The London Underground shooting, Brazil’s TBA, and al-Qaeda
The day after unexploded explosives were found in the London public transport system, Jean Charles de Menezes was shot and killed after being followed by police, jumping a turnstile and running into a London Underground car. That much we know. Mr. de Menezes, who had lived in England for three years but spoke no English (correction: Commenter Pollo gave us this link to The Independent which states he spoke fluent English), is not known to have had connections with terrorists.
The mayor of Gonzaga (pop. 6,000), Mr. Menezes’s hometown, commented,
Mayor Souza said the root cause of Mr. Menezes’ death was Mr. Blair’s decision to back the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. That prompted the wave of terrorist attacks, the mayor said.
Mayor Souza needs to get out more often, and should visit Brazil’s own Triple Border region, also called the Tri-Border Area (TBA).
I hasten to add that the town of Gonzaga is not in the Tri-Border Area. In fact, it’s over a thousand miles away. I repeat, Mr. de Menezes is not known to have had connections with terrorists.
What is the Triple Border/TBA, and what does it have to do with terrorism?
The Triple Border, or Tri-Border Area (TBA), is where Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil meet. This report (pdf file), dated July 2003, by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, which was prepared under an interagency agreement with the Central Intelligence Crime and Narcotics Center, concludes that the TBA is a haven and base for Islamic terrorist groups:
- Various Islamic groups, including the Egyptian Al-Jihad (Islamic Jihad) and Al-Gama’s Al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group), Hama, Hizbollah, and al Qaeda, probably have a presence in the TBA
- Islamic terrorist groups are using the TBA for purposes of safe haven, fund-raising, money laundering, recruitment, training, training, plotting, and other terrorist activities
The study found that the TBA works as a center for organized crime, with an informal tripartite alliance between Islamic terrorist groups, the organized crime mafias which include not only the indegenous mafias but also the Chinese, Chechen, and Hong Kong (the Hong Kong mafia has close relations with Hizbollah in the region), and the many corrupt government or police officials in the area.
The activities are not limited to terrorism, since al-Qaida reportedly has become deeply involved in cocaine and heroine trafficking, arms and uranium smuggling, counterfeiting CDs and DVDs and money-laundering activities. Just this morning there’s an article on a 2002 Bin Laden deal with Colombian drug lords that fell through.
Mind you, the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress report is dated 2003, but in 2002 Sebastian Junger had published an article in Vanity Fair magazine (not available on line) where he explained that Hezbollah had been in the TBA for about 10 years, which would predate even the Operation Desert Storm in Iraq. In an interview with Connie Chung he said, “They mounted two attacks in Argentina from there in the early 90s”, one of which took place almost exactly 11 years ago at the Argentine Jewish community center, AMIA, on July 18, 1994. The link, which is from the The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center explains the roles played by Hezbollah, extremist Shiite Muslims, and Iran in the 1994 AMIA explosion. Visit that link and look at the similarities between that attack and recent terrorist attacks.
Iranian Voice has more information on the TBA:
The Triple Border, Junger explains, finds that many other militant groups, such as the Irish Republican Army, Basque Separatists (ETA), Colombian terror group FARC, and even a few disgruntled Americans, come to the region to raise cash and plan terrorism. From his observations Junger feels we’re entering a new era where militant groups and terrorist organizations, many once adversaries or who otherwise share no common goals, work together to help one another succeed. While free-for-all militant training centers are a disturbing thought, the most disturbing is Junger’s report of joint al Qaeda/Hezbollah terror camps in the region. More than just cooperation, it could signal a merger.
In his article, Junger explained,
According to local information, Triple Border has been a major logistical and planning base for al-Qaeda. But not just al-Qaeda. Triple travelers include members of the Irish Republican Army, ETA (the Basque separatist movement), FARC from Columbia and even neo-Nazi groups from the United States. They may represent either a stage of evolution or a deliberate process called “crossover.”
The “crossover” process is not limited to terrorists and mafiosi, however. As Mona Charen describes,
In the aftermath of Sept. 11, the FMLN (a Salvadorian Communist terrorist organization) sent a letter to the U.S. embassy suggesting that the terror attack was a consequence of U.S. malfeasance, and four days later FMLN leaders attended a celebrations hosted by leftists in San Salvador in which Osama bin Laden was praised and the U.S. and Israeli flags were burned.
The Forum of Sao Paulo is Castro’s worldwide alliance, and its members are quite a rogue’s gallery. In addition to the heads of state mentioned above, the Forum also includes the Provisional IRA, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Baath Party, and representatives from Libya, the Tupac Amaru guerrillas in Peru and assorted other terror organizations. Also represented are the communist parties of the remaining “dead-enders” of the communist world — China, Laos, Vietnam and North Korea.
In addition to the TBA area, both al-Qaida and Hezbollah were reported as being active in the common border area of Colombia, Peru and Ecuador (link via Jihad Watch).
Yes, one man was shot by Police in the London Underground.
That doesn’t mean there’s reason to ignore the Brazil-Argentina-Paraguay terrorist breeding grounds. Their existence precedes any of “Mr. Blair’s decision to back the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq”.
Update: Welcome, LGF readers!
I don’t think any Brazilian Mayor should be lecturing anyone about “violence.” Well not until they start to control their own cops who regularly murder children living in drains.
Apparantly he spoke perfect English.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article301474.ece
I wonder about the measure of restraint practiced by whatever passes for a police force in Gonzaga, esp. when they believe someone is trying to detonate a bomb in their immediate vicinity.
It doesn’t matter where he was from, what color he was, what language he spoke. He ran from the police, jumped a turnstile and headed for a mass transit system that had just been bombed. The shooting was justified to save lives. The fact that he didn’t have a bomb strapped to him was irrelevant. Faced with the information they had at the time, the police acted correctly. If the guy was a pasty white bloke he would have been shot.
Confederate Yankee has more on the shooting http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/archives/106466.php
“Mr. de Menezes, who had lived in England for three years but spoke no English, is not known to have had connections with terrorists.”
Britain “jumped the gun” not in shooting de Menezes, but in declaring him wholly innocent. How can we know that within 1 day of the shooting? After all, as the Main Stream Media (MSM) is failing to report, he walked out of the very same apartment that had been under surveillance, in the very Southgate apartment block that housed at least 2 of the suicide bombers. What Britain seems willing to assign to coincidence is something that we still do not have the complete picture on. Sorry, but when it comes to whether or not this guy was a potential bomber, it seems a little too early on for me to think him innocent.
Your links serve only to reinforce my skepticism.
Sharon, does “Innocent until proven guilty” mean anything to you? Or is it just a polite fantasy that can be ignored whenever life gets tense?
Anonymous
When “Innocent until proven guilty” means waiting until a religious fanatic blows someone up, then maybe some things are more than just coincidence, and a spade should be called a spade.
innocent until proven guilty assumes that a valid investigation will be conducted. The declaration wihin a day implies that there was not enough time for such an investigation or the facts of the case are obvious.
In this case, Sharon is merely stating that the results of the investigation happen to have been prejudged.
In addition, the phrase only applies to a court trial. One can state that the facts as presented seem to imply a certain conclusion without stating that the person is guilty or innocent. That is what is meant (in the United States) by an indictment. The prosecution appears to have sufficient evidence to investigate further or go to trial.
The complaint seems to have been about the rush to a conclusion.
you go Jack Bauer, life seems quite cheaper to many in South America
interesting Sharon, are we so sure this guy is totally innocent
he was only followed because he came out of that apartment though wearing a ski jacket in July is reason enough
an electrician, yes the Quedie folks could use those skills and what self respecting electrician goes to work at 10:00 am, none that I know of……maybe that’s UK union laws, in Canada the average electrician starts at early in the morning…….
add to that the Muslims claim they are gaining Hispanic converts from Catholicism in droves…….
has anyone mentioned the reason this fellow ran from police? expired visa, well at least he had a visa……
what about the reports by non police officers that this guy had wires sticking out of his jacket, did he keep his work materials in that jacket?
what about the reports by non police officers that he was shouting I am going to do it, I am going to do it……..
do what?
‘Innocent until proven guilty’ is a legal convention, not a formula for suicide!
He rigged the bombs that did not go off. He was the sacrificial lamb for Jihad……they can’t operate effectively while the Brits are working with a shoot to kill policy. The terrorists used him to make the Brits second guess themselves. The liberal fools will help.
I have visited the TBA and I can confirm that it is infested with violent criminals, contraband on a vast scale and police corruption. However I had no idea there was an islamic presence there. The world needs to take more notice of islamic activities in South and Central America. I am aware of a Palestinian presence in Colombia, possibly to do with terrorist training camps?
Screw the mayor and all the Sharpton like naysayers!
My god. At least I don’t find the same hate-filled comments as on LGF here, but really – if this guy was a criminal, it seems to have been limited to avoiding the tube fare, and possibly to not having renewed his visa yet. I’d run if the cops tried to catch me after I entered the tube without paying – especially since there had been no indications from the police beforehand that they will shoot anyone they think may be a suicide bomber – and that they will do it after arrest.
This is a tragedy, and the post-mortem character assassination of Mr. de Menezes in blogs is tasteless. Just leave the poor bugger alone.
The US Government’s Cocaine Price Support and Gang Finance Program is one of the major causes of the noted smuggling activity.
I put it down to Republican Socialism. Price support mechanisms for criminals.
Surprisingly Americans have learned nothing from alcohol prohibition.
I found the Brazillian foreign secretary’s moralistic comments about the killing particularly interesting considering Amnesty International’s report on police killings in Brazil.
Official figures cited 663 killings by police in the state of São Paulo and 983 in Rio de Janeiro state. Both figures were lower than in recent years. The vast majority of the victims were young, poor, black or mixed-race men. While investigations were opened into some of these cases, few progressed very far.
Wow. I was just in this region not two days ago. I had heard that there was an Al Queada presence, but did not see anything outstanding on the Paraguayan side (Ciudad de Este – there is a brisk business in everything counterfeit though, including DVDs/CDs). However, on the Brazillian side (Foz) I did see that Arabic script was fairly common on store signs, and saw women walking with covered heads.
Hmm, starting to look like Jean neither jumped the turnstile or was wearing a heavy jacket.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4722861.stm
Still no CCTV pictures from this incident yet.
I live in Brazil & watched the arrival of the body on the local news.
Sorry, but I could ony laugh.
Even in Brazil it is a long time since I have seen such a farce.
The brazilian police kill dozens of civilians each year & no one gives a shit.
Lula (the biggest asshole imaginable) is said to have phoned the parents. As a newscaster said last night, if Lula phoned everyone killed by the police he would not have time to do anything else.
But the fun is only beginning. If the stories about compensation are true, the parents will suddenly become in the top 2% of wealthiest people in the country. It’s only a question of time before one of them is kidnapped for ransome.
Brazil wants a seat on the UN security council. They can’t even give security to their own population. I wouldnt give them a seat on a bus.
These days when the police shout “STOP”, you’d better stop, and not just in China anymore.