Obama Gives Al-Qaeda Missiles To Attack America And West!

TheAlexJonesChannel

It's now official, western governments led by NATO, the US and France are running terror attack s all over the Middle East via al-CIA-da. Globalist have now given thousands of heat seeker missiles to al-CIA-da to attack America so the government can grandstand as savior and take freedoms.

Syrian ‘Rebel’ Films Himself Shooting 10 Prisoners – WARNING: Graphic Video

Patrick Dollard

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10 Al Qaeda Syrian ‘Rebel’ Groups Unite In Ominous, Powerful Coalition

Follow Bill Roggio On Twitter Excerpted from Bill Roggio's The Long War Journal: On the same day the US government announced that al Qaeda in Iraq's Al Nusrah Front was a terrorist organization, Al Nusrah and nine other jihadist groups banded together in the Syrian province of Deir al Zour and formed a Mujahideen Shura Council. The ...

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Senior al-Qaida leader killed in drone strike in Pakistan, jihadis, US officials say

Flashpoint-intel.com

By Robert Windrem
NBC News

A senior al-Qaida official and potential successor to the group’s leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed Friday morning in a Predator drone strike, according to reports on jihadi web forums and U.S. officials.

Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdul Rehman Al-Hussainan, aka Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti, was killed in Pakistan while eating breakfast, according to the accounts.  The 46-year-old cleric was seen as part of the “very top tier" of al-Qaida's remaining leaders in the wake of the death of Osama bin Laden, according to one expert on the terror group.

The news was first announced on an al-Qaida web forum early Friday. “We celebrate to you the news of the martyrdom of the working scholar Shaykh Khalid al-Hussainan (Abu Zaid al-Kuwaiti) while eating his Suhoor (dawn time) meal, and we ask Allah to accept him in paradise," a post said.

Evan Kohlmann, an NBC News counterterrorism analyst, said al-Hussainan was at the forefront of a new wave of al-Qaida leadership.

“That's a big gap in the leadership,” said Kohlmann, who is also a Justice Department consultant. “He was the last senior Al-Qaida leader in the Afghanistan-Pakistan area who was, one, from the Arabian Peninsula and, two, who had serious clerical credentials.  Now there is no obvious publicly recognizable candidate left to succeed Zawahiri.”

In recent years, al-Hussainan was seen in numerous al-Qaida videos offering religious training to the group’s operatives. The videos were widely circulated by al-Shabab, al-Qaida’s media wing. He also authored several books of religious thoughts.

The U.S. killed three other up-and-coming members of the terror group’s next generation leadership in the months after bin Laden was killed in a raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, by U.S. Navy SEALs in May 2011. Ilyas Kashmiri, the leader of a Pakistani group associated with al-Qaeda was killed June 3. Atiyah Abd-al Rahman, bin Laden’s chief of staff, was killed on Aug. 22 and Ayman al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen who was a leader of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, was killed Sept. 30. US officials say that hints about their whereabouts were found in materials gathered by the Navy SEALs in the raid on bin Laden’s compound.

Al-Hussainan is the highest ranking al-Qaida official to be killed since those leaders were killed. More >>

Petraeus 'suspected al-Qaida' immediately-References taken out of original CIA memo

(FOX NEWS) Former CIA Director David Petraeus stoked the controversy over the Obama administration’s handling of the Libya terror attack, testifying Friday that references to “Al Qaeda involvement” were stripped from his agency’s original talking points — while other intelligence officials were unable to say who changed the memo, according to a top lawmaker who was briefed.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., told Fox News that intelligence officials who testified in a closed-door hearing a day earlier, including Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Acting CIA Director Mike Morell, said they did not know who changed the talking points. He said they went out to multiple departments, including the State Department, National Security Council, Justice Department and White House.

“To me the question right now is who changed those talking points and why. … I’d say it was somebody in the administration had to have taken it out,” King told Fox News. “That, to me, has to be pursued.”

Al Qaeda's resurgence

Shadow Government

terror-mirror.com

Mary Habeck

The murder of Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans in Libya on September 11 has created a growing political backlash in the United States, but there are three other reasons that this attack is significant. First, an al Qaeda unit successfully assaulted American soil for the first time since 9/11. Second, we were -- once again  -- caught by surprise, and third, the attacks show that al Qaeda is not just alive and kicking (as I mentioned in my previous post), but that our current strategy for dealing with the group is failing.

While various plots have been attempted by al Qaeda and individuals or cells associated with the group, the sacking of the Benghazi consulate was the first successful attack that can be definitively tied to the organization. Excellent work by Thomas Joscelyn suggests that the attack on the consulate was just one of four separate assaults on embassies carried out by al Qaeda that day. This simultaneity is, by the way, one reason that I immediately suspected -- and wrote about - al Qaeda involvement in the raids, since this is as much a hallmark of al Qaeda operations as, for instance, the use of suicide bombers in Muslim-majority countries and the targeting of international organizations.

Just as worrisome for future events is the fact that the United States was caught off-guard, yet again, by this massive and sophisticated operation. I would argue that there are four reasons for this failure: a widely accepted narrative, a false view, the successes of the targeted attrition program, and assumptions about the war in Libya. For the past 18 months there has been a building narrative among both the expert community and this administration that, with the death of Bin Ladin, al Qaeda is nearly finished and that there is nothing left but a small group of "dead-enders," known as the "core," that need to be dealt with. Al Qaeda, in the narrative, is so weakened that it can barely stay alive, let alone carry out successful and complex attacks like that in Benghazi.

This narrative is based on a false view of al Qaeda: that the "core" is a small terrorist group whose main objective is attacking the United States, that the affiliates have primarily local concerns, that there is little command and control between the "core" and the affiliates, and that, therefore, the United States must only kill off the central leadership to be safe. I responded to this view of al Qaeda in several earlier posts, arguing that the core and affiliates are intimately connected, that the main objective of al Qaeda is taking over the Muslim-majority world, and that the organization is, in fact, attempting to create and lead a global insurgency. If this is all true, then al Qaeda is nowhere near defeat, and is, in fact, doing far better today than at any time in its existence.

The successes of counterterrorism czar John Brennan's targeting program played into both the narrative and the current accepted view of al Qaeda by giving the impression of progress in the war with al Qaeda. As each member of the leadership was killed -- most especially Bin Laden, but many others as well -- experts and administration officials proclaimed that we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. The belief that the United States was making progress against al Qaeda (along with the notion that the affiliates have mainly local concerns) created a false sense of security in many places, including Libya.

Finally, and most controversially, I believe that this administration's incorrect reading of the war in Libya worked with the narrative and analytical issues to create the preconditions for the United States to be caught by surprise in Benghazi. Unlike the war in Iraq, the United States managed to topple the Libyan dictator without putting American lives in danger and without exacerbating local tensions through the presence of our troops. The result should have been less violence, no insurgency, and no organized al Qaeda group in Libya. The continued, and even strengthening, violence in places like Benghazi -- along with a strong al Qaeda presence -- was unexpected and therefore unplanned for, again adding to the shock of September 11.

The third significance of Benghazi is that it underlines the failure of our current strategy to deal with al Qaeda. For several years, the main strategies for combating al Qaeda have been to take them on through our ground troops (in Iraq and Afghanistan), to empower partners to fight them (many places in the Middle East), or to use attrition to whittle down the group's leadership. With the ending of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the slow shifting of some partners away from aiding us (see Egypt and Pakistan, for example), we are more and more dependent on attrition as the means for taking out the group. The spread of al Qaeda to many new places, including the Sinai, Mali, Syria, and of course Libya, points to the failure of this strategy to achieve our goals.

 

OBAMA KNEW LIBYA ATTACK WAS AL QAEDA WITHIN 24 HOURS BUT DIDN'T TELL THE COUNTRY THE TRUTH

By Eli Lake | The Daily Beast | Sep 26, 2012 

Sources say intelligence agencies knew within a day that al Qaeda affiliates were behind the attacks in Benghazi, Libya—they even knew where one of the attackers lived. Eli Lake reports.

Within 24 hours of the 9-11 anniversary attack on the United States consulate in Benghazi, U.S. intelligence agencies had strong indications al Qaeda–affiliated operatives were behind the attack, and had even pinpointed the location of one of those attackers. Three separate U.S. intelligence officials who spoke to The Daily Beast said the early information was enough to show that the attack was planned and the work of al Qaeda affiliates operating in Eastern Libya.

Nonetheless, it took until late last week for the White House and the administration to formally acknowledge that the Benghazi assault was a terrorist attack.

A spokesman for the National Security Council declined to comment for the story. But another U.S. intelligence official said, “I can’t get into specific numbers but soon after the attack we had a pretty good bead on some individuals involved in the attack.”

It’s unclear whether any of these suspected attackers have been targeted or arrested, and intelligence experts caution that these are still early days in a complex investigation.

Read more:  http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/26/u-s-officials-knew-libya-attacks-were-work-of-al-qaeda-affiliates.html

Al Qaeda, The Taliban And US Presidential Elections – Analysis

By: B. Raman

Al Qaeda in North Waziristan, Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP), the NeoTaliban of Afghanistan and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have been closely following the presidential election campaign in the US. While they have kept up their rhetoric against President Barack Obama, they are not yet clear in their mind whether it would be in their interest to work for the defeat of Mr.Obama by stepping up acts of terrorism in the Af-Pak region and in the Iraq-Syria-Libya region.

There is a high level of anger against Mr.Obama in all these organisations. This is due to his intensification of the Drone strikes against Al Qaeda and the Taliban in the Waziristan area after coming into office, the killing of Osama bin Laden in a special operation at Abbottabad on May 1 / 2, 2011, the killing of Abu Yahya al-Libi, the religious mentor of Al Qaeda, who was a Libyan religious cleric, in a Drone strike in Waziristan on June 4 last, the death of Anwar al-Awlaki, the Amir of AQAP, who was a US citizen of Yemeni origin, in a Drone strike in Yemen in September last year, and the US refusal to take action against the producer of the anti-Islam film that has triggered a wave of demonstrations, some of them violent, by Muslims in different countries.  

Read more in Eurasia review >>

Key al-Qaida figure Said al-Shehri killed by air strike

Reuters/ Deputy leader of al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, Said al-Shehri, a Saudi national identified as Guantanamo prisoner number 372, speaks in a video posted on Islamist websites, in this 2009 file image.

By NBC News staff and wire reports

Yemeni armed forces have killed Said al-Shehri, a man seen as the second-in-command of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a government website said on Monday.

The Ministry of Defense website said Shehri was a Saudi national who was killed, along with six other militants. It gave no more details. An NBC News source in Yemen said Shehri he was killed by army operation in the Hadramout valley in the south-east of the country. 

The United States has used unmanned drones to target AQAP, which has planned attacks on international targets including airliners and is described by Washington as the most dangerous wing of al-Qaida.  More >>

Al-Qaeda terror suspect caught at London Olympic Park

The Telegraph/ By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent

9:15PM BST 07 Jul 2012

The alleged al-Qaeda militant was caught crossing through the Olympic Park five times, breaking a ban imposed by the Home Secretary, The Sunday Telegraph has learned.

The 24 year-old has previously tried to get to Afghanistan, allegedly for terrorist training, and is suspected of fighting for the Somali Islamist group al Shabaab, which has been responsible for thousands of deaths, including those of Western aid workers. He is accused of trying to recruit other Britons to its cause.

A Home Office lawyer warned after his discovery in the Olympic area that CF wanted to “re-engage in terrorism-related activities, either in the UK or Somalia” and is “determined to continue to adhere to his Islamist extremist agenda”.

His detention is the most serious security alert yet to hit the Olympic Park.

It is disclosed today after a week which saw 14 terror-related arrests across Britain, including a white Muslim convert detained over an alleged plan to carry out a major terrorist attack. More >>

U.S. drone strike in Pakistan kills al-Qaeda's No. 2

washingtonpost.com/ By Joby Warrick and Haq Nawaz Khan

An American drone strike in northwestern Pakistan early Monday killed al-Qaeda’s No. 2 leader, the charismatic and influential jihadist known as Abu Yahya al-Libi, a U.S. official said Tuesday.

After a day of uncertainty, the official said Libi was among more than a dozen people who perished in the strike, which drew strong condemnation from the Pakistan government Tuesday.

Following the strike, rumors swirled in Pakistan that the longtime deputy to Osama bin Laden had been badly wounded or perhaps killed when missiles struck a house used by Arab fighters.

Libi was one of al-Qaeda’s “most experienced and versatile leaders,” a U.S. official said in confirming the death, Reuters news agency reported. He “played a critical role in the group’s planning against the West, providing oversight of the external operations efforts.”

Libi’s death represents one of the biggest successes against al-Qaeda since bin Laden was killed by Navy SEALs 13 months ago.

A Pakistani intelligence official said earlier Tuesday that there were “ some indications that [Libi] was in the house or in the neighborhood, but whether he was killed or not is still unclear.”

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said it summoned Richard E. Hoagland, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, and informed him “that the drone strikes were unlawful, against international law and a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty.” In a statement, the Foreign Ministry added that drone strikes represent “a clear red-line for Pakistan” and noted that the country’s Parliament has declared them “unacceptable.”

Libi’s death “would be a major blow to ‘core’ al-Qaeda, removing the No. 2 leader twice in less than a year,” a senior U.S. official said Monday before the death was confirmed.  More >>

Senior al-Qaida leader targeted in US drone strike that killed 15 in Pakistan

AFP/Getty Images file

Al-Qaida official Abu Yahya al-Libi, who escaped from U.S. custody in Afghanistan in 2005, is shown in a screen grab from an al-Qaida propaganda videotape released in July 2008.

By Robert Windrem
NBC New

A Predator attack over the weekend targeted Abu Yahya al-Libi, a leading al-Qaida operative who was viewed as one of five candidates to succeed Osama bin Laden as leader of the terrorist group when he was killed last year.  U.S. officials confirm that he was the target of the Sunday attacks and say they are awaiting word on his status.
In one of three strikes over the weekend, a U.S. drone struck a militant compound early Monday morning in North Waziristan, part of  Pakistan’s northwestern tribal area. Pakistan security reports indicated the pre-dawn strike killed 15 insurgents, but. U.S. officials said the number of dead was “exaggerated.”
The Agence France Presse news agency reported that two missiles were fired on the compound in Mir Ali, 15 miles east of Miramshah, the capital of North Waziristan, near the Afghan border, in an area considered a hive of Taliban and al-Qaida activity.

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Syrian Al-Qaeda Rebel Working with UN Observers!

Rebel wearing the Al-Qaeda flag on his arm accompanying UN observers

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Bin Laden documents: Fear of drones

Security Clearance/ By Pam Benson

The dire impact of CIA drone missile strikes against suspected terrorists in Pakistan certainly did not go unnoticed by Osama bin Laden, prompting the al Qaeda leader to repeatedly warn associates to take appropriate security measures, according to documents seized during the raid on the al Qaeda leader's Pakistan compound last year.

Read:  Security Clearance's coverage of the Osama bin Laden documents

The letters written by bin Laden were among a number of documents released to the public on Thursday by West Point's Combating Terrorism Center.

In an October 2010 letter to Atiyya Abdul Rahman, al Qaeda's top operational planner, bin Laden noted the experience the United States had in using drones to monitor activities in the tribal areas of Pakistan where many of al Qaeda's core members operated.

"They can distinguish between houses frequented by men at a higher rate than usual. Also, the visiting person might be tracked without him knowing," he wrote.

Drones had primarily been used for surveillance purposes in Pakistan, but in 2004, the CIA upped the ante by firing the first missile from a drone at a terrorist target in Waziristan. Hundreds of attacks have been launched since then.

In a May 2010 message to Rahman, bin Laden wrote, "I had mentioned in several previous messages ... the importance of the exit from Waziristan of the brother leaders, especially the ones that have media exposure. I stress this matter to you and that you choose distant locations to which to move them, away from aircraft, photography and bombardment while taking all security precautions."

He offered advice on where to live in Pakistan: "Kunar is more fortified due to its rougher terrain and many mountains, rivers and trees, and it can accommodate hundreds of the brothers without being spotted by the enemy. This will defend the brothers from the aircraft ..."

Bin Laden explained in an April 2011 letter to Rahman that people should live on the outskirts of cities so they will be less obvious and reduce the security dangers. For those in cities he had a particular worry: "And one of the important security issues in the cities is controlling children, by not getting out of the house except for extreme necessity like medical care, and teaching them local language; and they do not get to the yard of the house without an adult who will control the volume of their voices."

Bin Laden suggested other ways to improve security. On transportation, he warned about traveling in cars and added, "A warning to the brothers: they should not meet on the road and move in their cars because many of them got targeted while they were meeting on the road."

He recommended the timing for movement: "He should move only when the clouds are heavy."

He indicated how often they should meet: "The brother should visit you no more than once or twice a week."

Bin Laden wrote about the need to use code words and aliases and said, "Remind your deputies that all communication with others should be done through letters."

He even warned his colleagues to get rid of the bag that money might be exchanged in because the bag might have a tracking chip.

Sometimes his instructions were quite detailed. In the April 2011 letter to Rahman, bin Laden spoke about how a message to his son should be handled. "This thumb drive contains a phone number of one of our brothers contained in the message for Hamzah, so please do not copy the message for Hamzah and after Hamzah copies the phone number on paper, destroy the card for fear of compromise."

Bin Laden gave some very precise directions to Rahman in the May 2010 letter concerning the possible arrival into Pakistan of some al Qaeda members who had been held in Iran.

"They will go to the tunnel between Kuhat and Peshawar, and arrange a meeting between them and another brother," he wrote. "The meeting must be precise in timing and it will be inside the tunnel, and they will change cars inside the tunnel, so they will ride the car with the brother and they will meet instead of the car they were riding in, and the brothers who are going to drive the car must be instructed on the strict adherence to the timings."

He continued with instructions saying there should be additional car changes, the movement should happen when it is overcast, and they should get rid of everything they received from Iran, "like baggage or anything, even as small as a needle, as there are eavesdropping chips that are developed to be so small, that they can even be put inside a medical syringe."

Five days before he was killed in the Navy SEALS raid on his Abbottabad compound, bin Laden wrote to Rahman, "we with the grace of Allah have been adhering to these precautions for nine years and we haven't heard that any of the brothers were arrested after the events (a possible reference to the 9/11 attacks) while adhering to the precautions..."

Rahman, who rose to the number two position after bin Laden's death, was struck down last August by a drone missile strike in the mountains of Pakistan.

The future of al Qaeda

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Bin Laden in hiding: Hatching horrific plots despite crippling attacks on al-Qaida

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Why Obama really thinks al-Qaida terrorizes

WND/ By Aaron Klein

Editor’s note: In 2008, WND thoroughly vetted President Obama’s radical background. Many of those original exclusive reports, almost entirely ignored by the establishment news media, currently are being utilized four years later by some media outlets in the lead up to this year’s presidential election. From now until Election Day, WND will present original investigations into Obama and his radical ties with bonus updates.------------------------------

The 9/11 attacks were carried out because of a lack of “empathy” for others’ suffering on the part of al-Qaida, whose terrorist ideology “grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair,” President Obama once explained in largely unreported comments eight days after the mega-terror attacks that rocked the nation.

Obama, then an Illinois state senator, went on to imply the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were in part, a result of U.S. policy, lecturing the American military to minimize civilian casualties in the Middle East and urging action opposing “bigotry or discrimination directed against neighbors and friends of Middle-Eastern descent.”

“Even as I hope for some measure of peace and comfort to the bereaved families, I must also hope that we, as a nation, draw some measure of wisdom from this tragedy,” Obama wrote in a piece about 9/11 published on Sept. 19, 2001, in Chicago’s Hyde Park Herald.

He continued: “Certain immediate lessons are clear, and we must act upon those lessons decisively. We need to step up security at our airports. We must re-examine the effectiveness of our intelligence networks and we must be resolute in identifying the perpetrators of these heinous acts and dismantling their organizations of destruction,” wrote Obama.

“We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity or suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, it may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics.

“Most often, though, it grows out a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair.

“We will have to make sure, despite our rage, that any U.S. military action takes into account the lives of innocent civilians abroad. We will have to be unwavering in opposing bigotry or discrimination directed against neighbors and friends of Middle-Eastern descent. Finally, we will have to devote far more attention to the monumental task of raising the hopes and prospects of embittered children across the globe – children not just in the Middle East, but also in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and within our own shores.”

Obama’s piece gained little notice outside the Hyde Park Herald, which covered Obama’s state Senate district. The Hyde Park area on Chicago’s South Side is heavily influenced by the Nation of Islam.

Obama’s remarks gained more attention after WND and Internet blogs publicized his piece during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Obama’s notion that terrorists act out of desperation and poor living conditions was directly contradicted in a WND interview in 2007 with a recruited Palestinian suicide bomber.

The recruited bomber said he is driven to carry out a suicide operation to “satisfy Allah and his instructions. No money interests, nothing. No brainwash, no pressure; it is my decision.”

“[My idea of suicide martyrdom] became stronger when I understood what status I will have in heaven if I sacrifice myself for Allah.”

Asked about media reports portraying Palestinian suicide attackers as acting in response to the Israeli occupation or poor living conditions, the recruited bomber called the claims “lies” and “Israeli propaganda.”

How Ecuador's immigration policy helps al Qaeda

Shadow Government/ By Otto J. Reich, Ezequiel Vázquez Ger

Terrorism, as the United States has learned at a high cost in recent years, comes in many forms and from unexpected sources. The government of Ecuador has once again crossed the line between irresponsible policies and ideologically driven actions that have created a serious security problem not only for its citizens but also for the entire Western Hemisphere. The disarray created in Ecuador's immigration policy has permitted transnational criminal organizations and terrorist groups -- possibly including al Qaeda -- to potentially use the country as a base of operations with the ultimate objective of harming the United States.

In June of 2008, the Ecuadorian government opened its borders to foreigners and ended visa requirements to enter its territory. This opened the floodgates to nationals from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia (e.g., Afghanistan, China, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Iran, Kenya, Nigeria, Cuba, Pakistan, and Somalia). For example, according to statistics of its own National Immigration Office, in 2006 (before the policy change) there were 92 entries of Pakistani citizens, by 2008 were already 178 and in 2010, 518. This is an increase of 550 percent in 4 years. More significantly, just between 2008 and 2010 an estimated 60,000 Cubans entered Ecuador, according to intelligence sources.

Records shows that large numbers of these immigrants enter to obtain Ecuadorian nationality by naturalization and thus be able to travel freely throughout Latin America and eventually to the United States without arousing suspicion because of their original nationalities. The routes by which they enter the Americas generally include a first stop in Cuba or Venezuela, countries with highly subjective immigration controls. Two routes that are used repeatedly are Pakistan/Afghanistan-Iran-Venezuela-Ecuador, and Somalia-Dubai-Russia-Cuba-Ecuador.

According to U.S. diplomatic cables, Ecuadorian authorities were alerted in 2009 by various international intelligence agencies about this deception. However, it was not until mid-2010 when they began to again administer their immigration policies. Thereafter, the Ecuadorian government somewhat modified its visa policy for nationals of certain countries that were considered the riskiest.

Nevertheless, some reports suggest that despite this change, these immigrant groups have developed a criminal infrastructure of sufficient magnitude to keep functioning independently. To bypass the stricter immigration controls, criminal gangs have specialized in forging travel documents, visas, birth certificates, and fake residency permits that ultimately lead to illegally obtaining an Ecuadorian passport. Documents are not difficult to obtain because the Mafiosi suborn government administrators including civil registry officials, judges, and other government officials.

Of particular concern to U.S. security is the case of nationals of third countries who enter Ecuador with passports issued by Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela, countries for which Ecuador still does not require visas.

It is noteworthy that by Executive Order No. 1065 signed by President Correa on February 16, 2012, Ecuador has substantially eased the process of naturalization of foreign citizens. This resolution orders the granting of letters of naturalization to people who had provided "relevant services" to Ecuador and have resided for more than two years in the country, opening the door for virtually anyone to become a naturalized Ecuadorian and obtain a passport.

The danger these criminal networks pose is illustrated by two examples, among many: In 2011 an investigation was conducted by the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) attaché in Quito, Ecuador, the HIS office in Atlanta, the Miami division of the FBI and the Ecuadorian National Police. The operation led to the arrest of Irfan Ul Haq, a Pakistani citizen who according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) was conducting a "human smuggling operation in Quito, Ecuador, that attempted to smuggle an individual they believed to be a member of the TTP from Pakistan (Tehrik-e Taliban) into the United States." The TTP was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department on Sept. 1, 2010.

A second case, which resulted in the arrest of Yaee Dawit, alias Jack Flora, probably the most important human trafficker in Africa and linked to different cells of al-Qaeda in East Africa, illustrates the good work of international cooperation, but also the importance that Ecuadorian cities have acquired as "hubs" for terrorists and transnational criminals.  More >>

The F..k political correctness - Al-Qaida's senior man in Europe freed

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Al Qaeda-linked militants in south Yemen continue to control territory

Frederick W. Kagan
Director, Critical Threats Project

Al Qaeda-linked militants in south Yemen continue to control territory, despite a Yemeni military presence and reported negotiations for withdrawal. The security conditions needed for the upcoming presidential election have not been met in certain Yemeni regions. Moreover, two major opposition groups, the Southern Movement and the al Houthis, have called for a general boycott of the election.

Yemeni tribal and government officials reported ongoing efforts to negotiate the withdrawal of al Qaeda-linked militants from Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan. Tariq al Fadhli, one of the mediators, said that the government had sent a team of six parliamentarians that is headed by Awad al Wazir. Fadhli, who fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan and backed the secessionist movement in April 2009, said that the militants, operating under the name Ansar al Sharia, have demanded that shari’a be implemented in the city. A second round of negotiations would seek the full withdrawal of the militants from Yemeni towns. Fighting for control of Zinjibar is ongoing: four al Qaeda-linked militants and a soldier were killed late Saturday outside of the city during an attack on a Yemeni army base.

Southern Movement supporters attacked a march in support of the upcoming Yemeni presidential election in Aden. Over thirty demonstrators were reported to have been injured. Opposition factions, including parts of the Southern Movement, have called for a boycott of the February 21 election. Ali Salim al Beidh, the former president of south Yemen and a secessionist leader, accused al Islah (Reform) party of organizing demonstrations in support of the election “pretending . . . the south [supports] the comedy of this election.”

The leader of the al Houthi movement, Abdul Malik al Houthi, released a statement calling for the formation of a caretaker government and the overthrow of the Yemeni regime. He wrote by email, "We demand the Yemenis also commissioned [sic] experts to formulate a new constitution, and the formation of a national body to restructure the army based on national rules." The al Houthis have announced a boycott of the February 21 presidential election. Supporters of the al Houthis have been engaged in clashes with Sunni tribes and Salafist fighters in Hajjah and Sa’ada governorates.