Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The LWOT: DC-area man sentenced after terrorism plea; CIA aims to kill, not capture

D.C.-area man changes plea, sentenced in terrorism case
Afederal judge on Apr. 11 sentenced naturalized U.S. citizen Farooque Ahmed to 23 years in prison as well as 50 years of supervised release after Ahmed pled guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and helping plan a terrorist attack against a transit facility as part of what turned out to be an FBI sting (CNN, Washington Post, National Journal).Ahmed was arrested in Oct. 2010 after a six-month operation in which heagreed to perform surveillance of three D.C.-area metro stations for government agents posing as al Qaeda members (Leesburg Today).Ahmed also suggested a fourth target for the fictional attack, as well as the best times to attack, in order to, "kill as many Americans as possible," and reportedly planned to travel abroad to fight U.S. troops (Washington Post, BBC).
Afederal judge said this week that the trial for Tawahhur Hussain Rana, aChicago man accused of helping support the 2008 Mumbai attacks, will begin as scheduled next month (AP, AP).And authorities have reportedly identified a suspect in a crude explosive attack outside of a Santa Monica synagogue last Thursday (WSJ).
In other news, the Associated Pressreported Apr. 11 that since the end of 2009, when a failed aircraft bombing near Detroit led to tighter restrictions on air travel, authorities had stopped 350 people with suspected links to al Qaeda and other terrorist groups from traveling to the United States (CNN, AP).And NY state lawmakers traded verbal barbs during a controversial hearing last Friday into homeland security and emergency preparedness that featured testimony from two well-known critics of Islam, Frank Gaffney and Nonie Darwish (AP, WNYC).
CIA aims to kill, not capture 
In a must-read story this weekend, the Los Angeles Times'Ken Dilanian delves into the CIA's move away under president Obama frominterrogating or taking custody of high-profile terrorism suspects, in part out of concern over ongoing investigations into practices during the Bush administration and a lack of clarity over how high-profile terrorists can be detained (LAT).Dilanian writes, "Under Obama, the CIA has killed more people than it has captured, mainly through drone missile strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas. At the same time, it has stopped trying to detain or interrogate suspects caught abroad, except those captured in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Judge expresses frustration at habeas ruling
Sparksflew as a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court heard arguments Apr. 11 in the government's appeal of a lower court decision granting the habeas petition of Guantánamo Bay detainee Hussein Almerfedi, held since 2003 based on the accusation that he had served as an al Qaeda facilitator (Legal Times, Lawfare Blog).During the hearing, Senior Judge Lawrence Silberman, who has recently increased his criticism of the Supreme Court for its decision in 2008's Boumedienne v. Bushand for not giving lower courts adequate guidance in cases involving detainees, expressed concern that judges in detainee cases were relying on criminal standards of evidence rather than a "preponderance" of evidence required in habeas cases (Legal Times, The Atlantic, Lawfare Blog). Benjamin Wittes notes the tenor of the judges' questions and arguments at Lawfare Blog, writing (Lawfare Blog):
Hussain Salem Mohammad Almerfedi is going to have his head handed to him on platter by Judges Brett Kavanaugh and Laurence Silberman. The decision granting him habeas corpus is toast. The only question for the detainee bar is how ugly it's going to be... Judge Silberman in particular was flirting with some big themes here. Unless the desire for unanimity holds him back, this case could make some big new law. If I had a Guantánamo client, I would be very nervous about it.
Alsothis week, Benjamin Weiser looks at the court docket under which the 9/11 plotters' indictment was filed before the case was moved to military court last week, a docket first used in 1993 to file charges inthe first World Trade Center bombing (NYT). Karen Greenberg and author William Shawcross weigh in on the planned military trial for the 9/11 conspirators (Washington Post, NYT).
Finally, Newsweek providesa primer on the twelve "most-wanted" Taliban commanders in Afghanistan,including two former Guantánamo detainees, Abdul Qayyum Zakir and Maulvi Abdul Rauf Khadim (Newsweek).And a Pentagon prosecutor apologized to the Seminole tribe of Florida for statements in court at Guantánamo that seemed to compare the Seminoles in 1818 to al Qaeda (Miami Herald).
Arrests made in Minsk bombing
Belarusianauthorities have reportedly made several arrests after a bombing Apr. 11 in the capital Minsk's main metro station, located only 100 meters from the presidential headquarters, killed 12 and wounded more than 200 (AJE, AP, Washington Post).Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said the bombing may have beenthe work of "outsiders" as security services stepped up checks on travelers and opposition figures expressed concerns that the bombing could be used as an excuse to crack down on dissent (Guardian, Reuters).
Canadians increasingly worried about al-Shabaab
Canadianauthorities are growing more concerned about Canadian youth traveling to Somalia to fight for the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militant group, as security agencies and family members frantically search for information on a 19-year old Canadian girl and the niece of Somalia's prime minister who is believed to have joined the group (Toronto Star). Officials believe 20 Canadians have traveled to Somalia to fight with al-Shabaab (National Post).
Trials and Tribulations
  • The Associated Press this weekend reports on the southern Yemeni town of Jaar, taken over by Islamist militants last week after setting up what the AP terms a "Taliban-style microstate" (AP).
  • Sudanese officials said this weekend that they had "irrefutable proof" that Israel was behind a mysterious airstrike that killed two Sudanese driving in a car in the city of Port Sudan last week, in what the authorities claim was an attempt to disrupt Sudan's attempts to get off the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism (AFP, Reuters).
  • Two suspected members of the Basque separatist group ETA were captured in France this weekend after a shootout and search that involved 300 gendarmes and an elite tactical unit (AFP).
  • The prosecution in the trial of radical Indonesian cleric and alleged terrorism supporter and plotter Abu Bakir Bashir is set to wrap up its case this week (VOA).
  • Iraqi authorities are reportedly blocking humanitarian aid to Iranian exiles at a camp run by the banned terrorist group the People's Mujahideen (Mujahideen-e-Khalq), after the group's spokesman said Iraqi forces fired on the camp, killing dozens (NYT, AFP).
  • Police this weekend in the Philippines defused a bomb outside of a hotel in the country's south, one of several to have exploded or been discovered recently, explosives which authorities have attributed to the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf (AP). Filipino authorities this morning also arrested a man they described as the local contact for the Indonesian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah (AP).  
  • A transient man was arrested Apr. 12 in Ohio in connection with a bombing of a Santa Monica Jewish center last week, the motive for which remains unclear (WSJ, AP).Foreign Policy

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

About Us

The Foundation is dedicated to networking like-minded Somalis opposed to the terrorist insurgency that is plaguing our beloved homeland and informing the international public at large about what is really happening throughout the Horn of Africa region.

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We Are Winning the War on Terrorism in Horn of Africa

The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.

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