Free Republic

Editor's note: Below is Thomas Joscelyn's testimony to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, on al Qaeda, the nature of the group's central command and its relationship with its affiliates, and the future challenges the West faces in battling the terror organization. Chairman Poe, Ranking Member Sherman and members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today to discuss the threat posed by al Qaeda. We have been asked to "examine the nature of global al Qaeda today." In particular, you asked us to answer the following questions: "What is [al...

Islamist insurgents in Somalia have captured another town to the north of the capital, Mogadishu. Insurgents took control of Mahaday on Sunday after seizing the nearby town of Jowhar earlier in the day. Jowhar and Mahaday are located about 20 kilometers apart, roughly 100 kilometers north of the Somali capital, Mogadishu. The towns had been held by the Islamic Courts Union, an Islamist militia that backs Somalia's fragile government in its struggle with hard-line Islamist militias. The loss of the towns cuts off the government's link with central Somalia, where pro-government forces still control pockets of territory. The area is...

Ethiopia facing new famine with 4.5 million children in danger of starvation By Caroline Gammell Last Updated: 1:33PM BST 06/06/2008 Ethiopia is facing a new famine as drought and rising food prices threaten starvation for 4.5 million children, aid agencies warned. Children under five are worst affected with more than 75,000 suffering from severe malnutrition and in need of urgent care, according to Unicef. An estimated 3.4 million Ethiopians will need emergency food aid over the next three months while nearly double that figure are at risk of malnutrition. The World Food Programme estimates that £75 million is needed to...

The Ethiopian authorities have pardoned at least 31 opposition members detained after post-election violence in 2005. They were jailed along with 38 senior figures - who were freed last month - from the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD). All the freed CUD members and supporters signed a letter of pardon acknowledging a role in the disorder after the polls two years ago. Ethiopia provoked an international outcry after it jailed the CUD figures. Two senior CUD leaders, Hailu Shawel and Berhanu Nega, were sentenced to life in jail and then released last month. The CUD accused the government...

Israeli minister in Ethiopian racism row By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem Last Updated: 1:42am BST 03/08/2007 Israel's interior minister faces accusations of racism after he suggested suspending the policy of allowing Ethiopians with Jewish ancestry to move to the country. While rabbinical authorities judge the so-called Falash Mura to be sufficiently Jewish to qualify for Israeli citizenship, Meir Sheetrit said they were not really Jewish and had been let in only because of "political correctness". In remarks that incensed the large Falasha community already in Israel, he implied that Ethiopians were fleecing the state by leaving the economic hardship of...

British 'may be among dead in Somalia' By Mike Pflanz in Nairobi Last Updated: 5:17pm GMT 09/01/2007 British passport holders may be among the "many" people killed in two US air attacks on suspected extremist positions in southern Somalia, it emerged today. Islamists have been driven from power in Somalia Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia's prime minister, said that his troops inside Somalia had detained many injured foreign fighters, some claiming to be British, since they began their offensive against the Islamists on Dec 24. Many other such fighters who had so far escaped may have been killed in yesterday's double air...

A teenage rape victim from Ethiopia has told a British newspaper she is the birth mother of ANGELINA JOLIE's adopted baby ZAHARA MARLEY and is delighted to see her offspring has been offered a better chance at life. MENTEWAB DAWIT, 18, tells The Sun newspaper she had no idea who had adopted her child, until the publication tracked her down in a town outside of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. After seeing a photo of Zahara, Dawit confirmed, "It's true. I am her mother. She's got my nose, my eyes, even my cheeks." Dawit was brutally raped by a stranger...

At least 70 people have died in a boat that drifted at sea for more than two weeks. The dead were among 120 Somalis and Ethiopians who left their coastal village aiming to seek jobs in Persian Gulf states. Their boat's engine failed, leaving them drifting in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia, survivors said. The 50 surviving passengers were given food and water after it beached two weeks later near Las Qorey, about 750 miles north of Mogadishu. But, a Las Qorey elder, Mohamed Abdi, said five people died after the boat landed. Most of...

A small hotel destroyed by a violent explosion in Addis Ababa Wednesday September 11, 2002 - 22h18 GMT Addis Ababa, 12 seven (AFP) - an explosion of unspecified origin destroyed Wednesday evening a small hotel in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, making several victims, according to testimonys' collected on the spot by the AFP. The explosion took place around 21H20 local (18H20 GMT) in a very animated district of the capital whereas the Ethiopian ones célèbraient their New year, indicated several witnesses. The police force established a vast perimeter of safety around the Tigray hotel, located close to the...

(Russian article with very confusing translation) It basically details the San Francisco Grand Jury trial involving the President of Ukraine going on right now regarding the sale of anti-stealth radar to Iraq. (through Ethopia)BBC reports that one of the batteries has been found in Ethopia with serial number attached, Russian factories quoted by Kiev paper say they didn't give it to Iraq but the newspaper also reveals Saddam paid 100 million for 3 anti stealth batteries worth about 15 million.(shipped to a country which has never needed to be protected against a Stealth Bomber) Grand Jury in California may bring...