U.S. Hunts al Qaeda in Somalia - Richard Miniter (has details)

PajamasMedia ^ | 1-8-07 | RichardMiniter

[STARWISE]

Spotted by Predator drone aircraft and sprayed with high-calibre bullets by an U.S. Air Force AC-130 gunship, the U.S. military is hunting al Qaeda operatives in the southern toe of Somalia, according to CBS News.

Special Forces Command (or SOCOM) has yet to confirm that the terrorists responsible for the August 7, 1998 embassy bombings—which killed 12 American diplomats and some 211 Africans—were slain in today’s strike.

If the gunship’s rounds were on target, it is a major setback for al Qaeda in Africa. Following last year’s sweep by the Kenyans and activities in the Coromos Islands (off the coast of Kenya and Somalia), combined with efforts by the Algerians, Moroccans, Ethiopians, and (yes) Sudanese, the terrorist network is now under major pressure. It will be hard for al Qaeda to find a battle-hardened veteran to command its combat operations or a seasoned financier to move its money. Yes, they will find someone. But not all “leaders” are of equal skill and terrorist cells are sensitive to the quality of their leadership.

This air strike is also a helpful reminder to people who were worried that Iraq was a distraction from the war on terror. Special Forces Command is operating in some 55 countries against al Qaeda right now, a senior defense official told me recently.

Only the media, not the military, has been distracted.

The strike also highlights a development which largely escaped the notice of Congress and the public: Africa is becoming a major battleground in the war on terror, especially the sahel, a dry band that south of the Sahara that stretches from the Erg Iguidi of Mauritania, across Mali,Niger,Chad, Sudan, Egypt, Eritrea, to Somalia’s litter-strewn shores. Sahel is Arabic for margin and the region has long been at the margin of Western thinking.

But not so for the radical Salafis. Wahabbi missionaries have canvassed this dry belt for almost two decades, transforming the Islamic practice of the region and sending record numbers of its residents on pilgrimage to Mecca. Al Qaeda, its allies and affiliates, have not been far behind.

Covert and overt activities in the Sahel have been on rise since 2003. This is why one of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s last acts from to create America’s first-ever Africa Command (or AFRICOM in military speak). Previously African operations, such as a 2003 air strike on an al Qaeda ally in Northern Chad, were run out of European Command, or EUCOM.

This air strike is the shape of things to come.

UPDATE: In about one hour, a cabinet member of the new Somalia government will arrive at my house. I will let you know what the permanent secretary for international cooperation (and former chief of staff to Somalia’s president) has to add to this developing story.

SECOND UPDATE: Dahir Jibreel came by in the company of Pajamas correspondent Daveed Gartenstein-Ross. Here are some quick notes from our four-hour conversation. Daveed will follow with a longer, more in-depth piece shortly.

Yesterday’s AC-130 strike was not the first time that American fixed-wing aircraft have swooped down over Somalia to deliver death blows to al Qaeda-allied Islamic Courts Union. Jibreel, speaking for the government of Somalia, confirmed that the U.S. planes and helicopters “flying anonymously” having been striking targets since the start of the Ethiopian surge against the ICU last month.

Indeed, Jabreel said, the U.S. and Ethiopia seemed to have been planning the military incursion for several months. He said that he saw U.S. military planes and soldiers at Wajer, a strategic air strip in Kenya, some 45 days before the Ethiopians launched their headline-making offensive.

CIA and senior military commanders from the U.S. Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (JTF-HOA) met with the Transitional Federal Government president more than two months ago to lay out a campaign to crush the ICU, Jabreel said.

In addition, General Abizaid met with the Somalian president in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Adaba, in December.

U.S. officials, including senior CIA and military officers, met to review the campaign’s progress with Somalia’s president five days ago in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.

And this is a real scoop: Operating on the ground in Somalia, Jabreel added, U.S. special forces and CIA paramilitary officers helped aircraft pinpoint targets.

The U.S. forces are based in Camp Lemonier in the former French colony of Djibouti, a tiny Muslim nation perched on the Red Sea.

The Somalia official also believes that the U.S. may use fighters to strike the last ICU-al Qaeda stronghold—reducing the possibility of the ICU launching an insurgent campaign.

[STARWISE]

He really digs and gets a lot of good info. I'm trying to figure out (with the comment about the govt. official from Somalia coming by) if he's actually IN Somalia.

[STARWISE]

More detailed info .. as we suspected, we've been 'on the job' for awhile. God bless our troops!

[Valin]

Yesterday’s AC-130 strike was not the first time that American fixed-wing aircraft have swooped down over Somalia to deliver death blows to al Qaeda-allied Islamic Courts Union. Jibreel, speaking for the government of Somalia, confirmed that the U.S. planes and helicopters “flying anonymously” having been striking targets since the start of the Ethiopian surge against the ICU last month.

The Iceberg war. 90% of it is below the surface.

[Valin]

Shameless Plug
Al Qaeda member thought killed in Somalia
Khaleej Times / Reuters ^ | 1/10/07
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1765090/posts

___________________________________

Ethiopian PM: Islamists from Britain, Canada captured, hurt in Somalia
Victoria Times Colonist ^ | 1/9/07
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1765102/posts

/Shameless Plug

[STARWISE]

Somalia details PING!

[CyberAnt]

PAYBACK .. NOTHIN' BETTER THAN PAYBACK TO THAT DISGUSTING SCUM.

[piasa]

MAY 1998 : (OSAMA BIN LADEN IS INTERVIEWED BY ABC REPORTER JOHN MILLER; COMMENTS UPON HOW AMERICAN WEAKNESS ENCOURAGED HIS MEN IN SOMALIA & REMARKS ON IRAQ, CLINTON)  In the first part of this interview which occurred in May 1998, a little over two months before the U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, Osama bin Laden answers questions posed to him by some of his followers at his mountaintop camp in southern Afghanistan. In the latter part of the interview, ABC reporter John Miller is asking the questions.

Miller : "Describe the situation when your men took down the American forces in Somalia. "

Osama bin Laden : "After our victory in Afghanistan and the defeat of the oppressors who had killed millions of Muslims, the legend about the invincibility of the superpowers vanished. Our boys no longer viewed America as a superpower. So, when they left Afghanistan, they went to Somalia and prepared themselves carefully for a long war.
They had thought that the Americans were like the Russians, so they trained and prepared. They were stunned when they discovered how low was the morale of the American soldier.
America had entered with 30,000 soldiers in addition to thousands of soldiers from different countries in the world. As I said, our boys were shocked by the low morale of the American soldier and they realized that the American soldier was just a paper tiger. He was unable to endure the strikes that were dealt to his army, so he fled, and America had to stop all its bragging and all that noise it was making in the press after the Gulf War in which it destroyed the infrastructure and the milk and dairy industry that was vital for the infants and the children and the civilians and blew up dams which were necessary for the crops people grew to feed their families.
Proud of this destruction, America assumed the titles of world leader and master of the new world order.
After a few blows, it forgot all about those titles and rushed out of Somalia in shame and disgrace, dragging the bodies of its soldiers. America stopped calling itself world leader and master of the new world order, and its politicians realized that those titles were too big for them and that they were unworthy of them.
I was in Sudan when this happened. I was very happy to learn of that great defeat that America suffered, so was every Muslim...."

Miller : "The American people, by and large, do not know the name bin Laden, but they soon likely will. Do you have a message for the American people?"

Osama bin Laden : "I say to them that they have put themselves at the mercy of a disloyal government, and this is most evident in Clinton's administration...."

- (Source: via Mia T of FreeRepublic, thanks)

[Prost1]

And I thought DEBKA would be the 1st with the inside analysis...

Suprise.

[nutmeg]

ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.

[nutmeg]

Somalia details PING!

[Polybius]

Only the media, not the military, has been distracted.

The liberal news media is not distracted.

This afternoon, NPR focused on civilian casualties in Somalia and condemnations of the U.S. air strike.

The liberal news media is the de facto propaganda ministry of America's enemies.

[Valin]

They were stunned when they discovered how low was the morale of the American soldier.

The Dogs of War - Lessons of the 20th Century.

By Victor Davis Hanson,

http://www.modernwarrior.com/dogsofwar.htm
(snip)

Do they have any idea of what sort of dangerous people we really are? Do they understand the history of the names of those ships now off their coasts, like the USS Peleliu or Enterprise, or the pedigree of the 82nd or 101st Airborne?
(snip)

[STARWISE]

We could write their reports, couldn't we? They're so damn
anti-American and predictable. What happened to the wedding party?

[Valin]

This afternoon, NPR focused on civilian casualties in Somalia and condemnations of the U.S. air strike.

WOW! never saw that one coming. I'm SHOCKED. But then I am so easily shocked being so young and naive.

[STARWISE]

Just sickens ya every time you think about what that piece of dirt has, is and will cost US for decades.

[STARWISE]

1/9/2007 HAWKEYE A plane director moves an E-2C Hawkeye, assigned to the “Tigertails” of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 125, into launch position aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jan. 8, 2007. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman David Danals

More U.S. ships are moving in to the waters off Somalia to reinforce the maritime interdiction effort there, said U.S. 5th Fleet officials. “Due to rapidly developing events in Somalia, U.S. Central Command has tasked USS Dwight D. Eisenhower to join USS Bunker Hill, USS Anzio and USS Ashland to support ongoing maritime security operations off the coast of Somalia,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Brown, a spokesman for 5th Fleet in Bahrain.

The ships will stop vessels and search them for al Qaeda terrorists attempting to escape from Somalia, officials said."

[T'wit]

Nothing like putting a horrendous dangling modifier into the very first line, Rich. I'm going to tell Stan on you.

[STARWISE]

Oh yeah, we're definitely on the job off the coast of Somalia

A plane captain signals the pilot to check the flaps of an F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the “Jolly Rogers” of Strike Fighter Squadron One Zero Three (VFA-103) aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). Eisenhower and embarked Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7) are on a regularly scheduled deployment in support of Maritime Security Operations (MSO). MSO help set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment, as well as complement the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations. These operations deny international terrorists use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman David Danals

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Area of Responsibility (Jan. 8, 2007) — Sailors on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) prepare to launch an F/A-18F Super Hornet from the flight deck. Eisenhower and embarked Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7) are on a regularly scheduled deployment in support of Maritime Security Operations (MSO). MSO help set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment, as well as complement the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations. These operations deny international terrorists use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Clarence McCloud

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Area of Responsibility (Jan. 8, 2007) – An F/A-18C Hornet assigned to the “Wildcats” of Strike Fighter Squadron One Three One (VFA-131) lands aboard the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). Eisenhower and embarked Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7) are on a regularly scheduled deployment in support of Maritime Security Operations (MSO). MSO help set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment, as well as complement the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations. These operations deny international terrorists use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Adrian J. Escobar

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

God bless our courageous President and Commander in Chief and awesome troops!

[El Gran Salseron]

"we've been 'on the job' for awhile."

And boots on the ground. :-)

[radu]

A loud and rowdy WOOHOO for our troops!
The war on terror is being fought on many fronts, though some here in the States seem unaware of it. But many more of us follow the news closely and ARE aware, and are proud of all our troops. They're making a difference and for that, we are grateful.