But I Thought That The Somali Islamists Were The Peaceful Type!
Terry Trippany on Jan 08 2007 at 8:00 pm | Filed under: Feature Article, The War on Terror
The mainstream media has been covering the Ethiopian route of Islamic Courts Union militants in Somalia with dismay every since the Christian backed army decided to remove the Sharia toting thugs from their self imposed rule over helpless Somali’s. Most media outlets were on the same page with the BBC and the New York Times as they furthered the ludicrous notion that life in Somalia had a semblance of order under the new Sharia law.
Concurrently the media gave the Islamic Courts Union leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys a platform to deny that he does not have links to al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups. This platform was provided despite (or in spite of) the fact that the United States put him on a terrorist list for his role in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings that killed 257 people and wounded over 4000 others. Dahir is implicated as the former leader of al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, the Islamic group that pulled off the attack.
Today however we are now learning that the Islamic Courts Union is in fact connected to al-Qaeda.
Somali officials said the Islamic movement’s main force is bottled up at Ras Kamboni, the southernmost tip of the country, cut off from escape at sea by patrolling U.S. warships and across the Kenyan border by the Kenyan military.
In Mogadishu, Somalia’s president made his first visit to the capital since taking office in 2004. During the unannounced visit, President Abdullahi Yusuf was expected to meet with traditional Somali elders and stay at the former presidential palace that has been occupied by warlords for 15 years, government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said.
U.S. officials warned after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that extremists with ties to al-Qaida operated a training camp at Ras Kamboni and that al-Qaida members are believed to have visited it.
Three al-Qaida suspects wanted in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa are believed to be leaders of the Islamic movement. The Islamists deny having any links to al-Qaida.
Go figure, Islamic terrorists can play dual roles as peace keepers and backers of terror at the same time. Their links to terror being downplayed for the inexplicable reason of reporting peace at the moment.
One can only wonder why the AP still provides a platform of denial for those linked to terrorists despite a ream of evidence pointing to the contrary.
I am no longer amazed when I read this sort of “balance”. The AP has an obvious agenda - one that is hell bent on injecting doubt with the United States justice department. Subsequently these stories leave an anti-U.S. taste in your mouth in one way or another. Unfortunately the U.S. public makes this possible as consumers of such reporting. I personally don’t see many positives in return.
Update: Fox News is reporting that a United States Air Force AC-130 gunship has opened fire on al-qaeda members in Somalia. This is the first time that U.S. forces have engaged forces in Somalia since 1994.
The move marks the first time the U.S. has mounted a mission in Somalia since forces pulled out in 1994, two years after entering on a mission to feed starving people there.
Officials have long suspected those involved in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, that killed more than 200, have taken refuge in Somalia. Because of that, the U.S. has shared intelligence with allies such as Kenya and Ethiopia and this fresh attack could be part of an long, ongoing anti-terror operation.
The AP is finally covering the story.
CNN, NBC and CBS first reported the military action. Citing Pentagon officials, CBS said the targets included the senior al-Qaida leader in East Africa and an al-Qaida operative wanted for his involvement in the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
The same operatives are also believed responsible for a 2002 attack on Israeli tourists in Kenya and an attempt to shoot down an Israeli aircraft the same day, NBC News reported.
The 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killed more than 250 people. The 2002 attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya killed 15.
Others : Captain’s Quarters, Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Pirate’s Cove, Blue Crab Boulevard, Wizbang, Captain’s Quarters, Stop The ACLU
somalia, Sharia law, Islamic Courts Union, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, al-Qaeda, Ras Kamboni, Islamic movement, Islamic terrorists
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[...] Webloggin [...]
It is truly a sick mentality to say something like:
“The nice muslims”
Are they anything like the “nice Americans” who do not kill hundreds of thousands of people and then, blame it on the victims?
Or the “nice Jews” who kill babies in South Lebanon in order to keep everyone from knowing their dirty little political and religious secrets?
I dunno.
[...] Now I know what some of you on the left are thinking, “if we just left them alone they would go away”. But not so my friend. I am sure that the majority Christian population of Trinidad didn’t invite the radical Islamists who have plans to take over their government or that radical Islamists weren’t invited to go on a murderous genocidal rage in Darfur or implement Sharia law in Somalia. But that is exactly what is happening. [...]
[...] The contention here is that Somalia was relatively peaceful under the Sharia law that was imposed on the country when Islamic rebels took over the nation by force; defying international law and the Somali government that has been struggling to quell violence for almost 2 decades. This contention disregards the religious persecution of non-Muslims and others who lived under the threat of public execution for crimes such as being gay, dishonoring Islam in any number of ways and not praying 5 times a day as dictated under Sharia law. [...]