Al Qaeda

[shnozzola]

   While it seems we pick on Christian beliefs more than most of the other theists,  right now the world really must focus on Al Qaeda and extreme Islam.  While Africa in general gets  little interest most of the time by the west, the fundamentalist leanings in many parts of Africa feed right into this demented form of Islam, and it is spreading.

The world MUST continue to take this very seriously - these backward ideas that are being spread in dark corners will make the natural disasters that attract out attention seem meaningless.

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21566011-hectic-diplomacy-and-preparations-un-backed-war-against-branch-al-qaeda

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/04/world/africa/top-american-commander-in-africa-warns-of-al-qaeda-influence-in-mali.html?_r=0

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/al-qaeda-on-the-march/2012/11/10/5c5faaa6-2abc-11e2-96b6-8e6a7524553f_blog.html

[screwtape]

I think they are full of beans.  As I understand it, al qaeda, the group of assholes who planned and carried out the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01, is defunct.  we demolished them. 

Al qaeda is now just a title that any group of violent assholes[1] applies to themselves.  It is a means to instant reputation.  It is also what our government, military and covert ops dinguses use to scare the shit out of the citizenry to get them to comply with their agenda of acquiring money and power and destroying the Bill of Rights.

Having a war against al qaeda is preposterous.

1.	mainly those who have a beef with the West, or specifically the US

[Nick]

Kind of like the war on Christmas.  You seldom defeat an idea with an army or drones.

[shnozzola]

Looking back over my op, it may have been a little too much (will make the natural disasters that attract out attention seem meaningless.)   

I think they are full of beans.  As I understand it, al qaeda, the group of assholes who planned and carried out the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01, is defunct.  we demolished them. 

It sounds like there is still a problem.  I also hope our government is not just using this to destroy the U.S. Bill of Rights.

  Nick, I read in the link the U.S. offered to send drones.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/12/france-mali-operation_n_2462821.html

Hundreds of French troops were involved in the operation, code-named "Serval" after a sub-Saharan wildcat, officials in Paris said.    "The situation in Mali is serious," Le Drian said in Paris. "It has rapidly worsened in the last few days ... We had to react before it was too late," he added.

French intelligence services had detected preparations for what they described as a "major offensive" organized and coordinated by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, known as AQIM, and their allies against the towns of Mopti and Diabaly. After a large number of vehicles were spotted heading toward the strategic town on Thursday, France sent in its first unit to Sevare, a town adjacent to Mopti, to support the Malian combat forces, Le Drian said.

[Nick]

Sounds like the French are involved in a struggle there today (Sat. 1-12-13).  That could trun into a mess and prob involve us since we don't know how to keep our noses out of things.

Americans don't think aout Africa much.  They must nt have enough oil for us to worry about.  We do worry about Libia only because repubs want to impeach Obama over some kind of think they want to make up to have happened.  And we worry about Kenya because that is where Obama was born.

[Nam]

Just with anything else, you get rid of one organization another springs up from the leftovers of that. All religions will always have an extreme element to them. It's always been that way. And as long as religions exist, always will. Just like with political groups, or any other "thing" with an ideology.

-Nam

[Nick]

We always need a "bad guy".  When the Soviet Union fell apart we were lost for a while.  No real bad guy to focus our fear on.  Al Qaeda filled that gap for us.  It is just easier for us to label all middle eastern problems as Al Qaeda now.  Americans are simple people.  You don't want to make the "bad guy" to complicated for us.

[Nam]

Then when they are gone, it'll be the Canadians![1]

-Nam

1.	based on a comment from another topic.

[Nick]

Build a fence.

[screwtape]

It sounds like there is still a problem. 

How would you define the problem?

[shnozzola]

How would you define the problem?

Screwtape,
            My op was more to keep an eye of what islamic extremists are doing in Africa.  I did not mean I agreed with declaring war on Al Qaeda in Mali.  Here is one definition of the problem:

The United States acknowledged this week that it is providing military assistance to French forces attacking Islamist strongholds in two African nations.  That assistance, Pentagon officials stress, is limited – and a clear signal of an evolving, post-Iraq, post-Afghanistan strategy for the US armed forces.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday, while en route to meetings in Europe, that the decision “to try to help” France in its military campaign came in light of the growing extremist threat posed by two groups in northern Mali, Ansar Dine and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
While these groups “might not have any immediate plans for attacks in the United States and Europe,” Mr. Panetta said, “that ultimately still remains their objective.”

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2013/0114/Why-US-is-helping-France-fight-Islamist-forces-in-Mali-Somalia

Perhaps you know more than I of the situation in Mali.

[screwtape]

I have not been following the Mali situation.  My question was only to understand what you meant about there still being a problem.  I thought you and I were talking about how applicable it is to call a group "Al Qaeda".  I missed the bigger topic you were trying to get at.   

[Fiji]

Nigeria has now sent 200 men into Mali as well. One wonders, Nigeria being 50% Islamic ... are those 200 Christian? Islamic? Mixed?

Anyway, the thing I wanted to say was that I read this article half a year ago about the Tuareg. The Tuareg have, for a long time, been laid back Muslims. Muslim like an Anglican is Christian. They observed salat ... when convenient. If you're busy with something, finish the task and skip a salat or two. Women were largely equal to men, not worth a third of a man like in Islam. And they observed some 'pagan'[1]  traditions too.
However, fundamentalists[2] started preaching to the Tuareg a decade or so ago. And these days, Tuareg are often as bad as the Taliban. Bans on female education, bans on music, bans on any books other than the Quran, women's rights have almost completely evaporated. Some Tuareg have tried to escape, but where can you go when you're a nomadic desert people? None of the already overpopulated countries around the Sahara are eager to take on even 'just' another 100000 people. So, the non-fundamentalist Tuareg have pretty dispersed into nothingness. A hundred over here, two dozen over there, that sort of thing. This has cleared the path for the fundamentalist Tuareg to completely seize control of Tuareg society.

Now, where do the Tuareg live? The middle of a fucking huge desert ... the perfect location to train people for combat without anyone noticing. And it's these people who are now attacking Mali. The link to the 9/11 people is extremely flimsy ... but we call them Al Qaeda anyway.

1.	what's in a word, right?
2.	the article made a point of stating that Al Qaeda was a conveniet label people used for these fundamentalist, but it was doubtful that these people were indeed Al Qaeda