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Home Front: WoT
(PJM Exclusive) DOJ Memo Confirms Terrorists Have Crossed the Border
2011-03-23
A potentially explosive admission by federal prosecutors in the pending sentencing of Ahmed Muhammed Dhakane in a San Antonio federal courtroom could aid the case of border states looking to take the initiative to stem the flood of illegal immigrants coming into the U.S.

In this court filing, provided exclusively here at Pajamas Media, prosecutors admit that Dhakane, who ran a human smuggling ring based in Brazil for the Somali Al-Shabaab terrorist group, transported “violent jihadists” into the country. He stated that “he believed they would fight against the U.S. if the jihad moved from overseas locations to the U.S. mainland.” (p. 7)

In the DOJ sentencing memorandum, federal prosecutors explain that Dhakane knowingly smuggled violent jihadists into the country:

More importantly, based on the Defendant’s recorded statements and admissions made to law enforcement agents, the Defendant was a former member, or at the very least, associated with [Al-Ittihad al-Islami] AIAI, an SDGT, and that he believed that there was no separation of personnel between AIAI, the Council of Islamic Courts, and Al-Shabbab, a designated [Foreign Terrorist Organization] FTO.

He admits that he knowingly believed he was smuggling violent jihadists into the United States with the full knowledge that if the decision was made by the SDGT, for which he was associated with in the past, to commit terrorist acts in the United States, these jihadists would commit violent acts in and against the United States. Because the law enforcement authorities are constantly trying to investigate, detect, and prevent the infiltration of potentially violent jihadists, the Defendant’s lies hid critical information from the United States authorities regarding his successful smuggling activities. Thus, the preponderance of the evidence proves that the other obvious motivation for him to lie on his asylum application was to cover up and obstruct the fact from United States authorities that he facilitated the smuggling of violent jihadists who are now present into the United States. (pp. 10-11
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All while our AFT and corrupt government ships guns to Mexico. Any wonder the security is falling apart on Bambi's watch?
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Africa Horn
Somali hard boyz stepping to the fore
2006-02-24
A recent upsurge in violence in Somalia's capital has focused attention anew on the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the chaotic Horn of Africa state. The violence had killed at least 22 people and wounded more than 140 since Saturday.

Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, said by the United States to be linked to al-Qaida, is prominent among the religious nutcases fundamentalists increasingly projecting themselves as an alternative to the numerous armed groups running the clan-based fiefdoms that comprise Somalia. Somalia has been without an effective central government since forever 1991, when warlords overthrew the government and then began fighting each other.

Wednesday, Aweys pledged to keep fighting a new alliance arrayed against him in Mogadishu, the Somali capital. Mogadishu was calm Thursday as elders sought to buy him off mediate.

Aweys described his rivals as "forces of evil" supported by Western powers.
Always supported by evil Western powers. No one's ever supported by evil China.
His rivals, meanwhile, describe the fundamentalists as terrorists, accusing them of killing moderate intellectuals, Muslim scholars and former military officials in a string of unexplained murders. Islamic militias have set up their own courts in some parts of Mogadishu, where they shut down bars and destroy shops that reproduce or sell pirated DVDs and music cassettes.

Counterterrorism experts in the U.S. and elsewhere have long worried that al-Qaida could find a haven in Somalia, taking advantage of its utter, complete lawlessness instability and perhaps finding hosts among men like Aweys. The United States linked Aweys, who has vowed to establish an Islamic state, to al-Qaida shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Aweys has said such allegations were invented by his enemies.
"Lies! All lies!"
Last year, U.N. experts monitoring an arms embargo on Somalia reported that Islamic hard-liners were importing heavy weapons and establishing military training camps. Among them were members of Al-Ittihad al-Islami, which wants to impose Islamic law in Somalia and allegedly has ties to al-Qaida.
The arms embargo works as well as everything else the U.N. does.
Also last year, the International Crisis Group reported the emergence of a Mogadishu extremist cell led by a young Somali militant trained in Afghanistan, where al-Qaida was once based. The International Crisis Group, a private think tank which tracks conflicts around the world, noted that al-Qaida contributed to attacks on U.S. and U.N. peacekeepers in Somalia in the early 1990s and used the country as a transit zone for attacks in neighboring Kenya and later as a hiding place for some of its leading members.

Saturday, a coalition of warlords and businessman announced they were taking a stand against the fundamentalists. They said in a statement they would "eradicate the extremists, terrorists and their supporters so as to pave the way for a peaceful country for the Somali children." The emergence of the coalition is evidence the warlords see the fundamentalist as a serious threat. With stakes high on both sides, it could signal the start of a significant deterioration in security in an already lawless land.
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Africa: Horn
Sheikh Aweys declares war on Somali interim government
2005-09-10
The most powerful Somali religious leader and founder of Al-Ittihad al-Islami (AIAI) armed Somali militia, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys said he and his followers are getting ready for war with Somalia’s enemies. In an exclusive interview with SomaliNet’s Hassan Ali in Mogadishu, the Sheik said they will no longer be mere spectators of what Ethiopia and its cronies are doing to Somalia. "High ranking Ethiopian military officers have been in Jowhar, 90 KM away from Mogadishu for the past few months. We must wage Jihad against them" he said. Sheik Aways accused Jowhar based interim government of selling the country to Ethiopia and renewing Somalia’s civil war. "We have been mobilizing all of our assets in the past few months and we are ready to die for saving Somalia" He said.
"Not me, personally, of course, but lots of those guys over there! All of 'em, in fact... Except for the ones who owe me money..."
Al-Ittihad al-Islami had fought with Ethiopian forces inside Somalia many times in the past. Sheik Aweys who has been silent for a long time is now open about his intentions. Political analysts say he can no longer be on the sidelines because his longtime foe and worst enemy is at his doorsteps. Alitihad tried to assassinate then Puntland president, Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed and capture port city of Bosaso in early years of the civil war. Alitihad members and sympathizers were persecuted in Puntland ever since that failed coup.
Now that is so unfair!
Now, Mr. Yusuf is the head of the interim government and is in Jowhar. The interim government is mainly symbolic with no power at this time. However, it is seen as a growing monster by many.
Interesting description of having an actual government...
Mogadishu warlords who are opposed to the interim government are also threatening to unseat Jowhar based fragile government by force. They tell Mogadishu residents that Ethiopia and Abdulahi Yussuf of Puntland (northeast region of Somalia) are right on their doorsteps in Jowhar and it is time to defeat them. The US government believes Al-Ittihad al-Islami has ties with Alqaeda and is on the list of US watched terrorist organizations.
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Africa: Horn
UN sez 17 al-Qaeda training camps active in Somalia
2005-07-11
A new and ruthless cell with links to al-Qaida has grabbed a foothold in Somalia's capital, according to a report released Monday that dovetails with other analyses showing the lawless country could become a haven for international terrorists.

In its report, the International Crisis Group said the Mogadishu cell was led by a young Somali militant trained in Afghanistan, where al-Qaida was once based. The report said the group ``announced its existence by murdering four foreign aid workers in the relatively secure territory of Somaliland between October 2003 and April 2004.''

The Brussels-based group that tracks world conflicts said the threat of terrorism inspired by an extremist interpretation of Islam ``in and from Somalia is real.'' It added that al-Qaida contributed to attacks on U.S. and U.N. peacekeepers in Somalia in the early 1990s and used the country as a transit zone for attacks in neighboring Kenya and as a hiding place for some of its leading members today.

A new transitional government was formed last year during peace talks in neighboring Kenya, but the administration has failed to relocate to Mogadishu because the city is considered unsafe.

The government is also opposed by Islamic extremists and some of the dozens of warlords who control some of the 53,000 militias in the country.

In March, United Nations experts monitoring an arms embargo on Somalia reported that Islamic hard-liners, including a group with alleged ties to al-Qaida, was importing high explosives, mines, hand and rifle-fired grenades, anti-tank weapons and ammunition and anti-aircraft guns and ammunition.

The U.N. monitors said they had pictures and information that about 17 mobile military training camps have been established by the Islamic Somali group, Al-Ittihad al-Islami, which wants to use its military power against the new government to impose Islamic law on Somali society.

Al-Ittihad, listed by the United States as a terrorist group linked to al-Qaida, operates openly as a religious organization and is a powerful economic force in southern Somalia.

In the latest assessment, the International Crisis Group did not identify the Mogadishu cell, but said it is led by led by Aden Hashi Ayro. Its members had ``little or no religious authority ... (and) seem to be organized exclusively to conduct urban insurgency and terrorism operations without a clear political aim,'' the group said.

The International Crisis Group said Western governments, led by the U.S., were building up counterterrorist networks headed by Somali faction leaders and former military or police and by working with the security services in breakaway Somaliland and semiautonomous Puntland.

The strategy has netted at least one key al-Qaida figure, and as many as a dozen members of the new group are either dead or behind bars, according to the group.

In May, the then-commander of a U.S. counterterrorism task force for the Horn of Africa said Somalia has become a haven for terrorists in East Africa. Marine Maj. Gen. Samuel Helland said U.S. troops were working with Somalia's neighbors to improve their border security since pressure on the al-Qaida terror group in Pakistan and Afghanistan may force some members to seek refuge in East Africa.
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Africa: East
Mogadishu Warlords Help Americans Hunt for Terrorists
2003-11-05
Sounds like we’ve gotten rid of that "can’t work with scumbags" notion. EFL:
In lawless Mogadishu, where U.S. officials fear al-Qaida members are plotting their next attack, the word is out: catch a terrorist, collect rewards as high as $5 million. At least four al-Qaida terrorist suspects are in Somalia, Kenyan officials and U.N. experts say, and Americans are trying to capture them in a country without an effective central government for more than a decade, officials and gunmen told The Associated Press. So far, those efforts are known to have netted at least one al-Qaida suspect - Suleiman Abdalla Salim Hemed, who’s accused of playing a role in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa - but rumors abound of gunmen kidnapping Arabs and turning them over to U.S. agents. A Somali warlord, Mohammed Dheere, coordinated the capture of Hemed at the behest of U.S. officials, gunmen familiar with the Hemed operation told AP, speaking privately for fear of reprisals. Most Somalis believe Dheere was generously rewarded. Kenya’s national security minister, Chris Murungaru, claimed credit for Hemed’s capture and said he was turned over to U.S. authorities, who have refused to comment.

But the gunmen said U.S. agents regularly visit Dheere at his Mogadishu home and an AP reporter saw two of the alleged agents, dressed in regular clothing, moving through Mogadishu using a team of bodyguards belonging to Bashir Rageh, a wealthy businessman closely associated with Dheere. After Hemed’s capture, Dheere questioned Hemed’s friends for hours, asking about other suspected terrorists. When shown photos from the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists Web site, Hemed’s friends said Dheere used the same photos when he questioned them. They said they didn’t recognize any of the men in the photos. One of the most-wanted al-Qaida suspects, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, is thought to be hiding in Somalia, a senior Kenyan security official told AP on Wednesday. Somalia, a semiarid country, offers an attractive location for covert operations, but the country is nothing like Afghanistan, where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden’s Islamic militants were welcomed and worked unhindered, establishing large training camps. Somalia’s clan-based society is deeply Islamic, but the vast majority of Somalis follow Sufism, which is vehemently opposed to al-Qaida’s militant, politically infused interpretation of Islam.
The Sunnis and the Shiites both hate the Sufi’s.
As a result, the warlords who run the country, drawing support and gunmen from their clans, are decidedly secular in their politics.
"It’s nothing personal, Abdulla. Just business."
While German reconnaissance planes and German and U.S. warships patrol the coastline, U.S. officials have tried to get a presence on the ground by capitalizing on the warlords’ lack of religious zeal and need for cash.
Money talks, and we have the money.
And while most Somalis reject Islamic extremism, there are militants in Somalia. Al-Ittihad al-Islami, listed by the United States as a terrorist group linked to al-Qaida, does openly operate as a religious organization, though its members publicly renounce violence.
Yeah, I know. R.O.P.
Abdiqasim Hassan Salad, who led a failed transitional government and is attempting to form a new one, said small numbers of terrorists may be in Somalia. "That doesn’t mean that Somalia can’t become a terrorist playground," he said. "We need the help of the United States of America."
"No checks. Cash or gold bars, please."
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East/Subsaharan Africa
Kenya was warned before attacks...
2002-12-04
The Kenyan Daily Nation reported yesterday that Kenyan security forces knew terrorists were planning to carry out an attack in a coastal area and that a bomb had been smuggled into the country. The warnings were sent in March 2002 to senior military officials, the police and intelligence organizations, the report said. The Kenyan Interior Ministry has denied receiving warning of an impending attack. The newspaper quoted sources as saying that the first warning was received on March 11 and referred to the Al-Ittihad al-Islami organization, affiliated with Al-Qaida, and it was planning to attack western targets in Kenya. The second warning came the following day, and said that six explosives experts had left Somalia for Kenya to attack U.S., British and German targets on the Kenyan coast. The third warning was received on March 27. The fourth and last warning was received the following day and said that the two terrorists were on their way to Kenya. Authorities had details and photos of the two, believed to have been responsible for last week's deadly terror attack.
The problem there is that the warnings were received last March. That's eight months ago. Think real hard, and you still won't be able to remember which other warnings were issued in March, even if you're in the security business. The number of false alarms that come out also makes things harder. The Kenyans denying they ever got the warnings is just silliness on their part.
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East/Subsaharan Africa
SAMs may have come from Somalia...
2002-12-02
WESTERN intelligence agencies have identified Somalia as the most likely source of two Sam-7 missiles fired at the Israeli-chartered jet minutes after it left Mombasa airport last Thursday. It was also the main entry point into Kenya of the suicide bombers of the Hotel Paradise. “Those types of Chinese-made Sams are easily purchased in Mogadishu and the rest of southern Somalia. It is virtually certain they came from there,” Moustafa Hassouna, an authority on the threat posed by terrorist groups in East Africa, said.
But... But... That guy in al-Guardian said not to blame them. You don't mean he's full of something, do you?
Dr Hassouna, an Egyptian who advises the United Nations on regional security issues, and others said that al-Qaeda had maintained a robust network in the Horn of Africa since the 1998 bombing of the US Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, which killed more than 200 people. “Some come in under the guise of refugees, others just slip over the border somewhere. There are so many ways in. I can’t see how the Kenyan police could possibly control it,” he said.
Obviously they can't. It's like living next door to the family with 14 unruly kids, the one with the car up on blocks out front, where the cops are there every other night...
With its level of poverty, several regional conflicts, open borders and corrupt and inefficient governments, experts have long given warning that East Africa could become a “terror centre”. Camps of impoverished refugees in remote areas provide the perfect breeding grounds for terrorists.
For cannon fodder, anyway. There's a difference...
Dr Hassouna believes that the missiles missed the aircraft carrying 260 Israeli holidaymakers home only because they had been poorly maintained. “This was a very close-run thing indeed and shows a high degree of planning and organisation,” he said.
And typically Arab levels of maintenance...
Somalia is a collapsed state with no effective central government since 1991. It has a long border with Kenya, which is used by Arab refugees, a long, unguarded coastline and more than 100 remote landing strips. Washington is pointing the finger again at Al-Ittihad al-Islamiya (Unity of Islam), a shadowy group that appeared in the country in the late 1980s and gained strength and notoriety in the 1990s after the collapse of the rule of the dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Some experts say that the group, which was financed from Saudi Arabia,
... where else? ...
effectively splintered and broke up several years ago. Others maintain that its members have merely gone to ground.
Probably they've been absorbed into a seconed-generation organization by now, with the financing coming round-about, rather than directly from the Sodders.

FOLLOWUP:

A statement released Monday on an Islamic Web site said that Al Qaeda was behind the deadly dual attacks on Israelis in Kenya last week. The 5-page claim on www.azfalrasas.com was made in the name of "The Political Office of Al Qaeda Jihad Organization."

It called the Nov. 28 attacks a Ramadan greeting to the Palestinian people and referred to the Al Qaeda attacks against U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, which killed 231 people — including 12 Americans — and wounded more than 5,000.

"At the same place where the 'Jewish Crusader coalition' was hit four years ago ... here the fighters ... came back once again to strike heavily against that evil coalition," the statement said. "But this time, it was against Jews..."
Does that mean we can go back to looking for the usual suspects now?
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The Alliance
Al-Qaeda cells may be in Somalia. Wotta surprise.
2001-12-13
  • The possibility is "very real" that terrorist cells linked to Al-Qaeda are present in Somalia the US said. "The possibility of terrorist cells in Somalia is very real," Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Walter Kansteiner said at the end of an 11-day visit to Africa which included Ethiopia, Kenya and Zimbabwe. Kansteiner said he believed the Somali hardline group Al-Ittihad al Islami had links with Al-Qaeda.
    "You may expect a visit from 10,000 helpful United States troops within the near future. Please extend them every cooperation or they will kill you."
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