Tag Archives: Middle East

U.S. Conditions IS Libya Fight on Unity Government

February 2, 2016, Secretary of State John Kerry met with officials from 23 nations in Rome to discuss combating IS. Secretary Kerry addressed his growing concerns of the Islamic State’s (IS) presence in Libya especially. The growing fear is that the terrorist organization will take advantage of the lack of stability to control oil fields to further finance its operations.

Libya has been in turmoil since the NATO-backed ousting of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011. The Libyan government is currently split between an internationally recognized government in Tobruk, the General National Congress (GNC), and an unofficial government in Tripoli led by the Islamist Libya Dawn faction. Libya Dawn was able to force the GNC out of the Tripoli in 2014, and the international community has been working ever since to unite the two governments.

Libya Dawn and the GNC signed a UN-brokered agreement to unify the government last December. However, it is unclear what Libya Dawn hopes to get out of the agreement, as it was their decision to attempt to seize power following election losses that led to the current fissure.

While the Libya Dawn government may claim they want to end hostilities and unite the government, it’s likely just a play to regain power.

Libya Dawn is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, and the enemy of the El-Sisi government in Egypt. This had led to the decision by Cairo to fully back the GNC and openly opposed any agreement that would return the Islamists to legitimate political power. Egypt has been the driving force behind Gen. Khalifa Haftar’s anti-Islamist “Operation Dignity” campaign which has seen battlefield gains against the Islamist factions.

IS has become a growing concern to North African nations. The Free Fire Blog recently discussed the growing connections between the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and IS’s growing trade network with Hamas in Gaza. In Libya, IS has taken control of Sirte, a city that links east and west of Libya, and has launched numerous attacks around the country.

International Business Times reported last year of IS threatening to wage war on Libya Dawn, but those hostilities may subside while both sides are being targeted by Egyptian and UAE airstrikes.

Breitbart News reports on troubling news of possible cooperation  between IS, Al Qaeda (AQ), and the Muslim Brotherhood within Libya. This merger would threaten any chance Libya has at stability, and if the Brotherhood were to take over, it would further threaten the neighboring government of Egypt.

Libya’s hopes for stability are quickly fading, and the Obama Administration may be apart of the blame. The Obama Administration allowed for weapon shipments to be sent to armed rebel groups during the uprising against Qaddafi. Some of these weapons fell in the hands of jihadist groups which allowed them to fight for control of Libya once Qaddafi was killed.

While the U.S. initially armed rebel groups, it has taken a step back from Libya. Instead, the Obama Administration has harshly criticized those who take part in Libya’s issues through violence, especially the UAE and Egypt. It seems ironic for the Administration to criticize others for trying to stop terrorism when they were the ones who facilitated it.

Libya’s stability is crucial against the fight against terrorism. Terrorists have been smuggling fighters through Libya to Europe and Syria. Libya is also an important connector between Islamic State’s home base in Syria and it’s efforts in West Africa. Without a stable government to prevent this, it will continue to threaten the stability of the region.

While Secretary Kerry may be worried about IS in Libya, there must be a greater focus on the wider Islamist threat to the country. The Muslim Brotherhood poses just as large a threat to Libyan stability as IS, and if they are given any political legitimacy it will only serve to expand jihadist activity in the country. Despite the Obama Administration’s insistence to the contrary, a GNC victory over Libyan Dawn would have a better impact on security than enforcing upon Libya a unity government that neither side really wants.

Polio, Bin Laden, and the Doctor

Blog Four: Polio, Bin Laden, and the Doctor

On January 13, 2016, a polio facility in the city of Quetta, Pakistan was attacked by suicide bomber killing 15 including 13 police officers and injuring another 23 bystanders. A few hours later, Ahmed Marwatt, spokesman for the Jundullah or Army of God, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The group was known to have ties to the Taliban and has promised more attacks if the polio vaccinations do not stop. This tragedy has unfortunately become an all too common theme for Pakistan a combination of anti-American sentiment, the Taliban, and a covert operation conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Throughout the nineteen nineties, uninformed Pakistani’s were told that polio vaccine was used to sterilize Muslims; clerics falsely described that the vaccine contained pig products a taboo for Muslims. In October 1999, 588 cases of polio were diagnosed throughout Pakistan.

In 2006, Maulana Fazlullah, jihadist cleric of the banned Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law), spearheaded efforts against government backed health programs. he wanted polio program banned from Pakistan as he believed it was a conspiracy created by the west. Maulana Fafzlullah, is now leader of the Tehrik-I-Taliban Pakistan (TPP) and approves and praises attacks on polio workers in the wake of the bin laden raid.

Many within the Taliban and other militant groups look at  Dr. Shakil Alfridi as the perfect example of why not to allow the polio program in Pakistan. The Pakistani media claim he worked with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) willingly to run a covert polio vaccine campaign in the Abbottabad, Pakistan.  They were convinced the doctor could obtain the information if Usama Bin Laden was within the compound.

Doctor Afridi insists he thought he was working for “Save the Children” which included running Hepatitis B campaign, which included gathering DNA samples. He stated that he admiration for the United States but never knew he was to be part of a plot. Praised as a hero in Washington, D. C.,  and vilified by Pakistan, and now serving a twenty three year prison sentence Dr. Afridi may be the most tragic figure in Pakistan’s polio war.

Between 2012 and 2015, 78 polio workers have been killed, and dozens more injured for trying to administer polio vaccine. Some of the most graphic killings came in December 2012 when Taliban militants executed a string of attacks on Karachi, Peshawar, Charsadda, and Nowshera.

On October 7, 2013, an attack on an attack on a medical distribution camp in Suleman Khel area of Peshawar and killed seven including four security officers. Attacks spiked again in 2014 as more security and police were sent to guard polio clinics.

Pakistan is gradually making progress on the war on polio and have entered regions like the northern Waziristan, an area controlled by the Taliban, and for years never allowed polio vaccine programs.  However, there remain jihadist leaders and followers though out Pakistan who will continue their attacks on these medical clinics.

Pakistan has the highest rate of Polio in the world just ahead of Afghanistan and Nigeria, so there is a critical need for these vaccines.

Despite an uptick in violence against polio workers following the exposure of Dr. Afridi’s role in the intelligence operation which led to the Bin Laden Raid, the reality is that Pakistani jihadist groups were always mobilized against the polio campaign as part of their ongoing conflict with the Pakistani government, and against Western influences more generally.

The Scope of Sinaloa and El Chapo’s Influence

Mexico has announced the arrest of six key people who assisted in the escape of Sinaloa cartel leader, Joaquin Guzman, also known as El Chapo. Guzman escaped on July 11th, evading security through a hidden one-mile tunnel. Among those arrested was his brother in law who is assumed to have supervised the construction of the mile long escape tunnel and organized transport.

 

Guzman was first arrested in Guatemala in 1993 following nearly a decade in a maximum security Mexican jail. He reportedly escaped in a laundry basket. He escaped for 13 years before being held again in 2014. Guzman was captured while hiding out in the resort city of Mazatlan. With Guzman’s escape, the cartel was able to prove again, its status as the world leader in illegal narcotics.

 

Sinaloa stands as the biggest trafficking operation in the world, controlling all of its own production as well as consumer market. Originating in the mountains of the Sinaloa state on Mexico, the cartel now expands throughout the country and the world. Cartel Operatives are stationed in at least 17 Mexican states and up to 50 countries.  The area of marijuana and poppy fields that Guzman oversees in Mexico is estimated to cover an area larger than Costa Rica.

 

The cartel is known for its wide array of techniques for smuggling drugs across the border into the US. Cocaine has been found in frozen sharks, sprinkled on doughnuts, and crammed into cucumbers. The cartel controls 35% of the cocaine exported from Columbia. According to the DEA in 2013, Sinaloa accounts for 80% of heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine in the Chicago metropolitan area each year.

 

In 2008, it was reported by DEA and Justice Department officials that radical Islamic groups such as Hamas, and Hezbollah have become associates of the Mexican drug cartels including Sinaloa. Hezbollah had been involved in the tri border region of Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina; viewing the US as a financial source. Using the drug cartel routes, Hezbollah was able to smuggle drugs and people into the US. Hezbollah maintains sleeper cells and training bases in Mexico. They have also helped the drug cartels make explosives.

 

The Middle East mainly covers heroin- trafficking with the Sinaloa bosses producing methamphetamine with chemicals from Asia. Three different criminal sources in China have been linked to Sinaloa including Sun Yee On (Heaven and Earth), Sap Sze Wui (14 Carat), and Huen Tai Wo- and Tsai (Great Circle).  Three brothers from Sinaloa were also charged by Malaysian officials for operating a meth lab in the country.

 

According to reports by the House Homeland Security Committee in 2012, the “Southwest border has become the greatest threat of terrorist infiltration into the United States.” The report explains that the presence of Hezbollah in Latin America is partially due to a large Lebanese diaspora. Hezbollah and Venezuela maintain close ties. Sinaloa has also recently been found using a Middle Eastern honor system of financial transfer known as Hawala, in order to launder drug proceeds.

 

Guzman is high profile billionaire leader, but the Cartel’s solid hierarchical structure insures that even Guzman’s capture or death would not halt the organization’s operations.  In operation since the 1980s, Sinaloa has maintained power through the murder of rivals, cops, and journalists, and through extensive bribery, providing deep connections to many of Mexico’s governing elite, including politicians, military and police.

Kurdish Forces Drive Out ISIS in Christian Villages

14 Assyrian Christian villages in Syria that were captured by Islamic State terrorists (ISIS) in February have been taken back by Kurdish forces following a ten-day offensive. These Kurdish forces have successfully driven the terrorist presence out. The villages that were taken back are along the Khabur River, in the northeastern part of Syria. Some of the Assyrian Christians have returned to their villages and homes, however, many are wary to return due to the possible presence of booby traps or any remaining, hidden ISIL terrorists.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has declared it was the Kurdish forces that drove the terrorist presence out. The SOHR had also reported back in February of this year that members of the Kurdish YPG (People’s Protection Units) had taken back control of 70 villages during that month. These villages were in the al-Hasakah province of Syria, found in the northeastern part of the country, but were further north than the more recently re-captured villages.

In February when the villages along the Khabur River were first captured, approximately 210 Assyrians were kidnapped and held hostage by the ISIS terrorists. Assyrian Christians have been a particular target of the Islamic terrorist group, and many of the Christians have already fled their homes in anticipation of further conflict with the group. The traditional homelands of these Assyrian Christians include parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. As the Islamic State threatens more and more of their population, the Assyrian diaspora only continues to grow.

ISIS has been widely associated with and has caused massive acts of terrorism, murder, and destruction. More recently it seems, though, that the Islamic State is moving towards a period more focused on governance and the acceptance of said government. “This ISIS grand strategy to realize this vision [of a caliphate] involves first establishing control of terrain through military conquest and then reinforcing this control through governance”. This move could lead to a diminished emphasis on acts of terrorism and an increased focus on public relations, policy implementation, and the establishing of law and order, under Sharia.

In March of this year, approximately 19 Assyrian Christians who were taken hostage by ISIS terrorists late February from northern Syrian villages were released. The decision on their release came from a Sharia judge, who decided that the Christian hostages had not violated Sharia law in any way and were free to go. Part of the reason behind the decision on their release was that the Christians did not oppose the new government. They agreed to acknowledge the new Islamic government, as well as pay a special tax.

Similar to this release was an event in September of 2014, when Al Nusrah, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, officially let 40 captured UN peacekeepers go free. There was some speculation surrounding the release decision regarding the intentions of Al Nusrah. It was reported that Al Nusrah wanted removal from the UN’s list of terrorist organizations, humanitarian relief, and the possible transfer of peacekeepers for al Qaeda captives in prison.

Abu Muhammad al Maqdisi, a well-regarded Jordanian jihadist and scholar, is closely tied with Al Nusrah and has criticized the Islamic State and its actions. Maqdisi, when approached by Al Nursrah regarding what further action to take with the peacekeepers, referred to how a Muslim had apparently given one or more of the peacekeepers what is known as “a pact of safety”. A pact of safety is essentially when a Muslim individual gives a non-Muslim the promise that they will not be harmed. Under Sharia law, this pact of safety must not be broken. This is why Maqdisi declared that the peacekeepers must be set free.

The discussion on the forces and methods that could best combat the threats posed by the Islamic State is still a very heated and widespread one. The discussion has also shifted due to the apparent change in ISIS’s focus from terrorism to governance. It seems to be, however, that the Kurdish forces have been successful in their attempts at combatting ISIS so far. The search for the right answer in regards to best countering ISIS happens to be right in front of us.

Pakistani bus attack leave 43 dead; highlights regional sectarian divide

UPDATE: Islamic States claims responsibility for attack

Members of the jihadist Jundallah organization opened fire Wednesday morning on a bus carrying Ismaili Muslims in Karachi, Pakistan leaving 43 killed and 19 wounded. Jundallah spokesman, Ahmad Marwat warned that more attacks against the Ismaili community were imminent. Despite media reports claiming this attack was the first major attack against the Ismaili population, Jundallah, a radical Sunni group with links to the Taliban, al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, has been responsible for two major attacks on Ismaili Muslims in Pakistan in recent years. In 2002, Jundallah claimed responsibility for killing 18 Shia passangers on a bus, and in January 2015 the group bombed a Ismaili mosque killing at least 40 people. In 2014, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan announced a war on Ismaili Muslims, demanding all Sunnis to support the armed struggle. For the most part, the Ismaili population in Pakistan tends to keep a low profile and is known to be a peaceful community. They are well-known for their inclusive school systems, modeled after the British education system, which the Pakistani government has allowed to be adopted into national education program. The adoption of this system led to a coalition of about 22 Sunni organizations, known as the Front for the Defense of Islam, to launch an anti-Ismaili campaign.

Sunni groups have accused the Aga Khan Foundation of, “receiving money from the enemies of Islam,” and “brainwashing students to keep them away from Islam.” Additionally, sunni groups including Jamaat-e-Islami accuse the Ismailis and their Aga Khan Foundation of attempting to “secularize” Pakistan.   In the past six months, Ismaili community leaders have warned its members to be cautious because of looming security threats. According to the International Religious Freedom Report 2005, Pakistani Ismailis believed they were being targeted because of their educational and economic progress in the nation. Many Ismailis fear a fate similar to that of the Ahmadiyya community which has had thousands of members murdered.

Sectarian violence in Pakistan is not a new occurrence as the Sunni-Shi’ite conflict has lead to more than 4,000 deaths in Pakistan since the 1980’s. More specifically, according to a Middle East Institute report, 2,300 people have died in Pakistan’s four main provinces since 2007, highlighting an increase in sectarian violence in Pakistan. These connections make clear that the Sunni and Shia conflict extends across the larger Muslim world, even as open sectarian conflicts are notable in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.

Slaves to Ideology, Not Profit- The Trafficking of Yazidi Girls by IS

It has been nearly 8 months since more than 500 Yazidi women and girls were captured in the town of Sinjar, Iraq. Lately there has been little to no media coverage, which begs the question, what happened to those girls?

The harrowing truth is that many of those women have been beaten, raped, and used as human currency. The UN reports that about 150 of the women were sent to Syria to be sold or used as rewards for Islamic State fighters.

There have also been reports that Islamic State opened a new office in Mosul to use as a place to sell the captured women. The UN report indicates that girls were raped over 30 times a day, often by different men.

In February, the world received a glimpse inside the life of a Yazidi girl captured by the Islamic State. Nineteen year-old Farida described being sold to three different men and making seven attempts to commit suicide. Because she initially refused to cooperate she was beaten badly, and on one occasion her punishment was so harsh that she was unable to walk for three days.

A report compiled by Amnesty International documents interviews with 42 Yazidi women who had been captured and sold or married off to Islamic State men. The report reveals that all but a few women are being sold and gifted to men within the caliphate.

Rather than being sold for high profits, the girls are used as rewards for ISIS fighters and as a way to entice new recruits. Join the Islamic State and in return, they will give you an enslaved young girl. The profit that the Islamic State could yield from exporting the Yazidi girls is far greater than the alleged 10 dollars the girls are reportedly being sold for. The average price for a virgin teenage girl from Iraq in 2011, prior to the Islamic State’s seizure of territory was approximately $5,000, and $2,500 dollars for non-virgin girls.

While it appears the Islamic State has chosen not to monetarily profit from selling the girls, they are benefitting by using them to grow their membership and solidify current fighters’ loyalty.

Although making a profit may not be of great importance to the Islamic State, ideology certainly is. According to The Ordinances of Government, a 10th century manual of Islamic law and governance written by Islamic jurist Abu al-Hasan Al-Mawardi, women and children captured during jihad are considered spoils of war, which means that there are specific rules about the way spoils are divided and how they can be used.

According to classic Islamic jurisprudence of the kind revered by Islamic State , women and children are to be taken as slaves and viewed as property. One fifth of the women and children were given to the Islamic State authority, and then the rest “were then divided according to the Sharī’ah amongst the fighters of the Islamic State who participated in the Sinjar operations.”

The Amnesty International report includes only two cases of girls being given or sold to men that were not fighters for the Islamic State. A resident of Mosul revealed that he knew of two businessmen who where not Islamic State fighters that received or bought Yazidi girls from ISIS. While the reasons behind this are unclear it could be to cement local relationships and foster support for the Islamic State.

The Amnesty International case report on the 42 women suggests that Islamic State is indeed attempting to follow classical Islamic law when it comes to matters of dividing war spoils and distributing he captive women and children.

Yet again, the action of the Islamic State is being motivated by their ideological interpretations rather than an economic gain.