Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

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Colombia: Emirates importing mercenaries to Yemen

“Gun drain” in Colombia: The NYT reports that (emphasis added),

The United Arab Emirates has secretly dispatched hundreds of Colombian mercenaries to Yemen to fight in that country’s raging conflict, adding a volatile new element in a complex proxy war that has drawn in the United States and Iran.

It is the first combat deployment for a foreign army that the Emirates has quietly built in the desert over the past five years, according to several people currently or formerly involved with the project. The program was once managed by a private company connected to Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater Worldwide, but the people involved in the effort said that his role ended several years ago and that it has since been run by the Emirati military.

The arrival in Yemen of 450 Latin American troops — among them are also Panamanian, Salvadoran and Chilean soldiers — adds to the chaotic stew of government armies, armed tribes, terrorist networks and Yemeni militias currently at war in the country. Earlier this year, a coalition of countries led by Saudi Arabia, including the United States, began a military campaign in Yemen against Houthi rebels who have pushed the Yemeni government out of the capital, Sana.

It is also a glimpse into the future of war. Wealthy Arab nations, particularly Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Emirates, have in recent years embraced a more aggressive military strategy throughout the Middle East, trying to rein in the chaos unleashed by the Arab revolutions that began in late 2010. But these countries wade into the new conflicts — whether in Yemen, Syria or Libya — with militaries that are unused to sustained warfare and populations with generally little interest in military service.

Specifically,

Emirati officials have made a point of recruiting Colombian troops over other Latin American soldiers because they consider the Colombians more battle tested in guerrilla warfare, having spent decades battling gunmen of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in the jungles of Colombia.
. . .
“These great offers, with good salaries and insurance, got the attention of our best soldiers,” said Jaime Ruiz, the president of Colombia’s Association of Retired Armed Forces Officials.

According to the report, Colombian troops deploying to Yemen make nearly ten times more than they would at home.

Joshua Treviño comments on Facebook,

Give this phenomenon sufficient time, and we’ll eventually have a cohort of Latin American military personnel with combat experience and contacts in the Middle East. The problem isn’t what they do over there — or rather, that’s not our problem — but what they do when they come back.

For now, the more immediate issue is that, considering how  Pres. Santos is agreeing to the FARC ‘s requests that FARC members have (unelected) seats in Congress and that the military be put on trial alongside the terrorists, many more Colombian troops may resign and go to UAE, denuding the local military.

[Post redacted for clarity]

PS,
Following Monster’s tweet, I stand corrected,

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Egypt news livefeed

Al Jazeera is carrying a livefeed which you can watch here (h/t Ben at Ace’s).

Stratfor has ongoing updates on The Egypt Unrest. The latest is Mubarak calls in the army

Pressure from the military likely influenced Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s decision to ask the army to take control of security alongside Egyptian police.

And,

Frst Tunisia, then Egypt, then Yemen, now the protests have reached Jordan

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MI5 told US about pantybomber a year ago

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Gordon Brown’s office declares that the UK notified the US over a year ago about Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s links to terrorism:


MI5 told US about Detroit bomber’s terror links ‘a year ago’
Britain told American intelligence agents more than a year ago that the Detroit bomber had links to extremists, according to Downing Street.

The prime minister’s spokesman indicated that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was named in a file of people based in Britain who had made contact with radical Muslim preachers. The file was said to have been sent to the US authorities in 2008.

But,

There is no suggestion that the US did not act on intelligence information that they received from the UK.”

Meanwhile at the US,

White House sources disputed the Downing Street account, stating that no such intelligence information was passed by Britain before the attempted Christmas Day attacks. The White House declined to respond officially.

Amazing that the Obama administration didn’t say that it’s all Bush’s fault since he was president then. But hey, President Obama briefed on Christmas terror threats days before Abdulmutallab incident

President Obama was briefed on potential holiday threats just three days before a Nigerian with Al Qaeda ties tried to bring down an airliner on Christmas Day, according to a report.
…
Attorney General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FBI Director Robert Mueller were at the briefing.

Administrative officials admitted after the attempted attack that they had “bits and pieces” of information that if knitted together could have foiled the Christmas Day plot.

“Never mind!”

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Obama administration and Yemen: Close the embassy, send the Gitmo alumni

A series of unfortunate news:


Britain and US shut embassies in Yemen after al-Qaida threats
Embassies in Sana’a closed due to ‘ongoing threats’ as US citizens in Yemen urged to be vigilant

Ongoing threats, but they’re sending Gitmo alumni to Yemen?

Brennan: Some Guantanamo detainees will go to Yemen

John Brennan, the assistant to the president for homeland security and counter-terrorism, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the failed Christmas Day terror attack on a U.S. airliner doesn’t change the plan to close the Guantanamo facility.

On Saturday, Obama linked the airline bombing suspect to an al Qaeda affiliate based in Yemen.

Brennan called the failed attack on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Detroit, Michigan a “unique incident” that won’t affect the process of closing the Guantanamo facility.

“We are making sure that we don’t do anything that’s going to put Americans at risk,” Brennan said.

About half of the roughly 200 detainees still held at Guantanamo Bay would be prosecuted in the United States by federal courts or military tribunals. Some would be sent to third countries, including Yemenis returned to their home nation, Brennan said.

How has that worked out in the past?
Thomas Joscelyn:

the Obama administration is apparently determined to make more suspect transfer decisions. Just this morning, John Brennan, the assistant to the president for homeland security and counter-terrorism, told CNNIn December, for example, the Obama administration transferred Ayman Batarfi from Gitmo to Yemen. Batarfi is a known al Qaeda doctor who attended to wounded jihadists during the battle of Tora Bora, met with bin Laden at Tora Bora, and has admitted ties to al Qaeda’s anthrax program. Despite all of this and more, Batarfi, who has been a committed jihadist for decades, was deemed one of the most transfer-worthy detainees by the Obama administration.

Richard Fernandez:

“Weapons of mass destruction” have now returned full-circle to the Middle East.

And now the Gitmo detainees may be heading there.

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Could it be that terrorist art therapy rehab summer camp doesn’t work?

Pantybomber terrorist has Gitmo alumni friends. Who’d have thunk it?

Two al Qaeda Leaders Behind Northwest Flight 253 Terror Plot Were Released by U.S.
Former Guantanamo Prisoners Believed Behind Northwest Airlines Bomb Plot; Sent to Saudi Arabia in 2007

Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the al Qaeda plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released by the U.S. from the Guantanamo prison in November, 2007, according to American officials and Department of Defense documents. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the Northwest bombing in a Monday statement that vowed more attacks on Americans.

American officials agreed to send the two terrorists from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia where they entered into an “art therapy rehabilitation program” and were set free, according to U.S. and Saudi officials.

I guess those crayons and coloring books weren’t enough:

One program gives the former detainees paints and crayons as part of the rehabilitation regimen.

Looks like the Saudis forgot to try graham crackers and a nap, for the full kindergarten experience.

Guantanamo prisoner #333, Muhamad Attik al-Harbi, and prisoner #372, Said Ali Shari, were sent to Saudi Arabia on Nov. 9, 2007, according to the Defense Department log of detainees who were released from American custody. Al-Harbi has since changed his name to Muhamad al-Awfi.

Both Saudi nationals have since emerged in leadership roles in Yemen, according to U.S. officials and the men’s own statements on al Qaeda propaganda tapes.

Gitmo alumni hardcore terrorists, relased to Saudi Arabia, find their way to Yemen and resume leadership positions with al-Qaeda.

I’m shocked! shocked!

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Terrorist Al-Qaeda follower Abdulmutallab has “no formal connections”

t1larg.us.airline.suspect.cnn

Device was on fire in terror suspect’s lap, plane passenger says

The initial impression is that the suspect was acting alone and did not have any formal connections to organized terrorist groups, said the official, who is familiar with the investigation.

Obviously he forgot to wear his al-Qaeda credentials with photo ID with bold lettering saying, “OFFICIAL MEMBER OF AL-QAEDA SINCE 2001” on a lanyard on his neck.

Security check in Amsterdam? Nope:

He did not undergo secondary security screening in Amsterdam, an administration official said.

Acting alone? Don’t think so:

British counterterrorism police officers were searching houses Saturday in central London in relation to the airline incident, a Metropolitan Police spokeswoman told CNN.

The heroes of Christmas days are the people who stopped him, particularly Jasper Schuringa and the cabin crew”

“Everybody got a little bit startled,” he said. “After a few seconds or so … there was … kind of a flamish light and there was fire” and people around the immediate area began to panic.

Schuringa said he heard a big bang that sounded like a firecracker going off. He told CNN that he was the one who was able to subdue Abdulmutallab. CNN was not able to independently confirm Schuringa’s account.

Schuringa said someone started yelling: “Fire! Fire!”

Then there was smoke. That’s when Schuringa said he knew something was terribly wrong.

When he noticed that Abdulmutallab was not moving, he grew suspect. He jumped over the passenger next to him and lunged over Abdulmutallab’s seat.

Schuringa said he saw that Abdulmutallab had his pants open and he was holding a burning object between his legs.

“I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away,” Schuringa said.

He said he managed to pull an object tucked between Abdulmutallab’s legs.

“Water! Water,” Schuringa screamed. He heard fire extinguishers as he pulled Abdulmutallab out of his seat and dragged him to the front of the plane.

Schuringa said Abdulmutallab seemed dazed. “He was staring into nothing.”

Schuringa said he stripped off Abdulmutallab’s clothes to make sure he did not have other explosives on his body. A crew member helped handcuff him.

He said other passengers applauded as he walked back to his own seat.

“My hands are pretty burned. I am fine,” he said. “I am shaken up. I am happy to be here.”

Thanks to them, 278 people are alive today.

Meet the Northwest flight 253 hero, Jasper Schuringa. Here is his Facebook page.

—————————————

It didn’t take long for conspiracy theories to pop up. A commenter at my prior post came up with this beaut:

Something is wrong here..An intelligence officer sitting nearby, a white powder, a black man a muslim name,= a set up! i wonder now whay amerikkka will ask from Nigeria for his release..OIL

Ridiculous.

UPDATE:
the suspect had more than 80 grams of PETN, a compound related to nitro-glycerin used by the military. They were sewn in his underwear.

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Nigerian working for Al-Qaeda tried to blow up plane that landed in Detroit

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White House: Failed Airline Bombing Was Attempted Act of Terrorism

U.S. officials say a Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria said he was acting on behalf of Al Qaeda when he tried to blow up a flight Friday as it landed in Detroit.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., identified the suspect as Abdul Mudallad, a Nigerian. King said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit.

One of the U.S. intelligence officials said the explosive device was a mix of powder and liquid. It failed when the passenger tried to detonate it.

Like the shoebomber, he tried to ignite a bomb:

“He appears to have had some kind of incendiary device he tried to ignite,” said one of the U.S. officials.

Authorities initially believed the passenger had set off firecrackers that caused some minor injuries.

Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Susan Elliott said the passenger was subdued immediately. She had no details on the injuries. Delta and Northwest have merged.

Again, the passengers rose to halt him:

Passenger Syed Jafri, a U.S. citizen who had flown from the United Arab Emirates, said the incident happened during the plane’s descent. Jafri said he was seated three rows behind the passenger and said he saw a glow, and noticed a smoke smell. Then, he said, “a young man behind me jumped on him.”

“Next thing you know, there was a lot of panic,” he said.

Fox News reports right now that the explosive device was put together with elements that originated in Yemen.

At the WSJ: Midair Bomb Attempt Fails
Man on Flight to Detroit Claims Al Qaeda Ties; Obama Tightens Security

The man, who has not been publicly identified by officials, told investigators that he was given the device by Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen, where he was also given instructions on how to detonate it, the official said. The Associated Press reported that Rep. Peter King (R., N.Y.) has identified the man as a Nigerian named Abdul Mudallad.
…
The explosive, which was apparently carried onto the flight from its originating airport in Amsterdam, was originally believed to be a small firecracker, but the U.S. official said the device was “more complicated than gunpowder firecracker” and caught fire as the man tried to set it off.

Washington Post: White House: Failed plane attack an attempted act of terrorism

NY Times: Airline Incident Was Terrorism Attempt, White House Says

Richard Fernandez posts,

ABC News now says the suspect was on a “no fly list” and that the powder he was trying to ignite was concealed taped to his leg. A syringe of chemicals was said to have been added to the mixture.

Richard also has a diagram of where the fuel tanks are located in that particular aircraft relative to where the terrorist was sitting.

Islamic terrorism doesn’t give up.

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Iran-backed terrorists hack US drones

… in Iraq and Afghanistan, using Russian software Skygrabber,
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Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones
$26 Software Is Used to Breach Key Weapons in Iraq; Iranian Backing Suspected

Militants in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need to evade or monitor U.S. military operations.

Senior defense and intelligence officials said Iranian-backed insurgents intercepted the video feeds by taking advantage of an unprotected communications link in some of the remotely flown planes’ systems. Shiite fighters in Iraq used software programs such as SkyGrabber — available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet — to regularly capture drone video feeds, according to a person familiar with reports on the matter.

Iraq, Afghanistan, but possibly also Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia

Some of the most detailed evidence of intercepted feeds has been discovered in Iraq, but adversaries have also intercepted drone video feeds in Afghanistan, according to people briefed on the matter. These intercept techniques could be employed in other locations where the U.S. is using pilotless planes, such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, they said.

Drones are inherently vulnerable:

Gen. Deptula, speaking to reporters Wednesday, said there were inherent risks to using drones since they are remotely controlled and need to send and receive video and other data over great distances. “Those kinds of things are subject to listening and exploitation,” he said, adding the military was trying to solve the problems by better encrypting the drones’ feeds.

The potential drone vulnerability lies in an unencrypted downlink between the unmanned craft and ground control. The U.S. government has known about the flaw since the U.S. campaign in Bosnia in the 1990s, current and former officials said. But the Pentagon assumed local adversaries wouldn’t know how to exploit it, the officials said.

Why weren’t drone communications encripted in the first place?

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