Article

2013-01-19 Africa North

Algeria state news agency: Army storms gas plant; 7 hostages, 11 militants are dead

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by tipper 2013-01-19 09:26|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [11133 views ] Top

#1 May not have been the BEST approach but was far from being the worst.

Posted by Glenmore 2013-01-19 09:37|| 2013-01-19 09:37|| Front Page Top

#2 From the Algerians point of view, having endured 10 years+ of Islamic terrorism, its a win. They've already suffered large numbers of civilian causalities to the jihadists, so they've been taught by the enemy that such casualties are inevitable, so the best approach is to kill them as fast as they can to get the business done as quickly as possible. By ignoring the outside interests and stupid diplo games, it also says that game ain't played here.

Posted by Procopius2k 2013-01-19 09:49|| 2013-01-19 09:49|| Front Page Top

#3 What P2k... no village shura? No female engagement team? No cultural diversity awareness sessions?

Posted by Besoeker 2013-01-19 09:54|| 2013-01-19 09:54|| Front Page Top

#4 impossible to get numbers straight in this melee. how many foreigners were finally rescued ... how many are dead? surely they must know this stuff. this is worse than the Japanese Gov't and the Fukushima debacle.

Posted by Raider 2013-01-19 10:06|| 2013-01-19 10:06|| Front Page Top

#5 What P2K said. Not doing this is what usually gets you into trouble and emboldens your enemies.

Posted by JohnQC 2013-01-19 10:19|| 2013-01-19 10:19|| Front Page Top

#6 Tough but correct decision to go and kill the terrorists ASAP.

Posted by Bright Pebbles 2013-01-19 10:38|| 2013-01-19 10:38|| Front Page Top

#7 no village shura? No female engagement team? No cultural diversity awareness sessions?

It's cancer. Chemo / radiation (my favorite!) / surgery and maybe still die anyway. Or try "wholistic cures" (laetrile, anyone?) and die for sure.

When the weak kneed sisters in the West can't sell all that "why do they hate us?" crap anymore, the troubles will soon be over...

Posted by M. Murcek 2013-01-19 11:09|| 2013-01-19 11:09|| Front Page Top

#8 What all the ninnies in Western diplomacy do not understand is that no amount of accommodation or no amount of negotiation will ever change the Islamic Jihadistic attitude of "kill the infidels"

They don't hate us anymore than I hate a mouse or a rat in the basement, we are vermin to kill or convert.

Islam is the only religion in history based upon the psychotic ravings of a actively hallucinating sociopath.

Posted by Bill Clinton 2013-01-19 11:27|| 2013-01-19 11:27|| Front Page Top

#9 Someday I'm gonna write a comprehensive History of the Peace Processor. It'll be almost 2000 pages long.

You'll be able to read it in an afternoon. Once you've read the first chapter they're all the same. Only the titles change.

Posted by Fred 2013-01-19 11:32|| 2013-01-19 11:32|| Front Page Top

#10 Google translate from el watan

Site Gas Amenas: 29 dangerous terrorists eliminated, four are emirs

on 19.01.13 | 5:11 p.m.

Of the 29 terrorists eliminated during the assault launched What special forces the ANP since Thursday morning at the site of In Amenas gas, four are dangerous emirs.

It is Abderahman el Nigiri (the Niger), the head "son of the Sahara to Islamic justice," Lamine Moucheneb, alias Taher Abu Albaraa Aljzairi and Mauritanian Abdallahi Ould Hmeida.

Thirty different nationités terrorists attacked early Wednesday morning in the site of gas Amenas taking hostage hundreds of Algerian workers and strangers

Posted by Willy 2013-01-19 12:00|| 2013-01-19 12:00|| Front Page Top

#11 Am I to assume we can cancel the GITMO reservations ?

Posted by Besoeker 2013-01-19 12:05|| 2013-01-19 12:05|| Front Page Top

#12 The Algerians wouldn't have turned prisoners over in any case.

Posted by Pappy 2013-01-19 14:20|| 2013-01-19 14:20|| Front Page Top

#13 I don't have a problem with the Algerians moving quickly on the terrorists. However, if they did gun down several vehicles loaded with hostages - the western governments (and hostages relatives) are going to seriously question that move. People will be understandably very angry.

the main problem with this situation has been the extremely confused communications coming from Algeria. How many hostages alive ... how many dead? 10? 30? 60? is the operation still underway, or finished??? It's been absolutely impossible to make sense of the reports filtering out into the media. The Algerians will learn painfully that they need to pass out good information .... they can control the timing however they want. But they need to make sure whatever is said - is accurate. This situation has been a communications fiasco for them.

Posted by Raider 2013-01-19 14:28|| 2013-01-19 14:28|| Front Page Top

#14

The Algerians acted immediately, probably to forestall any ransoms being handed over to the kidnappers by Western governments. The thought of millions or tens of millions of dollars filling jihadist coffers and being used against them for years was probably too much to take. Not to mention that this would have provided seed money for more of such fund-raising operations. Ultimately, the liquidation of experienced jihadist leaders will weaken the movement within Algeria's borders, and that was probably another important objective of the attack on the kidnappers. This was less a rescue mission than a prime opportunity to attack jihadists who had emerged from their hideouts and were vulnerable.

The benefit of this operation is that jihadists will undertake fewer missions to capture hostages. They now know that the Algerian government views hostages merely as bait to lure jihadist operatives out of hiding, where they can be dispatched with ease, without any special regard for the safety of the captives.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2013-01-19 17:48|| 2013-01-19 17:48|| Front Page Top

#15 It might have taken a week or two for the US to act on a cash ransom demand. Chinese loans, regardless of the circumstances, are not made overnight.

Posted by Besoeker 2013-01-19 17:59|| 2013-01-19 17:59|| Front Page Top

#16 It might have taken a week or two for the US to act on a cash ransom demand.

I'm heard the US doesn't generally pay ransoms. The Euros, the Chinese and the Japanese are quick to pony up, though. The Algerians were smart to get in there before any amounts were even discussed.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2013-01-19 18:14|| 2013-01-19 18:14|| Front Page Top

#17 sad to say but most of those killed were already as good as dead the minute they were taken. The Algerians did us a favor (I'm sure you disagree if you had a family member there) by not allowing the throat-slitting videos, captive demands, ~~ruining Obama's ascension~~......

now run down the rest of this group, and kill their funders, their spokesholes, their hangers-on...the rest.

Posted by Frank G 2013-01-19 19:41|| 2013-01-19 19:41|| Front Page Top

#18 and their families.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2013-01-19 20:47|| 2013-01-19 20:47|| Front Page Top

#19 By launching this attack on the kidnappers and being completely unconcerned about the fate of the Western hostages, the Algerian government has just blown apart jihadist propaganda about it being a Western puppet. That, too, was probably a positive side effect of this operation for the regime. All the locals got away scot free, while the foreigners were slaughtered like sheep, so there's no question about who's in charge - not the US, not Britain or any other member of Dar al Harb.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2013-01-19 21:03|| 2013-01-19 21:03|| Front Page Top

#20 and their little dog, too.

It will be interesting to see who or what entity or state is masterminding Algeria and Mali ops. Got to take out the brain and financiers. Then we will get somewhere. Imams or Mad Mullahs go bump in the night.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2013-01-19 23:12|| 2013-01-19 23:12|| Front Page Top

#21 It will be interesting to see who or what entity or state is masterminding Algeria and Mali ops. Got to take out the brain and financiers.

That's why prisoners are important. Multiple prisoners, so information can be corroborated.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2013-01-19 23:45|| 2013-01-19 23:45|| Front Page Top

23:45 Zhang Fei
23:26 Richard Aubrey
23:13 Alaska Paul
23:12 Alaska Paul
22:56 Angineger Hatrack1295
22:31 Elmart Shavising6110
22:29 Pappy
22:28 Pappy
21:56 JosephMendiola
21:38 Secret Asian Man
21:23 JosephMendiola
21:03 Zhang Fei
20:59 Silentbrick - Schlumberger Squishy Mud Division
20:56 Procopius2k
20:47 gorb
20:47 Nimble Spemble
19:41 Frank G
19:29 Frank G
18:59 Mike Ramsey
18:44 Phaith Grique4599
18:33 Mike Ramsey
18:14 Zhang Fei
18:07 Anguque Ebbomorong2684
18:02 Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo)
Merry-Go-Blog