Posted on 03/22/2011 9:08:53 AM PDT by Qbert
NIAMEY, Niger — Hidden among the curios and trinkets in Niger’s National Museum, a small, seemingly innocuous glass vial filled with thin metallic pellets is perched tenuously atop a wooden stand.
[Snip]
Niger’s uranium deposits, among the world’s largest, have drawn the attention of two very disparate groups. On one hand, international investors, led by the French state-owned energy giant Areva and joined more recently by the Chinese National Nuclear Corporation, have long coveted these reserves for use as nuclear fuel.
On the other hand, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, known as AQIM, which thrives in the vast and porous Sahara spreading across Northern Niger and its neighbors in the Sahel, has come to regard Western interests in the region, drawn by the lure of uranium, as an easy and readily accessible target.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has carried out a series of high-profile operations in Niger in the last six months that have left many here with the impression that the group can operate with virtual impunity...
[Snip]
The activity of AQIM has been noted by Niger's northern neighbor, Libya, where embattled dictator Muammar Gaddafi has tried to blame the group for the current revolt against his rule. While AQIM is not considered to be a significant part of the Libyan situation, experts are concerned about its growth in Niger.
[Snip]
Analysts worry that AQIM is becoming further emboldened with each attack. The group’s leader, Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, is known “to meticulously follow the spirit of, if not closely coordinate with, Al Qaeda’s senior leadership,” according to Jarrett Brachman, author of "Global Jihadism: Theory and Practice."...
[Snip]
AQIM’s exact motives, murky at first, became clearer following a subsequent statement by Abdul Wadud demanding France’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
(Excerpt) Read more at globalpost.com ...
Al Qaeda seems to be gaining ground in a whole bunch of countries currently. But the media seems to think nothing is going on.
Or they simply don’t care because it would damage their hero’s reputation.
I beginning to wonder if al-Qaeda played a much bigger- but largely hidden- role in all the uprisings this year than anyone realized. It’s so difficult to track the funding sources (especially when nobody’s really doing it anymore...).
Oh come on they couldn’t possibly wanting to get their hands on that NONEXISTENT YELLOW CAKE could they? /S
Valerie Plame will end this story really soon.
Has obummer put the missiles on the bombers yet???
Fascinating. Niger is just south of Libya, and Kadaffi has developed close ties with them, and with the desert Touaregs who live between their two countries.
Many of the Touaregs who were given jobs and water development by Kadaffi have been fleeing back to Niger because the civil war there has deprived them of a means to live. But Niger can’t really afford to feed them, either.
This is what happens when you fight a war (Afghanistan) and do not crush your enemy swiftly, utterly, and completely.
So yeah, I blame Bush II. Absolutely no sarcasm intended.
Interesting.
Apparently, he also recruited a number of them as mercenaries to attempt to quash the rebellion:
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