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Ethiopia: al-Qaida Operating in Somalia
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-ethiopia-somalia,1,1235371.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Ethiopia's prime minister said Thursday he believes it is common knowledge that an al-Qaida terror cell is operating in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, and that only a stable central government can end the chaos in the Horn of Africa country and eliminate terrorist threats.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said his government supported the transitional Somali government that was formed in neighboring Kenya last year and would do everything possible to help that government take power. He said, though, he would only send troops to Somalia in self defense, since it is up to Somalis themselves to install the first effective central government in 14 years.

"Wherever there is distress, wherever there is acute poverty, social dislocation, the potential for a terrorist state exists," Meles said. "We have a very active terrorist cell in Mogadishu, which has been involved in terrorist activities in Kenya."

Kenya was the site of two major terrorist attacks. A car bomb destroyed the U.S. Embassy in 1998, and a car bomb was detonated outside of a hotel on the Indian Ocean coast in 2002. The masterminds of both attacks reportedly fled to Somalia, though most Somalis reject that claim.

Somalia has been without a central government since clan-based warlords overthrew the dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Warlords then turned on each other, plunging the nation of 7 million into anarchy. An estimated 10,500 armed fighters operate in Mogadishu.

The African Union Peace and Security Council, also based in Addis Ababa, met Thursday to discuss plans to send troops to Somalia to guarantee the safety of the government-in-exile, which was formed after two years of peace talks in Kenya.

The international community needs to be more proactive in helping the Somali government establish itself, African Union Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare told the meeting.

"Should the international community fail to act decisively to sustain the gains of the reconciliation process, there is a risk that the effort thus far deployed will be put to waste," said Konare.

Meles told AP the new government stood the best chance of shutting down the terror cell in Somalia.

"We have offered to help," Meles said. "Should the process collapse -- we very much hope it doesn't but if it does -- we plan to protect ourselves, not sort out the mess in Somalia."

In an African Union report obtained by AP, officials proposed that a 1,700-strong peacekeeping force go to Somalia two weeks ahead of the government's return to the country, and stay for nine months to protect the government, secure supply routes and carry out reconnaissance missions.

The report, which is being discussed at the African Union Peace and Security Council meeting, says the force will be composed equally of troops from Uganda and Sudan and will cost $100 million.

Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi told journalists his government will relocate to Somalia by month's end and the proposed peacekeeping force will join them there.

"We think we can bring stabilization to Somalia and pacification within nine months," Gedi said.

9/11 plotters: Libbi is in, will Osama be next?
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main12.asp?filename=Ne052105_9_11_plotters.asp

The high-profile arrest of al Qaeda’s chief operational commander, Abu Faraj Al-Libbi, in Pakistan on May 3, 2005 was the result of a tip-off on his hideout delivered personally by American Central Command chief General John Abizaid to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf during a one-on-one meeting in Islamabad.

Washington and Islamabad had announced rewards of US $5 million and Rs 20 million, respectively for information leading up to Libbi’s arrest. His capture has already triggered speculation that he can provide crucial leads and revive American efforts to hunt down Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri.

As Khalid Sheikh Mohammad’s top deputy, Libbi is believed to have played an important role in organising the 9/11 attacks. He operated out of the tribal areas of western Pakistan, like bin Laden and Zawahiri, who, intelligence officials believe, are hiding in the troubled Waziristan region of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan.

A Libyan national, Libbi’s importance came to light when it was known that he had masterminded two abortive bids on General Musharraf in Rawalpindi in 2003.

Libbi’s arrest is the most significant blow to the Osama-led terror network as he is considered one of the few al Qaeda leaders who could possibly know the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri.

He was arrested from Mardan — the second largest city in the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) bordering Afghanistan. Intelligence sleuths who caught Libbi were acting on the tip from General Abizaid who paid a surprise visit to Pakistan on the morning of May 3, 2005 and conveyed the information to Musharraf. Several hours later, Libbi was nabbed.

The FBI had spotted Libbi by tracking his satellite phone. Despite a fierce gunfight, it was reported that the authorities could catch Libbi with such ease due to the militant’s skin disorder. Reports said Libbi looked more like a businessman with his trimmed beard and smart collar and tie when his picture first featured on a Pakistani most wanted poster last year. But it was a very different face in the first photograph after his capture.

Apart from the beard, the blotches on the face caused by leucoderma, or vitiligo, the condition suffered by pop star Michael Jackson gave him away. “It was easy for us to immediately recognise him because he is suffering from this peculiar skin disease and it was not difficult to know that ‘yes, we’ve got Libbi’,” a government minister said. When he first came to prominence in Pakistan during interrogations after the attempts on Musharraf, intelligence agencies only knew him as Dr Taufeeq.

Senior US and Pakistani intelligence officials are interrogating him at an undisclosed location, but Libbi hasn’t said anything worthwhile yet.

Some highly-placed Pakistani sources say it is not yet clear that Libbi would know Osama’s whereabouts, or those of Ayman Al-Zawahiri. But they do expect to glean important clues about al Qaeda’s future operations in the region.

“We expect invaluable information from his interrogation. We may find further clues to strike further blows to the al Qaeda network. He is also being interrogated about his links with sleeper cells in Pakistan or abroad. He can speak Urdu and Arabic, so he was kind of a bridge between local militants and foreign militants.” The official added, “He is believed to be an expert in drawing maps and diagrams and his arrest could badly damage any links between the various tiers of al Qaeda.”

However, officials close to those questioning Libbi doubt the Pakistan government’s claims that the interrogation process was proceeding well. They said that Libbi has so far defied efforts to make him reveal information about al Qaeda’s senior hierarchy, despite physical pressure.

A senior Pakistani intelligence official said while requesting anonymity: “The arrested al Qaeda leader (Abu Faraj Al-Libbi) has not yet revealed anything solid that could lead to the high-value targets. The interrogators have used all possible methods, from the third degree to injecting him with a truth serum but it seems hard to break him. But it is too early to judge whether he is a hard nut to crack or simply that he doesn’t know more than he has told us.”

Three days after Libbi’s arrest, 18 more members of the outfit were arrested from different parts of NWFP.

Asked about the significance of Libbi’s arrest, Pakistani intelligence sources said the detained al Qaeda leader has long worked with Osama, and had taken over the No 3 slot following the capture of his mentor Khalid Sheikh Mohammad in March 2003.

“Libbi happens to be the in charge of all al Qaeda operations in the US and Britain, and knows at least the general whereabouts of Osama. He was not only the senior player in Pakistan but was also the connecting link between al Qaeda’s old guard and the new generation of terrorists. Previously the director of al Qaeda’s North African operations, he has played an important role in organising the 9/11 attacks as the top deputy of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad. He was the mastermind of the December 14 and 25, 2003 failed assassination attempts against General Musharraf in Rawalpindi,” sources added.

Intelligence sources say Libbi had been on the run for over three and a half years in Afghanistan, Waziristan and many other places after the fall of the Taliban regime and his choices of hideouts had become limited. He had reportedly moved to Mardan recently after deserting his Waziristan hideout that had become risky after the Pakistan Army launched a military operation. Libbi’s first field operation was the assassination of the most trusted US ally in its war on terror — General Musharraf.

The mission obviously involved selection of the right people and the arrangement of finances to carry out the operation. He was given the task due to his proven abilities and connections among Pakistani jehadis and members of the armed forces, some of whom participated in the two attempts on Musharraf. Sources say Libbi was not only the mastermind but also planted a bomb in one of the explosive-laden cars used. Following these attempts, Libbi was tracked to the South Waziristan tribal area, followed by tips that he had moved to NWFP, from where he was finally captured.