Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Al-Qaida No. 2 dies in US drone strike in Pakistan

Hammer Time Pictures, Images and Photos

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — A U.S. drone strike in northwest Pakistan has killed al-Qaida's second-in-command, officials from both countries have confirmed, the most significant victory so far in the controversial bombing campaign and the biggest setback to the terror network since the death of Osama bin Laden.. Abu Yahya al-Libi was considered a media-savvy, charismatic leader with religious credentials who was helping preside over the transformation of a secretive group based in Pakistan and Afghanistan into a global movement aimed at winning converts — and potential attackers — from Somalia to the Philippines.
This was not the first time the U.S. had al-Libi in its sights: He was originally captured a decade ago and held by American forces at the Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan until he escaped in 2005 in an embarrassing security breach. Soon thereafter, he began appearing in videos in which he talked about the lessons he learned while watching his captors, whom he described as cowardly, lost and alienated.White House spokesman Jay Carney on Tuesday called al-Libi's death a "major blow" to the group. Carney described al-Libi as an operational leader and a "general manager" of al-Qaida. He said al-Libi had a range of experience that will be hard for al-Qaida to replicate and brings the terror network closer to its ultimate demise than ever before."His death is part of the degradation that has been taking place to core al-Qaida during the past several years and that degradation has depleted the ranks to such an extent that there's no clear successor," Carney said.A U.S. official familiar with the case, who confirmed that al-Libi was killed in a drone strike, said no one left in al-Qaida comes close to replacing the expertise the group has just lost. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.The Libyan-born al-Libi, who was thought to be in his late 40s, was killed Monday morning in a village in northwestern Pakistan, a tribal area bordering Afghanistan that is home to many al-Qaida and Taliban members and their support networks.A Pakistani intelligence official said late Tuesday that al-Libi was dead but declined to say how authorities knew this or whether they had seen his body. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the classified nature of the drone program.Al-Libi, who was considered a hero in militant circles because of his escape from the American military prison, was elevated to al-Qaida's No. 2 spot when Ayman al-Zawahri replaced bin Laden. As al-Qaida's de facto general manager, he was responsible for running the group's day-to-day operations in Pakistan's tribal areas and managed outreach to al-Qaida's regional affiliates.Al-Libi was influential and popular within al-Qaida because of his "scholarly credentials, street cred from having escaped from Bagram, charisma and his easygoing, tribal speaking style," said Jarret Brachman, a counterterrorism expert who has studied al-Libi for the past seven years."People may have revered Zawahri, but they loved Abu Yahya," said Brachman.Al-Libi was the latest in the dozen-plus senior commanders removed in the clandestine U.S. war against al-Qaida since Navy SEALs killed bin Laden in a raid on May 2, 2011 on his compound in the Pakistani military town of Abbottabad — nearly a decade after 9/11.Perhaps the most well-known al-Qaida figure killed in a drone strike before al-Libi was Anwar al-Awlaki, a prominent member of the Yemen al-Qaida offshoot who died last September.Al-Libi's death will likely fuel arguments in favor of the U.S. drone campaign despite Pakistani objections. Coming in an election year, it may also boost the tough-on-terrorists image President Barack Obama has tried to cultivate."The killing of al-Libi demonstrates the increasing proficiency and skill — plus good intelligence — at work in the decade-long American war to crush al-Qaida. It makes Barack Obama the counter-terrorist in chief in leading that war," said Aaron David Miller, a former adviser to six U.S. secretaries of state and currently a senior scholar at the Wilson Center.The use of drones has skyrocketed under the Obama administration but has dropped off recently in Pakistan, which views the program as a violation of its sovereignty. Among the Pakistani public, the drone campaign is vilified because of its perceived civilian casualties, an allegation disputed by the U.S.An on-the-ground investigation by The Associated Press this year found that the drone strikes were killing far fewer civilians than many Pakistanis are led to believe, and that a significant majority of the dead were combatants.Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan said Islamabad had not been notified about the killing of al-Libi, and declined further comment.Even while speculation was swirling as to whether al-Libi was alive or dead, Pakistan called Deputy U.S. Ambassador Richard Hoagland to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday to protest the drone strikes.Members of the Pakistani government and military have supported such strikes in the past, but that cooperation has come under strain as the relationship between the two countries has deteriorated. Last November, American airstrikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the border with Afghanistan.Pakistan responded by cutting off supply lines to NATO and American forces in Afghanistan and demanding that the U.S. end the drone attacks on its territory.But the U.S. shows no such inclination. The White House maintains a list of terrorist targets to be killed or captured, compiled by the military and the CIA and ultimately approved by the president.A recent uptick in drone strikes in the tribal areas indicates the U.S. was tracking al-Libi or had some idea that a top al-Qaida official was in the area. U.S. drones have struck seven times in recent weeks after a relative lull earlier this year.Pakistani and Taliban officials said al-Libi was wounded in the days leading up to Monday's drone strike, although there were conflicting accounts as to where and when.Evan Kohlmann, a senior partner a Flashpoint Global Partners which tracks radical Muslim propaganda, said the U.S. could have tracked al-Libi the same way it tracked bin Laden, through the use of couriers used to carry messages or in the case of al-Libi, carrying the video recordings that were his calling card.

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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

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