al-Qaeda

From hhur at reddit.com

Casio Watches an Arresting Offense in Afghanistan: Wikileaks on Guantanamo

Wikileaks has released the Pentagon assessments of nearly 800 suspected al-Qaeda prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay to newspapers such as the Washington Post. The documents show that some of the prisoners were likely dangerous men, while many others were probably arrested on flimsy evidence or even out of stupidity. Wearing a Casio watch could be […]

al-Qaeda

Qaddafi threatens to Join al-Qaeda as his Forces advance on Rebel Strongholds

Juan Cole

As the world watches Japan, transfixed by the aftermath of a massive tsunami that has probably killed over 10,000 and left half a million homeless, attended by a crisis in a series of nuclear reactors, on the other side of the world the forces of Muammar Qaddafi are advancing on rebel cities, reducing them one […]

Africa

Anzalone: Building an Insurgent State in Somalia?

Juan Cole

Christopher Anzalone writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: The Somali insurgent movement Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (Movement of Warrior-Youth) has controlled nearly all of southern and central Somalia since 2009 and was in the process of consolidating its authority when the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), aided by Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) […]

al-Qaeda

Pirio: Military Offensive against Al Shabaab in Somalia

Juan Cole

Gregory Alonso Pirio writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: With the world’s eyes riveted to the unfolding civil conflict in Libya, little notice is being given to a major offensive underway in Somalia to defeat the forces of the radical Al-Shabaab movement. Al Shabaab — a coalition of Somali forces supported by hundreds […]

Afghanistan

Olbermann Departs, as Media Consolidate Further

Juan Cole

People are blaming the abrupt departure of Keith Olbermann from MSNBC on that company’s merger with Comcast and Olbermann’s loss of the protection and patronage of Jeff Zucker, the former head of NBC programming. MSNBC says that the issue has nothing to do with Comcast. It seems Olbermann is too extreme for US television. But […]

al-Qaeda

Mubarak: We will Cut off the Head of the Snake; Al-Azhar: This was an Attack on all Egyptians

Juan Cole

The semi-official Egyptian newspaper, al-Ahram, reports that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak asserted in a speech to the nation on Saturday that a foreign hand was behind the car-bombing of a Coptic Christian church in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria shortly after midnight on Saturday morning, which killed 21 and left nearly 100 persons wounded, […]

Afghanistan

Dec. 6: Top Ten New Wikileaks on Greater Middle East

Juan Cole

Here are this weekend’s top ten Wikileaks revelations for the Greater Middle East: The US and India wanted to slap United Nations sanctions on Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and his group, Jama’at al-Da’wa, for terrorism. But Pakistan asked China to block this move at the UN, and Beijing complied. The Jama`at is widely considered a front […]

al-Qaeda

149 Alleged Terrorists arrested in Saudi Arabia

Juan Cole

Authorities in Saudi Arabia, according to Al-Sharq al-Awsat writing in Arabic, have arrested 149 persons organized in 19 cells on charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism. The cells were operating independently of one another. Among their alleged targets were Saudi government buildings and military installations. Aljazeera Arabic is reporting that some intended to hit petroleum […]