Top Stories May 2, 2011

Osama bin Laden is dead. 
I think that's enough of a story for today.  Below are direct links to coverage of this story:

ArabNews (Saudi)
Lebanon Daily Star
Haaretz (Israel)
Turkish Daily News
Times of Oman

UK-Yemen Plot

A man who worked for British Airways was arrested last year for terrorism and recently convicted.  The government just finished decrypting his e-mails, which contained correspondence with Anwar Al-Awlaki.  Apparently Al-Awlaki wanted to get a person or package on board a plane heading for the United States.  This is from e-mails in February of 2010, months before the AQAP bombs found in late October of 2010.  Unfortunately, it took nine months to decrypt all of these e-mails. 

Al-Qa'eda in Gaza?

Israel is claiming that Al-Qa'eda has operatives working in the Gaza Strip.  The Prime Minister for the Hamas government there is denying the allegations, and says Israel is making it up so that they have an excuse for attacking.

I'm not sure what to make of this.  The US considers Hamas a terrorist organization, but that does not necessarily mean they would get along well with Al-Qa'eda, which has its own agenda.  But on the other hand, if Al-Qa'eda offered to help them, perhaps they would agree to it.  And yes, it is entirely possible that Israel is looking for an excuse to invade Gaza (again).  We'll have to wait and see what happens next.

AQAP Bomb Found in Dubai

A cargo shipment from Yemen, headed to the US was discovered to contain explosives.  The warehouse for that agency also had explosives.  Another package was discovered in England. 

Both were sent from the same address in Yemen to Jewish organizations in Chicago, U.S. officials said.

The Yemen branch known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has since become a leading source of terrorist propaganda and recruiting. Authorities believe about 300 al-Qaida members or cells operate in Yemen.

YemenWatch: Yemen vs. Al-Qa'eda

I've decided to keep a closer eye on Yemen, because of the deteriorating situation there.  The Yemeni military is having major problems in Abyan province.  People are evacuating some towns and the government is using airstrikes against AQAP (al-Qa'eda Arabian Peninsula).  This is a really good article (in the Yemen Times) detailing what has been happening Abyan:

“We are engaged in what amounts to a guerrilla war with Al-Qaeda,” the deputy head of security in  the Abyan province town of Mawdia, Colonel Mohamed al-Khodr told AFP on Tuesday.

and

President Saleh blamed third world countries’ media and accused them of “blowing out of proportion” events in Yemen, which he termed as “rare and carried out by limited terrorist cells.” He added, “we know about them and our security is hunting them down as we speak.”

I do not believe that we are all blowing things out of proportion.  Several Yemeni officials have been assassinated, and a British diplomat was attacked too.  Yemen is in trouble, and Saleh is trying to hang on to his control.  If things continue this way, President Saleh is in danger of becoming like President Karzai of Afghanistan (the Mayor of Kabul) - he'll be the Mayor of Sana'a.  Yahoo! also has information about the situation.  So far, I have seen very little about this in the US media, I'm not sure why.  Even the BBC News website had nothing on their main Middle East page.

For all of the people out there who don't care what happens in Yemen, or don't see the danger: one of my friends pointed out that the African pirates operate in the Gulf of Aden, the waters around Yemen.  So imagine al-Qa'eda operatives working with Somali pirates, and then tell me that Yemen doesn't matter.

Yemen fights Al-Qa'eda Update V

If this keeps up, I may have to start some kind of YemenWatch section.

Nice article from Yahoo! about the politics of Yemen and the current problems with AQAP, including information on al-Awlaki.

In News of the Weird:  a Guantanamo inmate from Saudi Arabia went through their anti-jihadi program, then joined AQAP in Yemen, and now has apparently turned himself back in to the authorities.  WTF??? 

Oh, yeah.  And don't travel to Yemen right now.  I'd put it on my travel watch list, but I don't have one.

Very good book, but a little dry.

Yemen fights Al-Qa'eda Update III

Or maybe this one should be titled "Al-Qa'eda fights Yemen."  A British diplomat's convoy was attacked, and another attack killed a French oil worker.  This is all bad news for Yemen.  According to the Yemen Times, the tourist industry there has lost about $10 billion.  Yemen has some beautiful countryside, and several areas on the United Nations World Heritage list, but it's hard to get tourists to visit them when they could be killed by al-Qa'eda militants.

It's really a shame.  Yemen is the poorest country on the Arabian peninsula, because they don't have huge oil reserves like most of the other nations.  They also get African refugees, and their waters are part of the area where you hear about pirates off the coast of Africa.  It's because of all of this that al-Qa'eda has managed to get a major foothold here.  The US is sending money and training to the Yemeni troops, but more needs to be done.  The country has enough political problems because of the tribes; it can't handle terrorism too.

Yemen fights Al-Qa'eda Update II

The governor of Shabwa province was ambushed by al-Qa'eda.  He wasn't injured, but a soldier guarding his convoy was killed.  If you remember, Shabwa province was where the big shootout was (link1, link2).

Yemen fights Al-Qa'eda Update I

I missed this, but apparently last week al-Qa'eda in Yemen attacked a natural gas pipeline.  That's what set off the whole battle in Shabwa province, which just ended.  According to tribal chiefs, they negotiated to get the terrorists out of the town, although the military says the terrorists fled.  The Yemeni troops have been getting training from US special forces, and should be improving.

Yemen fights Al-Qa'eda

Yemeni troops are fighting al-Qa'eda in the village of Hawta in the southern province of Shabwa.  They are trying to destroy a 120-man cell there.  I wish them good luck. Yemen is at the forefront in the fight against al-Qa'eda.  Al-Qa'eda has been trying to make Yemen its main base on the Arabian Peninsula and has been somewhat successful.

Japanese Tanker Attacked

It's almost official - the tanker was hit by a dinghy filled with explosives, according to the UAE. Some American analysts aren't convinced yet. An Al-Qa'eda group - the Abdullah Azzam Brigades - has claimed responsibility. This is bad news. This is the first time a tanker has been attacked in the Persian/Arabian Gulf. Apparently it happened when the tanker entered the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is the little area between the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman (next to the Indian Ocean). One side is Iran, the other side is UAE/Oman.

Why is this so bad? Because Iran was not involved in the attack. And the US State Dept considers Oman the safest country in the Middle East. So is this a UAE-based group? Or part of a Saudi group, which is nearby? Al-Qa'eda has a big presence in Yemen now, and attacks there are not unexpected. Apparently the Abdullah Azzam Brigades has claimed responsibility for other attacks over the last few years too. So are they the new kid on the terrorist block?

More Flotilla News

Here's Juan Cole's post on the Libyan ship that changed course to Gaza, and a post about how Turkey is still upset about the original flotilla attack.

A French judge, currently working on the financial side of counter-terrorism says that he found out the IHH was a terrorist organization in 1996 (IHH is the Turkish group that sponsored the flotilla that was attacked). The same judge says he has investigated and Hamas has no ties to al-Qa'eda.

So far, there really hasn't been much going on with the flotillas. I haven't been able to decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, nobody has been hurt. But on the other hand, this entire thing could die down and everybody may forget about Gaza (again).

Yemen Roundup

Alright, let's do a Yemen roundup, since they've really made the news this week.

An American-Yemeni cleric who is probably part of al-Qa'eda has called for Muslims to kill Americans around the world. He also has links to the Fort Hood shooter, and the underwear bomber.

The deputy governor of Maarib province was trying to get an al-Qa'eda member to surrender. Unfortunately, he was accidentally killed by the Yemeni army, who was trying to bomb the militant. The local tribes were really upset about the deputy governor, so they blew up an oil pipeline.

The Yemeni government is helping UNICEF and others in their push to keep young girls in school. In some areas, young girls quit school early to work, so that their brothers can continue to get an education. Since one of the primary ways to get children educated is to have an educated mother, this is a very big deal. If you educate a man, you generally have one person educated. But if you educate a woman, who is staying at home raising children, then she in turn begins to educate the children. And it shows girls that they are worth an education because their mother has one.

Terror in the UAE?

The United Arab Emirates is a very rich country, and somewhat modern. So far they've managed to avoid terror attacks at home. Now the British government is warning its citizens that they may be at risk. Frankly, I have wondered in the past why attacks take place in certain areas. Yemen has an al-Qa'eda cell and gets attacks. The same for Saudi Arabia. When the US was attacked on 9/11, that was a "big message" from the terrorists. Dubai is a major symbol of modernity and wealth in the Arab world. So why hasn't it been attacked yet? Is it that difficult, or is some of the funding coming from there? I'm not a psychologist, but I would think that Bin Laden would see Dubai as a symbol of Western decadence, or something like that. Yet things seem to be peaceful over there. So is Dubai a ticking time-bomb or a source of terrorist funding?

The Stupidity is Painful

Let me state right up front that this is a rant. The stupidity of the Bush regime is really driving me nuts. First of all, there's the whole "Al-Qa'eda - Iraq link." Yes, al-Qaeda is in Iraq. . . now. They were not affiliated with Saddam Hussein though. Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein were enemies. I am sick and tired of hearing "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" from Republicans trying to link Bin Laden and Saddam. Saddam Hussein was SECULAR, Bin Laden is RELIGIOUS. Bin Laden wanted to destroy Saddam. And if you still think bin Laden would join up with his enemy, would he really join up with one in his own backyard? If he wanted help he would not turn to Saddam, he'd turn to people in Saudi Arabia [hmmm: weren't most of the 9-11 hijackers from there?].
Number Two: What is up with building a new US Embassy in south Beirut in Hizballah territory? Even the US ambassador there thinks it's stupid. So why do it? Well, the paranoid crazy side of my brain says it's a good excuse to start some shit. You know - a sort of "if you build it, they will bomb." [I like that - I should trademark it.] If the US builds this embassy, it's in the perfect place to get hit, and that would be a good excuse to bomb the shit out of the area or even invite the Israelis to help out. Color me cynical and paranoid, but I live in Bush's America.