Kenya (catch all)

[M-A Lagrange]

The Shebaab claim they killed 137 hostages. Still at least 50 persons MIA in Westgate. Will be difficult to find out as the roof collapsed.

Al-Shabaab claim 137 hostages killed at Westgate

The Al-Shabaab insurgents claimed on Wednesday that they had killed 137 hostages during the Westgate Mall siege, figures impossible to verify and higher than the number of people officially registered as missing.

The fighters, in a message posted on Twitter, said "137 hostages who were being held by the mujahedeen" had died.

They also accused the Kenya Defence forces of using "chemical agents" to end the four-day stand-off.

"In an act of sheer cowardice, beleaguered Kenyan forces deliberately fired projectiles containing chemical agents," one tweet read.

"To cover their crime, the Kenyan government carried out a demolition to the building, burying evidence and all hostages under the rubble."

http://m.news24.com/kenya/National/N...tgate-20130925

[Tukhachevskii]

List Of Nairobi Attackers, Including Westerners, Published On Social Media

[M-A Lagrange]

An interresting article on the Al Shebaab finance and the impact of Westgate attack on Shebaab incomes.

Shabaab finances face squeeze after Kenya attack

Al Shabaab's economic strength is vital to its operations because it can pay its thousands of fighters a monthly salary normally varying between $100 to $300 a month.

That, more than its declared aim of imposing a strict version of Sharia or Islamic law, is the main incentive to join up, Somali researchers say.

Ironically, al Shabaab's income may have benefited from an upturn in the Somali economy that followed the partial restoration of order in Mogadishu over the past two years and a growth in investment amid hopes of an end to years of war.

In the wake of the four-day attack by al Shabaab militants on a Nairobi shopping mall in which at least 72 people were killed, Western counter-terrorism agencies are expected to subject the group's sources of financial support to renewed scrutiny, Somali experts say.

The success of such efforts will depend to a large extent on the choices made by Somalis, in particular the powerful Somali business community in east Africa.

According to Ken Menkhaus, a leading U.S. scholar of al Shabaab, the most formidable weapon against al Shabaab may be the Somalia expatriate business community in Kenya, which has emerged as a force in property and trade in the past 20 years.

http://www.courant.com/news/nation-w...,7423755.story

[Bill Moore]

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/09...0-students-in/

Islamist terrorists kill dozens of students in attack on Nigerian college

Islamic terrorists dressed in Nigerian military uniforms assaulted a college inside the country Sunday, gunning down dozens of students as they slept in their dorms and shot those trying to flee, witnesses say.

"They started gathering students into groups outside, then they opened fire and killed one group and then moved onto the next group and killed them. It was so terrible," on surviving student, who would only give his first name of Idris, told Reuters.

KingJaja, this type of attack should be a redline for any nation. I have seen little evidence that moderate responses work against animals like this.

[JMA]

KingJaja, this type of attack should be a redline for any nation. I have seen little evidence that moderate responses work against animals like this.

Bill, they apparently have 9 perps in custody. Given that Kenya does not have the same sensitivities over the use of ... shall we say ... coercion, they will soon all be singing like little birdies. All will be revealed.

That said, yes, you are correct it then depends on what is done with the intel.

[jmm99]

insulting all the real animals I love.

The fact is that these in Nigeria and those in Kenya are human beings with the same faculties of intellect, conscience and free will that we possess; that they have made deliberate and premediatated choices to do exactly what they have done; and that, as cognizant human beings, they deserve everything that is coming their way.

In short, they deserve retribution, reprobation and specific deterrence.

Regards

Mike

[Bill Moore]

insulting all the real animals I love.

The fact is that these in Nigeria and those in Kenya are human beings with the same faculties of intellect, conscience and free will that we possess; that they have made deliberate and premediatated choices to do exactly what they have done; and that, as cognizant human beings, they deserve everything that is coming their way.

In short, they deserve retribution, reprobation and specific deterrence.

Regards

Mike

I used to think our strategists would wake up to simple truths and realize how deeply flawed our COIN doctrine really is. This is relevant because we have largely chosen to use a COIN approach to counter terrorism globalism globally by projecting the idea that if you just have good governance all of this will go away. I'm convinced now that our ill conceived views of how the world works hasn't and won't change just because those views are disproven when they bump up against reality. Nations that have a clearer view of reality, a reality not shaded by our idealism, will have to take the lead in the fight against terrorists. They shouldn't allow us to hold them back.

The only way to win over these ass clowns is to convert to their religion and embrace "their" version of sharia law. Of course that won't be enough, it never is. Where they achieve power status what follows will be the oppression of women, and then certain men won't be Muslim enough for the radicals so they'll have to be killed, and so on and so on.

[KingJaja]

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/09...0-students-in/



KingJaja, this type of attack should be a redline for any nation. I have seen little evidence that moderate responses work against animals like this.

The Nigerian Army is as brutal as they come, but we are dealing with something that might be beyond the capacity of the Nigerian Army (120,000 soldiers also managing a Niger Delta insurgency & a Middle Belt crisis).

The Sahel had great inland cities & it's economy was based on transactions between the interior & the Maghreb. Unfortunately, European trade with the coasts broke those links & even though the physical routes for trade are intact, very little trade occurs in that region.

That region is not economically productive & will never be, but it is still linked to the Maghreb & the interior. So we are dealing with a transnational problem that might only get worse with time.

It is impossible to police Nigeria's Northern borders - so these animals will have free movement through even weaker states like Niger, Chad & Cameroun - which they could destabilize large parts of in future.

I don't know how this thing will end, but it won't end soon. It will end only after all parties are exhausted.

[carl]

Two points and some questions.

First, the North American continent is getting very close to energy, fossil fuel, self sufficiency, even to the point we get to be exporters again, especially in natural gas. How might that affect our relations with Saudi Arabia?

Second, it seems the takfiri killers are embarking upon a simple religious war, kill the Christians. This is being seen in quite a few countries. How might this play out? Are they trying to provoke a reaction directed against all Muslims? That would make sense since that would give them the upper hand in the on-going struggle for leadership in the Muslim world.

Another point I just thought of. M-A is right about the Pak Army/ISI. They are the main devil. When/if they win in Afghanistan, they will be hugely encouraged as will all the takfiri killers worldwide. They will want to go on to bigger and better things. Ultimately theynwill have to be taken care of. How?

[KingJaja]

Two points and some questions.

First, the North American continent is getting very close to energy, fossil fuel, self sufficiency, even to the point we get to be exporters again, especially in natural gas. How might that affect our relations with Saudi Arabia?

Second, it seems the takfiri killers are embarking upon a simple religious war, kill the Christians. This is being seen in quite a few countries. How might this play out? Are they trying to provoke a reaction directed against all Muslims? That would make sense since that would give them the upper hand in the on-going struggle for leadership in the Muslim world.

Another point I just thought of. M-A is right about the Pak Army/ISI. They are the main devil. When/if they win in Afghanistan, they will be hugely encouraged as will all the takfiri killers worldwide. They will want to go on to bigger and better things. Ultimately theynwill have to be taken care of. How?

Sub-Saharan Africa is a bit different from the Middle East - it has a lot more Christians than Muslims & Christians tend to be located more in the wealthier, coastal cities.

If they want to provoke a reaction from Christians in Sub-Saharan Africa - eventually they'll get it, but they will regret it.