The Ubiquity of al-Qaeda
They are everywhere. In Iraq where assaults against civilians continue. Where 55 people were killed and 95 injured as gunmen stormed the Salahuddin provincial council building in Tikrit, taking dozens hostage, executing three council members, setting them on fire, and then detonating their explosive belts, blowing themselves and the rest of their hostages to shredded flesh. And as police arrived on the scene, a car bomb exploded.In Libya, in the east of the country where rebels have been infiltrated by members of al-Qaeda they present as a quandary to the prospects of arming the rebels whose munitions and trucks cannot deflect the superior fire power of government forces. Arm the rebels and who else is being armed through the generosity and concern of Western countries, anxious to assist the rebels to victory, unseating Moammar Gadhafi.
And in Yemen where a nationwide revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh is ongoing, the presence of al-Qaeda is manifest, seizing control of Jaar and surrounding villages. With President Saleh's political longevity in question who will the United States depend upon to battle al-Qaeda in Yemen, well ensconced among the tribal villages and respected there.
The vast regions of Yemen, like Somalia, where the arm of government security does not reach, has become an al-Qaeda base of operations in the Arabian Peninsula. "If we do not act, along with good-willed and friendly countries, to close the rift and start a political dialogue, there will be a devastating civil war that will disturb the whole region", warned President Saleh.
The nationwide revolt against his rule, with mass protests demanding that he step down from office is well into its second month. President Saleh, a staunch ally of the West and the United States, refuses demands to abdicate his presidency, explaining reasonably enough that he has no intention of handing over the reigns of government to unproven rebels, those who have no experience and cannot be trusted.
But this is yet another Muslim state whose people, fed up with insecurity, lack of employment, and basic freedoms are finally realizing that mass demonstrations that refuse to back down in the face of government brutality in desperate attempts to retain power, have the initiative. People are dying, as government troops attempt to repress the dissenting protests, but this only makes people more determined.
An ammunition factory in Abyan, south Yemen was looted by al-Qaeda, taking what they wanted and then fleeing. In the wake of their looting foray, a fire and explosion occurred as nearby townspeople, including women and children, arrived to pick through what had been left. It's speculated that al-Qaeda fighters deliberately left explosive powder around, triggered by a resident's cigarette to cause a huge conflagration.
Over 120 people were killed outright as the plant was destroyed through a series of blasts. Many more were wounded severely, and may end up adding to the total figure of those killed. Everyone is accustomed to carrying firearms in the country. It's estimated that there are three guns for each individual in the 24-million population.
The al-Qaeda gunmen, armed and hooded, came away with cases of weapons. Their growing presence throughout the Arab world comprises a direct threat to the populations their fanatical predations impact upon. As they become more assured and bolder, and there are fewer government defences to unseat their presence.
As fundamentalist Islamism sweeps through the world of Islam, violent political Islam partners with it. Their sinister, destructive swath through the Muslim world will not be contained in the Muslim world. It will inevitably spill over into the world at large, as it continues to wage its vicious jihad elsewhere, through sacrificial martyrdom operations and the overall commitment to global shariah-led Islam.
Labels: Islam, Terrorism, Traditions, Troublespots
posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, March 30, 2011
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