously confirmed it to the Financial Times.” Meanwhile, an official at the Belarusian agency responsible for approving arms exports said he was not aware of the negotiations and Rosoboronexport, the Russian state arms exporter, denied any involvement.

Finally, the sheer overhead costs involved in the purchase and upkeep of 30 sophisticated fighter jets, not to mention the cost of paying for pilots, mechanics and control tower personnel, are causing many observers to question if the company has received the financial blessing of some foreign government. Indeed, any talk of a "private military contractor" these days immediately drags up bad memories of Blackwater (now known as Xe Services), the US company that attracted significant controversy due to its contractual work in Iraq.

Although no connection to outside military contractors or sovereign nations has been revealed, according to a report in The Reykjavik Grapevine, “much is unknown about the source of the company's (ECA Program, Ltd.) finances, and their activities remain obscure – few sources apart from the ECA's own website even mention the work the company has done.”

ECA had originally been hoping to base its operations at Goose Bay airbase in Canada, but turned to Iceland after Canadian authorities went cold on the proposal.

According to military sources, the Russian fighter jets would not carry live ammunition and no training would take place in Icelandic airspace.

The extent of the company’s “ground based air defenses, radars, passive ELINT components and jamming complexes,” however, remains largely unknown at this time, yet may be of future interest to Russia, especially given the recent move by the White House to build an anti-missile system in Eastern Europe.

One senior company official at ECA, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, denied that the two complexes would be interoperable.

Several Moscow officials, meanwhile, have expressed their surprise at the revelation that Belarus is willing to sell so many state-of-the-art Russian jet fighters to a NATO country.

Although such a sale does not represent a security threat for Russia, they say, it does underscore just how severe the global financial crisis has been to many countries that are now willing to undermine their national security to make a quick buck.

Russia first invited to Iceland’s airbase

In December 2008, Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson shocked neighboring Nordic countries when he invited Russia to make use of the strategic airbase.

“Foreign diplomats hardly believed what they heard when the Icelandic president said that his country needs ‘new friends’,” according to a report in The Barents Observer, “and that Russia should be invited to make use of the old US airbase of Keflavik.”

Grimsson reportedly accused neighboring countries of “failing to support crisis-ridden Iceland,” adding that “Iceland should rather make new friends.”

According to Dagbladet, the Norwegian daily, the Russian ambassador present at the lunch was “rather perplexed by the invitation,” saying that “Russia does not really need the airport.”

Iceland does not have its own armed forces, and has been solely dependent on military cooperation with NATO allies instead. The United States, which had assured Iceland's defense for decades, stunned the country in March 2006 when it announced it would shut down its bases on the island, yanking its F-15 fighters and servicemen in the space of just six months.

Robert Bridge, RT

AL Shabaab "Abdulahi Mortar" algedly Killed

Republic of Somalia

Transitional Federal Government
Ministry of Information

Ref: WW/XW/ Press Release/16 Date: 26 August 2010

Press Release

TFG Security Forces working with AMISOM to contain Alshabaab offensive
(Mogadishu-Somalia-August 26th, 2010) Anticipation and planning is enabling
TFG security forces, supported by AMISOM forces, to contain the
latest Al shabaab offensive against the Somali people, launched by the
extremist group last Monday.

In the last three days it is reliable estimates account for more than 25
Alshabaab militias dead, including Abdulahi Mortar, an extremist military and
tactical leader who executed numerous mortar attacks on civilians in the city.
Over 70 Al shabaab terrorists were wounded in yesterday's fighting alone.

However, fighting has also resulted in the regrettable death of an estimated 70
innocent civilians, and the wounding of around 200 others. Hospital
procedures are coping well. Wounded people are receiving treatment and
some medevac is also taking place for the most seriously injured.

The Minister of Information said:

"All our preparations mean that Al Shabab are left with ever more desperate
options. The city will remain on high alert. We know where they are targeting
and we are doing everything we can, with outstanding support from AMISOM,
to contain the threat. Without the necessary forces, Al Shabab may still get
through to murder innocent people, so we need the citizens of the Mogadishu
to remain vigilant.

"Somali President Sh Shariif Sh Ahmed offered a ceasefire to allow decent
citizens to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan in peace, but the defiant
terrorists Alshabaab have failed to respect this offer and are wholly responsible
for the fighting around the city. But escalating violence during Ramadan simply
reinforces what we already knew. AlShabab are ruthless in their desire to
terrorise the Somali people into submission.

"Their reign of terror doesn't stop at suicide bombings. Beheadings,
amputations, stonings, forced recruitment of children, banning of music and
football, grave desecrations and the repression of the media are the hallmarks
of Al Shabab. There is no popular support for them and so they turn to ever
more desperate measures."

The Rest @ Mareeg

Somaliland has declared its independance from Somalia, mostly as a reaction to the al Shabaab control of Southern Somalia. Recent Somaliland Presidential elections supported this move.

Though al Shabaab threatened the elections, the voting was a landslide. Take a look ath the rhetoric that Zubayr ( Abdi Godani ) produced to try and defeat the elections. It is classic Islamist doctrine. Keep in mind an Islamist believes these things wheter they carry a rifle or not:

• Democracy is anti -Islamic
• Those supporting democracy should be hanged or arrested or killed by ammunition

-Shimron Issachar

HARGEISA, Somalia (Reuters) - Islamist Al Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane has urged Somalis to reject "the Devil's principles" of democracy, just several days ahead of elections in the breakaway Somaliland region.

"The reality is that democracy is something Allah made unlawful, and someone else cannot make it lawful," the reclusive leader, also known as Sheikh Mukhtar Abdirahman, said.

"If people who are Muslims, who declare the name of Allah, argue that they are real Muslims but forget Allah's message, hang or arrest them, kill them by using ammunition."

Abu Zubeyr urged Muslims in an audio recording on the Internet to move away from areas that tried to build democracy.

The separatist republic of Somaliland - which has sought international recognition as sovereign state - is holding presidential elections on June 26.

The region has enjoyed relative peace and stability for nearly two decades - while the rest of Somalia has had no functioning administration - but is frustrated by the lack of international recognition as a sovereign state.

"If people fight... till everyone is killed, that is much easier than legalising the devil's principles such as constitutions or making a ruler who governs against Allah's laws," he said.

Abu Zubeyr did not mention Somaliland specifically, but analysts said the timing of the message showed that it was intended to frighten people away from polling stations.

"This is something Al Shabaab has been trying for a number of years, to disrupt Somaliland elections," said Ej Hogendoorn, the Horn of Africa director International Crisis Group.

Over a million people will take part in polls in the Horn of Africa polls, which has been delayed three times since April 2008 because of problems with voter registration.

"The people have been waiting for long to elect their president for the next five years ... and they will do it peacefully and democratically," said Ahmed Hashi, Somaliland's assistant minister for planning.

Hashi said Abu Zubeyr's rhetoric showed growing extremism imported form the Al Shabaab-controlled central and south Somalia needed to be confronted.

Somaliland police have arrested dozens of men linked to Al Shabaab rebels in the last two weeks, Interior Minister Abdullahi Saed told Reuters.

"We arrested those people in multiple operations as they planned to disrupt security," he said.
25 June 2010

(Reouters)

Viktor Bout Put in Isolation Cell

Note the Story below:

TASS, a Russian Government Mouth Piece Media organization, sesems to be expressing outrage. It may be that the outrage is that they can't get at him. The Russians do not want him to get to US interigation or worse for them, US deal makers. He knows names, dates, arms shipments and strategies the Russians don't want to get out.

-Shimron Issachar.


Bout transferred to solitary cell in Bang Kwan Prison
23.08.2010, 21.15

BANGKOK, August 23 (Itar-Tass) - Russian citizen Viktor Bout was transferred to Thailand’s Bang Kwan Prison and put in a solitary cell, Alla Bout, his wife, told ltar-Tass on Monday. Bang Kwan Prison is the oldest prison in Bangkok that used to be known as Bangkok Hilton.
The businessman is held in a solitary cell two by two meters in size. Alla Bout said he was transferred on Friday immediately after the decision to extradite him to the US had become known. “Nobody talked with him, nothing was explained to him. It was only said he had been transferred for his own safety,” she went on. “The prison authorities claim he would be in danger in a cell with others,” she said. “Leg irons were removed in 24 hours. Food that is brought twice a day is not edible. He has not eaten all this time, and he is even not allowed to go for walks,” she said.
“We are at a loss as to what further steps of the authorities will be,” Alla Bout said.
“Russian consul Andrei Dvornikov today demanded in an ultimatum right in the prison that the conditions in which Bout is held should be immediately changed,” the businessman’s wife said. “I do hope he will be transferred to a cell where there are other people. In the cell has to sit on the floor.”
Asked by Itar-Tass about her husband’s attitude, she said, “Surely he is not going to cry. He says he will not make things easy for the Americans. He intends to win the trial if it is a real trail, not a farce,” she said.
“So many accusations were heaped on him over these years that objective attitude to him in the United States can hardly be expected,” the businessman’s wife said.

Past Friday the court decreed to satisfy the request of the US side for the businessman’s extradition to the United States. Thailand’s Criminal Court in 2009 dropped all accusations against the Russian citizen, noting, specifically, that the US had not produced enough proofs, while the case itself affected the interests of a number of countries and was political. This time the Commission of Appeal found Bout’s case having nothing to do with politics and explained the lack of proofs by the fact that, according to the plaintiff, they existed in the US.

Sources in Thailand’s law enforcement bodies said on condition of anonymity that “the US side hurries up with the extradition procedure” without specifying at what stage the procedure was. Since the moment the verdict was announced the US has 90 day to complete the procedure. The prosecution had earlier stated that “if the Americans fail to carry through the procedure within the allotted time the businessman will be freed.”

The Rest @ TASS

Thailand Approves US Extraditin of VIktor Bout

Thailand court approves US extradition of Viktor Bout

An appeals court in Thailand ruled Friday that accused
Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout can be extradited to the US to face charges including conspiracy to kill US nationals and conspiracy to provide material support to a proscribe terrorist group.

The court’s decision overturned a decision issued by the Bangkok Criminal Court last August, refusing to extradite Bout on the basis that the accusations made by the US were not cognizable under Thai law.

The appeals court ruled that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the group Bout is accused of supporting, is a cognizable terrorist group under Thai law and that Thailand is obligated to honor their extradition treaties with the US.

Lawyers for Bout argued that his safety would be in jeopardy in the US and that he would be unable to receive a fair trial. They have also indicated that they will continue fighting Bout’s extradition by filing an appeal with the Thai government.

A spokesperson for the US Department of Justice (DOJ), praised the court’s decision:

"We are extremely pleased that the Appeals Court in Thailand has granted the extradition of Viktor Bout to the United States on charges of conspiring to sell weapons to a terrorist organization for use in killing Americans. We have always felt that the facts of the case, the relevant Thai law and the terms of our bilateral extradition treaty clearly supported the extradition of Mr. Bout on these charges."

Posted on 21 August, 2010 by Mathias Vermeulen

The Rest @ legallift

Atom is Shababab, Which is al Qaeda -Atom is al Qaeda

Security forces under the command of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in northern Somalia claimed to have defeated Shabaab and driven the al Qaeda-linked group from an area that has been described as the Tora Bora of East Africa.

Puntland forces launched the operation against Shabaab fighters under the command of Mohammed Said Atom in the Galgala Mountains region in late July.

"We have attacked their bases and chase them away," Puntland Security Minister Yusuf Ahmed Qeyr told Garowe two days ago. "Our forces are now in full control of the Galgala Mountains and the enemy suffered heavy casualties."

• Qeyr did not give an estimate of Shabaab casualties, but one commander claimed that the bodies of 11 terrorists were found, while three soldiers were killed.
• Another report claimed that "dozens" of Shabaab fighters were killed.
• Shabaab commander Atom has not been reported as killed or captured in the fighting.
• Local Puntland officials said Atom's bases in the mountainous region in the province of Sanaag are "like Tora Bora in Afghanistan," with cave complexes and training camps [see AFP report, Fears of a new Tora Bora in northern Somalia].
• In 2002, al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden battled against US Special Forces and Afghan militias in the Tora Bora mountain complex in Nangarhar in eastern Afghanistan.
  Atom denies links to Shabaab

Both Shabaab and Atom have denied that fighting in Puntland is related to the al Qaeda-linked group. "Al Shabaab is not connected to them [Atom's forces] and it's the local people in Galgala that are fighting against the Puntland government and PIS [Puntland's intelligence service]," Sheikh Ali Mohammed Rage, Shabaab's top spokesman, told Voice of America Somalia.

"There is no Al Shabaab involved," Atom said. "Themselves [Shabaab] are saying they are not involved."

But as Garowe reported,

• Atom and Rage provided nearly identical answers in coordinated statements to the press.
• Atom evaded direct questions on whether he was a member of Shabaab.
• He also echoed Shabaab talking points on the establishment of an Islamic state.
  

"We are Muslims and we wish to build an Islamic state and to remove the Ashahado la Dirir from Somalia," Atom told reporters. The Ashahado la Dirir is a phrase used by Shabaab and its predecessor, the Islamic Courts Union, to describe Somali and foreign enemies, Garowe reported.

UN links Atom to Shabaab

Earlier this year, the United Nations identifed Atom as "one of the principal suppliers of arms and ammunition for Al Shabaab operations in the Puntland region."

"Atom is aligned with Al Shabaab and may receive instructions from Al Shabaab leader Fu'aad Mohamed Khalaf," the UN report continued.

The UN linked Atom to the Feb. 5, 2008, bombing in Bosaso that killed 20 Ethiopian migrant workers and wounded more than 100. Shabaab has declared war on Ethiopia and has attacked Ethiopian troops and interests throughout the country.

• Shabaab has successfully carried out terror attacks in the relatively peaceful Somali north in the past. On Oct. 29, 2008, five Shabaab suicide bombers struck four compounds in Somaliland and Puntland, killing 28 and wounding scores.
• Three suicide car bombers struck the presidential palace, the UN Development Program compound, and the Ethiopian Consulate in the city of Hargeisa in Somaliland.
• In Bosaso, two bombers targeted an intelligence facility.
• On July 11 of this year, Shabaab carried out its first suicide attack outside Somalia, when two bombers detonated at restaurants in Kampala, Uganda, as soccer fans watched the World Cup.
• In that attack, 74 civilians were killed and more than 60 were wounded.

The Shabaab cell that carried out the Kampala attack is called the Saleh Ali Nabhan Brigade, which is named after the slain al Qaeda leader who also served as a senior Shabaab leader.

Nabhan was one of the most sought out al Qaeda operatives in Africa. He was wanted for involvement in the 1998 suicide attacks against US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Shabaab's top leadership positions are dominated by foreign commanders, according to an intelligence assessment by the African Union Mission for Somalia. The foreign Shabaab commanders have trained in al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan or Pakistan, and many have entered Somalia over the past year to assume top leadership roles in Shabaab.

The al Qaeda commanders come from Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Sudan, and the United States.Read more:

The Rest @ The Long War Journal

Al Sabaab is Al Qaeda - Old but Reaffirmed News

This is not new news, but when one understands how Al Qaeda works, especially in Africa. Understand this:

There is no quibbling about the FACT that al Qaeda conducted the World Cup suicide bombings.

Al Shabaab IS al Qaeda in East Africa. Though al Shabaab leadership has a wide latitude of independant action, they are as much al Qaeda as any group outside Pakistan. Al Shabaab counts on al qaeda endorsment to get funding and the foreign fighter recruits which now make up the majority of its force.

Al Shabaab must replace Somali fighters because Somalia al Shabaab fighters s are largely fighting for Somalia, for "freedom" from the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

Al Shabaab is fighting to lead an Islamist revolution, starting in Somalia and spreading West until "all Africa becomes part of the next caliphate." There are Islamists not publicly carrying out Jihad.

Al Qaeda resources are directing foreign fighter recruits toward Somalia.

- Shimron Issachar

*********
Al Qaeda's senior leadership has advised Shabaab, its affiliate in Somalia, to downplay links between the two terror groups and suggested that future attacks be directed at US interests in East Africa.

"Al Qaeda's top leadership has instructed Shabaab to maintain a low profile on al Qaeda links," a senior US intelligence official who closely follows al Qaeda and Shabaab in East Africa told The Long War Journal. The official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, said the information was passed between the top leadership of both groups.


"Al Qaeda has accepted Shabaab into the fold and, and any additional statements would only serve to draw international scrutiny," the intelligence official said. "Al Qaeda is applying lessons learned from Iraq, that an overexposure of the links between al Qaeda central leadership and its affiliates can cause some unwanted attention."


Shabaab's double suicide attack in Uganda on July 11 was well received by al Qaeda's top
leadership, who want Shabaab to continue to hitting US interests in Africa.

"Al Qaeda is pleased with the double suicide attack in Uganda, but suggested Shabaab reserve future strikes at US interests in the region," the official said.


The July 11 double suicide attack in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, killed 74 civilians as they
watched the World Cup's final soccer match. The mastermind of the Kampala attacks, Isah Ahmed Luyima, said he executed the bombings with the intent of maximizing US deaths.

"I targeted places where many Americans go," Luyima said in a press conference hosted by Ugandan police on Aug. 12. "I was made to believe that Americans were responsible for the suffering of Muslims all over the world."

The Shabaab cell that carried out the Uganda attack called itself the Saleh Ali Nabhan Brigade.
Saleh Ali Slaeh Nabhan was a top al Qaeda and Shabaab leader who has been indicted by the US for his involvement in the 1998 bombings at the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Nabhan was indicted with several top al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri. Nabhan served as Shabaab's top military commander before US special operations forces killed him in a raid in southern Somalia in September 2009.


Evidence of Shabaab's attempts to minimize its regional reach could recently be seen in Somalia's north after Shabaab commander Mohammed Said Atom and Shabaab both downplayed any ties after security forces attacked terror training camps operated by Atom in the Galgala Mountains in late July.

Shabaab's links to al Qaeda

Al Qaeda has praised Shabaab and its predecessor, the Islamic Courts Union, for years prior to accepting Shabaab into the fold. For years al Qaeda has helped produced propaganda for the Islamic Courts and Shabaab and has addressed the group in its own propaganda tapes. Osama bin Laden endorsed the Islamic Courts during a speech back in 2006.

"We will continue, God willing, to fight you and your allies everywhere, in Iraq and Afghanistan and in Somalia and Sudan until we waste all your money and kill your men and you will return to your country in defeat as we defeated you before in Somalia," bin Laden said. Al Qaeda leaders Ayman al Zawahiri and Abu Yahya al Libi have also directly addressed Shabaab and voiced their support for the terror group's activities.

During the summer of 2008, Shabaab sought to formally join al Qaeda. By the end of that year, al Qaeda had accepted Shabaab as its official affiliate in East Africa.

Shabaab's former spokesman and top military commander, Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, admitted that many Shabaab leaders have trained with and take instruction from al Qaeda. "Most of our leaders were trained in Al Qaeda camps," Robow told The Los Angeles Times in August 2008. "We get our tactics and guidelines from them," he continued. "Many have spent time with Osama bin Laden." Other Shabaab leaders have also admitted to links with al Qaeda.

"We will take our orders from Sheikh Osama bin Laden because we are his students," Robow continued. "Al Qaeda is the mother of the holy war in Somalia."

In September of 2008, Shabaab formally reached out to al Qaeda's senior leadership in an effort to better integrate with the network and its strategic nodes across Africa and the Middle East. The effort came in the form of a 24-minute video that featured Nabhan.

In the tape, Nabhan declared an oath of bayat (loyalty) on behalf of Shabaab to bin Laden and al Qaeda and encouraged fighters to train in Shabaab-run camps and participate in the fight against the transitional federal government, Ethiopian forces, and African Union peacekeepers.

The response to Shabaab's declaration came two months later, on Nov. 19, 2008, when al Qaeda operations chief Ayman al-Zawahiri acknowledged the group in a propaganda video by calling them "my brothers, the lions of Islam in Somalia."


"[R]ejoice in victory and conquest," Zawahiri said in an official transcript acquired by The Long War Journal, "and hold tightly to the truth for which you have given your lives, and don't put down your weapons before the Mujahid state of Islam and Tawheed [oneness with god] has been set up in Somalia."

Most of Shabaab's top leaders are foreign al Qaeda operatives. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, who also was indicted for his involvement in the 1998 attacks in Kenya and Tanzania, served as Shabaab's top intelligence official before replacing Nabhan as Shabaab's top military leader. Al Qaeda also appointed Fazul as its operations chief for East Africa.

Shaykh Muhammad Abu Fa'id, a Saudi citizen, serves as a top financier and a "manager" for Shabaab. Abu Musa Mombasa, a Pakistani citizen, serves as Shabaab's chief of security and training. Mahmud Mujajir, a Sudanese citizen, is Shabaab's chief of recruitment for suicide bombers. Abu Mansour al Amriki, a US citizen, serves as a military commander, recruiter, financier, and propagandist.

The Rest @ Longwar Journal with a nod to Thoughts of a Technocrat