http://www.observer.gm/enews/index.php?option=com_content <http://www.observer.gm/enews/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5402 &Itemid=42> &task=view&id=5402&Itemid=42
Forces on Terrorism-Bin Laden has Africa on his mind Maybe some people thought Osama Bin Laden had forgotten about them or, at least, he had forgotten about Africa. They were wrong. His audio tape broadcast on Arab television in late April reminded everybody that he still has Africa very much on his twisted mind. With a US$25 million bounty on his head and hiding in a cave along the Afghanistan border with Pakistan, Bin Laden let Africa know it's very much on his mind. Speaking on the tape with his usual hatred against non-Muslims urged his supporters to kill all the infidels. Bin Laden also urged his mindless supporters to fight any United Nations peacekeeping efforts in Sudan. Bin Laden's justifications for killing civilians in the past have rubbed many Arab leaders the wrong way. Unsurprising was the large part of the tape that had to do with his complaint about the Western rejection of the terrorist group Hamas. Bin Laden's comments about the West's rejection of the terrorist group Hamas held no surprise for observers. The real surprise in this tape was his call to "the Mujahedin and all their sympathizers, especially in Sudan and the Arab peninsula, to prepare for long war against the crusader plunderers in Western Sudan." A number of possibilities exist to explain the messages on the tape. No reports have come to light of anyone who has actually seen or spoken with Bin Laden. Taped messages are the only way he can get out of his thoughts against the West and Israel. His militant leaders in Iraq and other zone of anarchy are taking the spotlight away from Bin Laden, and he wants to remind the world that even though he lives in a cave, he is still someone important. He may also want to taunt his hunters, and by the tape and reference to current events, show that he is still alive and plotting. It may be, too, that Sudan remains a special interest for Bin Laden. He spent the years 1992-96 in the country living in a large white mansion in an upscale khartoum neighbourhood. He owned 35 companies and employed 4000 people. He built roads, an airport, helped the country to get out of financial difficulties and, on a huge farm, tinkered with various agricultural schemes. The country also gave al-Qaeda room for military training bases. The long, upguarded border with Egypt provided easy access for al-Qaeda militants to make mischief in that country. A Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman dismissed Bin Laden's peacemakers. "We will not host any terrorist," the spokesman said, adding that Sudan intends to cooperate fully with the international community "to solve any problems." There may be another more compelling reason why Bin Laden's interest in Africa reawakened. The international focus on the Sudan situation is one thing, but another is the increase in Asian interest in Africa, starting with giant China. In April, Hu-Jintao, the Chinese president, paid a friendly visit to Nigeria "to increase mutual trust, enhance mutually beneficial cooperation, advance common development and to forge a new type of China-Africa strategic partnership." The Chinese President brought to Nigeria such things as tariff benefits, debt cancellation, aid promises, loans and professional training systems. In a visit to Kenya, the Chinese President came with much more than smiles. He got an agreement to explore for oil reserves of blocks totalling 115 square kilometers off Kenya's Indian Ocean Coast. Not to be outdone, Junichiro Koizumi, Japan's Prime Minister also went to Africa, visiting Ethiopia and Ghana. Koizumi's visit, he said, was mainly to focus international attention on Africa's developmental needs and to publicise Japan's position as a significant leader in aid to the continent. The last thing Bin Laden wants to see is any world leader coming to Africa to help development. To build an al-Qeada presence, he depends on regime weakness, corruption, popular discord, lax financial regulations, virtually non-existent border controls and muslim communities he can fill with extremism. Africa is made to measure. The presence of two economic giants committed to doing business in Africa stands in the way of Bin Laden's pretensions to establish an Islamic world order and certainly messes up his plans for Africa. Bin Laden's threat to Sudan was different from his 2003 threat to Nigeria and to Morocco. In that message released to the media and filled with pious sentiments, Bin Laden told supporters what he wanted, "to get rid of the government." He urged a violent change of regime not only in Nigeria but also in Morocco. In 2003 an al-Qaeda terror network was uncovered in Kenya. The cell had plans to attack Western targets in the country and was recruiting local Kenyans to carry out the attacks. In 2005, Bin Laden sent Abu-Ubayda al Banshiri on an African reconnaissance trip. Ubayda travelled through Central Africa, Burundi and Rwanda to find training areas to prepare militants for attacks on Western targets. One Western ambassador has pointed to Africa's muslim communities, rising extremism and Bin Laden's intentions to create a muslim state as things to keep in mind when Bin Laden makes his threats. He might have added that Africa should not forget about Bin Laden because he hasn't forgotten Africa. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
