The Supreme Court has just ruled that four Guantanamo prisoners cannot sue the government for torture. The Center for Constitutional Rights notes:It is an awful day for the rule of law and common decency when the Supreme Court lets stand such an inhuma…
Posts Tagged ‘Qaida’
U.S.: Top al-Qaida leader killed in Pakistan
December 12th, 2009 |
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U.S. officials say a top al-Qaida leader has been killed in a drone attack in restive northwestern Pakistan. The officials did not identify the person killed, but they said it was not al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Can Nobel Prize Winner Obama At LEAST Stop the Torture?
December 11th, 2009 |
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On Thursday, President Obama said: We lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals that we fight to defend.Presumably, complying with American and international law are some of the ideals that we fight to defend.Torture is a violation of both inte…
MI5 ‘recruited al-Qaida sympathisers’
August 1st, 2009 |
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Senior Tory says six men were thrown out of security service amid ‘serious concerns’ and demands investigation
A senior Tory MP today called for an investigation into whether MI5 mistakenly recruited al-Qaida sympathisers.
Patrick Mercer, the chairman of the counter-terrorism subcommittee, said six Muslim recruits had been thrown out of the service because of serious concerns over their pasts.
The MP said he was writing to the home secretary, Alan Johnson, to call for an investigation into the matter.
Two of the six men allegedly attended al-Qaida training camps in Pakistan while the others had unexplained gaps of up to three months in their CVs.
Mercer told the Telegraph that the September 11 2001 terror attacks on the US should have prompted the British government to expand the security services, but this did not happen until the bombings on London’s transport network on 7 July 2005.
“It took an attack on this country for such measures to be started,” he said.
“But at this point it was an unseemly rush of which our enemies, not unsurprisingly, took advantage.”
Mercer added that he was concerned al-Qaida sympathisers who may have infiltrated the security services had not all yet been rooted out.
He said the two recruits who had allegedly been to training camps were not dismissed until after they had been given several weeks of training at MI5, but the others were identified before they started training.
A Home Office spokesman later said: “MI5 takes vetting very seriously indeed. All candidates are required to undergo the most comprehensive process of security vetting in the UK.
“Applicants go through extensive vetting and it is not unusual for a number to drop out or fail at the earliest stages for a variety of reasons.”
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Bin Laden son ‘killed in US drone attack’
July 23rd, 2009 |
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Saad bin Laden was not targeted, but likely to have been in wrong place at wrong time, US intelligence report claims
One of Osama bin Laden’s sons was probably killed in a US drone strike on a target in Pakistan’s tribal areas earlier this year, according to a US report.
Saad bin Laden, who was in his late 20s, is believed to have been hit by a Hellfire missile fired by a CIA-operated Predator unmanned aircraft.
US intelligence officials cannot confirm Saad’s identity without a DNA test but are “80 to 85%” certain he is dead, according to a US counter-terrorism official quoted by National Public Radio.
In Islamabad, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency, said it was trying to confirm the report. “We’re aware of it, and we’re seeking independent confirmation,” he said.
Bin Laden, who is believed to be sheltering along the mountainous tribal belt along the Afghan border, is believed to have at least 12 sons. While some returned to Saudi Arabia, at least six – including Saad – stayed at his side to fight.
Saad is thought to have been mostly in exile in Iran since 2001, highlighting the murky relationship between the Shia state and al-Qaida, which is dominated by Sunni extremists.
In 2003 he was accused of orchestrating a series of largely ineffectual bombings in Saudi Arabia against government offices, oil installations and the US consulate in Jeddah.
He and his brother Mohamed were once groomed for future leadership of al-Qaida, according to the The Bin Ladens, a book by the veteran US journalist Steve Coll. Some reports say he moved from Iran to Pakistan in 2008.
The US counter-terrorism official quoted by NPR said Saad was not senior enough in the al-Qaida ranks to be personally targeted, and was probably “in the wrong place at the wrong time”.
“We make a big deal out of him because of his last name,” he said.
The US has carried out almost 50 drone strikes in the tribal belt, mostly in north and south Waziristan, since the beginning of the year. Casualties are notoriously difficult to estimate but one news agency puts the toll at 470.
The dead include several al-Qaida figures as well the families of those sheltering them.
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Bryan Neal Vinas: Brooklyn Man Gave Al Qaida NY Subway Info Say Feds
July 22nd, 2009 |
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Authorities revealed Wednesday that an American — charged with providing information to al-Qaida on the New York transit system and attacking a U.S. military base in Afghanistan — has been a secret witness in the fight against terror both he…
China warns workers after al-Qaida threat
July 15th, 2009 |
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Embassy in Algeria issues advice in response to call by al-Qaida affiliate for vengeance over Muslim Uighur deaths in Urumqi
China’s embassy in Algeria has urged Chinese companies and workers to be on guard after reports that al-Qaida’s north African affiliate has called for retaliation for the deaths of Muslim Uighurs in Urumqi.
Stirling Assynt, a British-based risk analysis firm, warned yesterday that al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) – based in Algeria – had issued a call for vengeance, basing its statement on information from people who have seen the instruction.
Postings on an Islamist website have also suggested killing Han Chinese in the Middle East, the Associated Press reported.
A notice posted on the embassy website late last night said: “In light of the [riots], the Chinese embassy in Algeria reminds Chinese-funded companies and personnel to enhance security awareness and strengthen security measures.”
Stirling Assynt stressed its report that it was not suggesting any direct link between Uighurs in Xinjiang province and al-Qaida, and said it was unlikely the central leadership of Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network has decided to stage attacks within China.
Justin Crump, head of terrorism and country risk at the firm, said such a move would be counter-productive strategically because their main assets are in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Last week’s inter-ethnic violence in Urumqi, capital of China’s north-western Xinjiang province, left at least 184 dead. Officials say 137 were Han Chinese, 46 Uighurs and one a Hui man, but Uighurs have claimed far more of them died – either in a crackdown by security forces or at the hands of Han Chinese retaliating for brutal assaults by Uighurs.
Muslim Uighurs make up almost half the 21-million population of Xinjiang, but many resent strict cultural and religious controls.
China’s foreign ministry yesterday rejected suggestions that the Urumqi riots would affect Beijing’s relations with Muslim countries.
“If they have a clear idea about true nature of the incident, they would understand China’s policies concerning religion and religious issues and understand the measures we have taken,” said a spokesman, Qin Gang, at the ministry’s regular news conference.
Wolfram Lacher, a north Africa analyst at another firm, Control Risks, downplayed the impact of events in Urumqi. He said although there was a “significant and credible threat” against Chinese firms, that threat had existed for some time and was not likely to change.
“Almost all foreign companies operating in Algeria – and the security forces who escort and protect foreign personnel – are regarded as legitimate and attractive targets by AQIM … Companies are targeted to attract public and international attention with the goal of demonstrating the inability of the authorities to fully protect foreign companies and thereby disrupt foreign investment and political stability,” said Lacher.
“Also, some Chinese companies – particularly in infrastructure and construction [industries] – operate in areas known as strongholds of AQIM.”
The Philippines national police directorate said it had tightened security around the Chinese embassy and consulates after a request from China’s defence attache in Manila.
In a statement, the Uighur American Association (UAA) and the World Uighur Congress (WUC) said they were “extremely disturbed” by the threats, which they condemned. They said terrorist groups such as al-Qaida did not represent the aspirations of the Uighur people.
“I abhor violence,” said Rebiya Kadeer, leader of the exiles. “I do not believe violence is a solution to any problem. Global terrorists should not take advantage of the Uighur people’s legitimate aspirations and the current tragedy in East Turkestan [Xinjiang] to commit acts of terrorism targeting Chinese diplomatic missions or civilians.”
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China warns workers after al-Qaida threat
July 15th, 2009 |
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Embassy in Algeria issues advice in response to call by al-Qaida affiliate for vengeance over Muslim Uighur deaths in Urumqi
China’s embassy in Algeria has urged Chinese companies and workers to be on guard after reports that al-Qaida’s north African affiliate has called for retaliation for the deaths of Muslim Uighurs in Urumqi.
Stirling Assynt, a British-based risk analysis firm, warned yesterday that al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) – based in Algeria – had issued a call for vengeance, basing its statement on information from people who have seen the instruction.
Postings on an Islamist website have also suggested killing Han Chinese in the Middle East, the Associated Press reported.
A notice posted on the embassy website late last night said: “In light of the [riots], the Chinese embassy in Algeria reminds Chinese-funded companies and personnel to enhance security awareness and strengthen security measures.”
Stirling Assynt stressed its report that it was not suggesting any direct link between Uighurs in Xinjiang province and al-Qaida, and said it was unlikely the central leadership of Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network has decided to stage attacks within China.
Justin Crump, head of terrorism and country risk at the firm, said such a move would be counter-productive strategically because their main assets are in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Last week’s inter-ethnic violence in Urumqi, capital of China’s north-western Xinjiang province, left at least 184 dead. Officials say 137 were Han Chinese, 46 Uighurs and one a Hui man, but Uighurs have claimed far more of them died – either in a crackdown by security forces or at the hands of Han Chinese retaliating for brutal assaults by Uighurs.
Muslim Uighurs make up almost half the 21-million population of Xinjiang, but many resent strict cultural and religious controls.
China’s foreign ministry yesterday rejected suggestions that the Urumqi riots would affect Beijing’s relations with Muslim countries.
“If they have a clear idea about true nature of the incident, they would understand China’s policies concerning religion and religious issues and understand the measures we have taken,” said a spokesman, Qin Gang, at the ministry’s regular news conference.
Wolfram Lacher, a north Africa analyst at another firm, Control Risks, downplayed the impact of events in Urumqi. He said although there was a “significant and credible threat” against Chinese firms, that threat had existed for some time and was not likely to change.
“Almost all foreign companies operating in Algeria – and the security forces who escort and protect foreign personnel – are regarded as legitimate and attractive targets by AQIM … Companies are targeted to attract public and international attention with the goal of demonstrating the inability of the authorities to fully protect foreign companies and thereby disrupt foreign investment and political stability,” said Lacher.
“Also, some Chinese companies – particularly in infrastructure and construction [industries] – operate in areas known as strongholds of AQIM.”
The Philippines national police directorate said it had tightened security around the Chinese embassy and consulates after a request from China’s defence attache in Manila.
In a statement, the Uighur American Association (UAA) and the World Uighur Congress (WUC) said they were “extremely disturbed” by the threats, which they condemned. They said terrorist groups such as al-Qaida did not represent the aspirations of the Uighur people.
“I abhor violence,” said Rebiya Kadeer, leader of the exiles. “I do not believe violence is a solution to any problem. Global terrorists should not take advantage of the Uighur people’s legitimate aspirations and the current tragedy in East Turkestan [Xinjiang] to commit acts of terrorism targeting Chinese diplomatic missions or civilians.”
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Al-Qaida threatens China over Uighur deaths
July 14th, 2009 |
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Algeria-based group issues threat to Chinese workers and projects within north Africa in retaliation for Uighur deaths
Al-Qaida’s north African wing has threatened to target Chinese workers and projects in the region in retaliation for Muslim deaths in Urumqi last week.
It is the first time Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network has directly targeted Chinese interests, according to experts at a London-based risk analysis firm.
Stirling Assynt’s report says that al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) – based in Algeria – has issued a call for vengeance, basing its statement on information from people who have seen the instruction.
But the assessment does not suggest there is any direct link between Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province and al-Qaida. It also suggests it is unlikely that al-Qaida’s central leadership has decided to stage attacks within China.
Justin Crump, head of terrorism and country risk at Stirling Assynt, said: “For al-Qaida central, it is really not in their interests or part of their plan at all. I think you will see action where it is easy by al-Qaida franchises, but it won’t be al-Qaida policy.
“Strategically it would be highly counter-productive for them if you look at the fact their main assets are in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
He suggested that AQIM’s decision was partly “opportunistic”, reflecting the ease with which they could target Chinese nationals and anger in some Muslim communities worldwide. Indonesia saw anti-Chinese protests yesterday.
At least 184 people were killed and 1,680 injured in the inter-ethnic violence in Urumqi, which first broke out on 5 July, officials say. According to government figures 137 were Han Chinese, 46 Uighurs and one a Hui man. But Uighurs have alleged that far more of them died – either in a crackdown by security forces or at the hands of Han Chinese during revenge attacks for vicious assaults by Uighurs.
Muslim Uighurs make up almost half the 21-million population of China’s vast north-western region of Xinjiang. Many have long chafed at strict rules restricting their religion, which include banning under-18s from mosques, as well as Han migration and policies which they believe favour Han Chinese.
“Although AQIM appear to be the first arm of al-Qaida to officially state they will target Chinese interests, others are likely to follow,” adds the note.
“The general situation (and perceived plight) of China’s Muslims has resonated amongst the global jihadist community. There is an increasing amount of chatter … among jihadists who claim they want to see action against China. Some of these individuals have been actively seeking information on China’s interests in the Muslim world, which they could use for targeting purposes.”
Stirling Assynt estimates that hundreds of thousands of Chinese work in the Middle East and north Africa, including 50,000 in Algeria alone.
The firm’s report points out that AQIM attacked an Algerian security convoy protecting Chinese engineers on a motorway project three weeks ago, killing 24 paramilitary police. The workers themselves were not targeted or injured, but the note adds: “Future attacks of this kind are likely to target security forces and Chinese engineers alike.”
It also suggested that other al-Qaida groups in the Arabian peninsula “could well target Chinese projects in Yemen”.
Despite the huge security presence in Urumqi, violence broke out again yesterday. Officials said police shot dead two Uighur men armed with knives and sticks and injured a third as the trio attacked another Uighur man.
But a Han man in the area told the Associated Press that he saw three Uighurs with knives come out of a mosque and attack paramilitary police.
In a separate development, more than 100 Chinese writers and intellectuals have signed a letter calling for the release of an outspoken Uighur economist who disappeared from his Beijing home last week and is believed to be detained.
“Professor Ilham Tohti is an Uighur intellectual who devoted himself to friendship between ethnic groups and eradicating conflicts between them. He should not be taken as a criminal,” said the letter, posted online yesterday.
Xinjiang’s governor accused Tohti’s website of helping “to orchestrate the incitement” of last week’s riot – but the letter’s authors said it was an important site for dialogue between Han Chinese and Uighurs.
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Cheney ‘hid plans to kill al-Qaida’
July 13th, 2009 |
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• Ex-CIA officials say foreign leaders were also in dark
• Investigation demanded into post-9/11 strategy
Dick Cheney, the former vice president, ordered a highly classified CIA operation hidden from Congress because it pushed the limits of legality by planning to assassinate al-Qaida operatives in friendly countries without the knowledge of their governments, according to former intelligence officials.
Former counter-terrorism officials who retain close links to the intelligence community say that the hidden operation involved plans by the CIA and the military to launch operations, similar to those by Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, to hunt down and kill al-Qaida activists abroad without informing the governments concerned, even though some were regarded as friendly if unreliable.
The CIA apparently did not put the plan in to operation but the US military did, carrying out several assassinations including one in Kenya that proved to be a severe embarrassment and helped lead to the quashing of the programme.
A former intelligence official said the plan was hatched in the cauldron of the September 11 attacks when officials were pushing various forms of unilateral action and some settled on the Israelis as an example.
“One of the most sensitive areas has been what we do in friendly countries that don’t want to co-operate or maybe we don’t have enough confidence to entrust them with information. If you have an al-Qaida guy wandering around certain bits of the world we might decide that we need to deal with that ourselves, directly, without making a lot of noise,” he said. “There was a plan to deal with that. It was much talked about in the CIA and the military had its own operation.”
Another former senior intelligence official responsible for dealing with al-Qaida said that assassination plans were reined in after similar covert operations by the military were botched and proved to be embarrassing, particularly the killing in Kenya. He did not give details of the operation.
The official said he believes from conversations with serving members of the CIA that the area of real concern in Congress is that the planned operations may also have involved the covert surveillance of American citizens.
There appears to be common agreement among knowledgeable former intelligence officials that the controversy goes beyond the immediate question of assassination and capture of al-Qaida operatives as there have been numerous killings and detentions since the 9/11 attacks.
One former official said that the Bush administration discussed assassinations in the context of a ban introduced in the 1970s that responded to several failed CIA attempts to murder Fidel Castro, and concluded that as the US had declared itself at war with al-Qaida and the Taliban, this ban did not apply.
Peter Bergen, a senior security analyst at the New America Foundation, said that the secret operation must have gone further than that to have created such a backlash in Congress: “If it’s an assassination programme of al-Qaida leaders that is hardly surprising. Clinton had an assassination programme against bin Laden. There have been 27 drone missile strikes against al-Qaida alone this year.”
The CIA has declined to comment and members of Congress who were finally briefed about the issue by the CIA director, Leon Panetta, last month are bound by confidentiality.
Some former intelligence officials and Republicans have attempted to portray the programme as barely getting out of the planning stages but others in the intelligence community have said it is highly unlikely that the CIA would have kept such an operation going for eight years without advancing it.
The evident anger in Congress is fuelling demands for a full blown investigation in to the CIA’s failure to disclose the programme and Cheney’s role in the cover up. The Senate majority whip, Dick Durbin, said the programme could have been illegal: “The executive branch of government should not create programs like these programs and keep Congress in the dark. To have a massive program that was concealed from the leaders in Congress is not only inappropriate, it could be illegal.”
Anna Eshoo, a senior Democrat on the House of Representatives intelligence committee, is also calling for a probe. “We, by no means, have the full story. We don’t know who gave the order. We don’t know where the money came from. We don’t know all the people who were involved,” she told Politico. “We need a full investigation. My preference is that we hire an attorney to come in and run this, someone that is known for their prosecutorial knowledge as well as their knowledge of this particular area of the law.”
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Grandmother brings war home
We must debate and define our objectives in the increasingly disastrous fight against the Taliban
A grandmother’s piercing cry as the coffin of her grandson moved in front of her sounded of more than the anguish of one family. It heralded, I believe, the end of the government’s current strategy in Afghanistan.
The grandmother’s cry, which was carried on the news broadcast two weeks ago, has done more than all the groups campaigning against the British strategy in what Neville Chamberlain would have called a “faraway country”. The intensity and drama of the pain has made the bringing back of soldiers’ bodies a media and hence a political event of real significance.
What began as a politically thought-out campaign to overthrow a Taliban government has become a war that dictates the politics. Putting the politics back into the war is urgent.
Tony Blair managed, as usual, to confuse the issue. A new government that did not support or give cover to al-Qaida was required. The Taliban government was overthrown by invading forces.
This key issue of a non-supporting al-Qaida government was wrapped up in the most daring of liberal agendas. The war was also being fought for the equality of women; although that is a goal that is yet to be fully achieved in our own country.
The Taliban-enforced inequality is symbolically represented by the burka. But what can those soliders make of this kind of campaign when we allow such symbols to reign in some areas of our own country?
The most urgent task is to give our troops the very best equipment, including helicopters, pilots and more troops, but this must only be a holding operation.
Politics must now come to the fore. How much longer can we go on supporting a corrupt government that cannot even deliver order? Sooner rather than later we need to talk to the Taliban.
There is a huge difference between our wish to impose a western-type democracy of Afghanistan and of the political tradition of that country being able to respond positively. The one objective on which we should have majored is a Taliban that would attack al-Qaida as effectively as they have been fighting us.
We owe it to those Afghans who have supported us to take some time in letting them know that a change in policy might be on the way. They must be given the chance to make their own deals long before we cut and run.
Those chilling pictures of the South Vietnamese struggling to get on the last helicopters leaving Saigon are a reminder of how a withdrawal should not be accomplished.
Those who criticise this idea argue that the front line in fighting al-Qaida is clearly drawn in Afghanistan. I agree with them. The debate, however, has to be how we defend that line.
How many more coffins will have to come home before the political class realise that our strategy is losing this very war?
The chief of staff should argue rigorously for resources. But it should be the politicians who dictate the politics of the wars. At the moment the two sides are playing out each other’s role.
In another context the poet RS Thomas wrote of nailing our doubts to an untenanted cross. That single piercing cry of pain from one grandmother has ensured that a growing concern about the war is now being nailed to that cross. It cannot be long before British politics responds to the sounds that nailing.
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