BillCosby

__________________
Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror

BleedingPinky

Great^n dad J.C. already spread the word. Beware of those Gauls!

BillCosby

Here yea go: U.S. kills Somalia's al-Qaeda leader

By Hamsa Omar and Shashank Bengali

McClatchy Newspapers
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Al-Qaeda's top man in Somalia, a key figure in an Islamist insurgency that has been raging for more than a year, was killed early yesterday in a U.S. military air strike on a small central town.

Aden Hashi Ayro, a slight, Afghanistan-trained Islamic extremist who was thought to be in his early 30s, led the group known as al-Shabaab - "the youth" - which last month was added to the U.S. list of terrorist organizations because of its alleged ties to al-Qaeda. ((this makes it ok.. they are on a list.... ))

Sheikh Muhktar Robow, a spokesman for the extremist group, confirmed Ayro's death.

Lt. Joe Holstead of the U.S. Central Command said that the military had carried out an attack on "a known al-Qaeda target and militia leader" near the town of Dusamareb, about 300 miles north of the capital, Mogadishu.

Another U.S. official with knowledge of the operation confirmed that Ayro had been killed. That official requested anonymity to discuss a sensitive military operation.

The predawn strike, which residents said killed more than a dozen other people, was the fourth time in 16 months that the U.S. military has bombarded reputed Islamist hideouts in Somalia. But it would be the first time that a strike netted a major U.S. target.

Ayro developed a reputation as one of the most dangerous men in East Africa as the leader of al-Shabaab, the militant wing of an Islamic fundamentalist movement that took over Mogadishu in 2006 and imposed religious law.

Neighboring Ethiopia sent troops into Somalia in December that year, driving movement members from the capital and parts of southern Somalia. But al-Shabaab continues to wage an Iraq-style insurgency.

Ahmed Samatar, a Somalia expert at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., said Ayro's death would not significantly weaken the insurgency because anger against the Ethiopian military occupation - and U.S. support for it - runs too deep.

"I have little doubt that the resistance will continue until there is a full withdrawal of Ethiopian troops out of Somalia and a new legitimate and competent national government is established," Samatar said.

Ayro's killing also comes amid U.N.-backed peace talks, which are slated to be more inclusive than previous rounds and offer a slim hope of bringing together the disparate groups in the armed opposition, including some Islamists.

Yesterday's attack damaged the talks, Rashid Abdi, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, told the Associated Press.

Residents of Dusamareb said four low-flying fighter planes buzzed the town about 4 a.m. and slammed several missiles into a series of houses, including one housing Ayro and several other extremists.

"We so far collected 15 dead bodies, some of them shattered to pieces," Mohamed Daud Ali, a 41-year-old resident, said by telephone. "Some victims were taken to the hospital and treated for terrible burns."

Islamist officials said that Ayro had been in Mogadishu commanding the extremist group until a few days ago, when he arrived in Dusamareb, a well-known hideout.

The invasion by neighboring Ethiopia - backed by U.S. military and intelligence support - put a U.N.-backed transitional government in power in Somalia.

Under Ayro's leadership al-Shabaab quickly regrouped. Since January 2007, it has been blamed for a string of roadside bombings, assassinations and guerrilla attacks on Somalian and Ethiopian forces.

The violence has plunged Somalia, which has not had a functioning government since 1991, into crisis and forced an exodus from Mogadishu, a once-pretty seaside city that now looks like a postapocalyptic ghost town.

U.S. officials say Ayro protected the al-Qaeda operatives who carried out the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed more than 220 people, as well as the 2002 car bombing of a Kenyan resort hotel frequented by Israeli tourists.

Previous U.S. strikes in Somalia have drawn criticism from human-rights groups, which said that most of the victims were civilians.

__________________
Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror

Malkavian

I believe this is what you are referring to. The treaty is with the Republic of China, or KMT more specifically. KMT had always claimed to be the legit ruler of all China, not just Taiwan, just like CPP claims to be the legit ruler or all China including Taiwan. Neither party views Taiwan as separate from mainland... At least, to the best of my knowledge. Things may have changed more recently, but i'm not aware of any such changes...

So... If Republic of China mentioned in the treaty is indeed all of China as it was intended by the treaty's signatories, and not just Taiwan, US is still interfering in domestic disputes of other nation. Let's say, Alaska decided it was sick of Fed government, established it's own authority, and called on China for defense. The question is, is it legal for Alaska to make independent decisions in foreign diplomacy? I don't think it is... US Fed fought a Civil War against secessionists, and i doubt mood has changed much. It's no different for China, imo.

__________________
Woof!

BleedingPinky

Now are you a Russian? No way!

bornright

Taiwan does not consider itself as a territory of China.

North Korea is run by an insane person who wishes to test its missiles all over the Pacific including over its neighbors. The US was not the only one concerned about the threats of North Korea.

Malkavian

Yes i am. My thought process is more American though...

__________________
Woof!

Malkavian

It... depends. KMT most certainly does. At least, did when i last checked and when the treaty was signed. ROC applies to all of China, including mainland, not just Taiwan. KMT is in power again this year, so it looks like they indeed represent the wishes of the general public.
N Korean government is the business of N Korean citizens. Not of US. Pacific is international water and all sort of crap falls in there on a regular basis (old satellites etc)... That said, testing a missile over Japan without their permission is wrong, i would agree with that. But it's not the reason US is after N Korea...

__________________
Woof!

michelemichele

Agreed on one item: Al Qaeda is indeed an enemy of your nation. And mine. And Europe. And the list goes on. The notion (from some delusional leftists) that they're standing for The Underdog is ludicrous, almost as ludicrous as JR cast as Protector of Democracy. Har.

McCain? They'd love it. Another benighted xtian to throw gasoline on the fire. Hilary? Unknown. Obama? Now that could be interesting, but not for the reactionary reasons you're giving.

Obama is one of the few persons who could actually reverse the image the States has cast in global perception. Whether he can live up to that image remains to be seen, but it's a better gamble than anyone else in the playing field, and how tired this old (R)hetoric is getting. Eight years of it, and golly, look how many more fires there are blazing all over the Middle East & Africa. Coincidence?

Do you have any idea of what's going on throughout the world beyond what Faux & CNN spoon feeds their viewers?

Love the cheap shot at Carter.

Nuke em & let gahawd sort em out. Whee.

__________________
(((start the music)))