Al-Shabaab Tweets Commando’s Body as Admin ‘Celebrates’ Progress in Somalia
“The U.S. did provide some limited support to France in that hostage rescue effort,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said today. “As you know, I think it was yesterday evening, the president submitted a letter to Congress under the War Powers resolution which is required 48 hours after any U.S. military action, which outlined the limited technical support that we provided to French forces in an effort to be helpful. So I don’t have anything further on the specifics of that.”
Nuland framed this week’s visit by the president of Somalia’s federal government, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, as a milestone for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as she’s shepherded Mogadishu “through the period of the transitional government getting to this permanent democratic structure.”
“So she’s very much looking forward to welcoming the permanent, now, government of Somalia and celebrating the progress that they’ve made,” she said.
The administration is planning a briefing for reporters, as well, before this week’s visits with Mohamud to tout four years of effort and accomplishments in Somalia.
Nuland responded to the grotesque Twitter display by Al-Shabaab — and whether it could be a boon for them — by saying the terror group is “already significantly weakened.”
“That’s evident by the increasing amounts of territory that the government is able to manage with some of the leaders in the tribal areas as well, and I think you’ll see that when Hassan Sheikh is here and has a chance to talk about what’s happening in his country,” she said. “Look, al-Shabaab is on its heels and it’s desperate to try to continue to maintain its influence, but it’s not going to be successful.”
Somalia held an emergency government meeting Sunday on the raid, in which eight civilians and 17 Al-Shabaab militants were reportedly killed in addition to two French commandos. The hostage, known by pseudonym Denis Allex, was believed to have been killed in the raid, according to the French, but Al-Shabaab claimed he was alive and in their hands for an ominous fate.
“Harakat Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahideen has also today reached a unanimous verdict on the fate of Dennis Alex after three and a half years in captivity,” the group said. “The details of that verdict and some background information of the events leading up to the failed rescue operation will be published in the coming hours Insha’allah.”
“This was a shocking incident by French military, unfortunately civilians lost their lives,” Somali Foreign Minister Fowsiyo Yusuf Haji Aadan said.
Gaggling with the media en route to Lisbon, Portugal, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he’s “been in discussions with the minister of defense and will continue to have those discussions” about what else France may need from the U.S., particularly in its fight against al-Qaeda in Mali, but he wasn’t asked any questions about the raid.
“The effort there will be to provide, you know, some limited logistical support to them, to provide logistical support and intelligence support where we can to assist them in that effort,” Panetta said.
“There will be some areas of airlift where we will try to be able to assist them, as well.”
Maybe this will mark the time in history when the Crusades were restarted and then finished properly.
Religion of peace.
Islamists vs “radical islamists”.
Oh fer cryin’ out loud. Get on with it already.
How can you possibly call this a ” failed French raid”-it has just started.
Algeria today agreed to French use of their airspace to attack rebels in Mali
Nigeria today agreed to send in troops to defeat the rebels in Mali and stop them spreading.
So far this is a very well run French operation
We should be congratulating them and the UK for helping them.
Get the facts straight-first rule of journalism
Get the facts bent-first rule of propaganda
English is a difficult language. Look up “raid”.
I do not think it means what you think it means.
Now to really test your understanding of our culture name the movie I just quoted from.
Greetings, Spindok:
Having spoken and written English for a lot of my too many years, I probably would have gone with “not fully successful” or some such, but I can live with “failed”.
Militarily, the French did manage to penetrate Al-Shabaab’s deep rear and sent a dozen and a half or so of its guys back to the allah-dude. That’s a day’s work in the wonderful world of the infantry. That will give the locals something new to think about in terms of where and when and what especially if there are no more live hostages.
But for me, Islam is the millstone. If your plan doesn’t include constraining, undermining, or eradicating Islam, you don’t have a plan. What you have is a hope.
The Mali terrorists just sealed their fate – they should have learned something from the Crusades, but history isn’t taught in Islam.
Another aspect I take away from this is Uhblame-O’s written message, ‘Buh buh buh we didn’t do anything, o.k. ? Please don’t be mad at us, Mujahideen’.
Let’s not forget these same butchers are and have been terrorizing, killing many of those in nearby African nations.
People are terrorized, raped and killed. Children are given weapons, drugs to fight for ‘their cause’.
Long-standing Christian monuments are being burned/ destroyed by these same devolving ‘followers of Islam’.
Where man supposedly began, evolved – the dark continent is thee epitome of ‘catastrophe’.
Strange, but when George W. Bush was president, al Qaeda wasn’t making all of these advances in places like Libya, Mali, Somalia, Syria, and in other spots all along North Africa and in the Middle East (especially in Pakistan). Why is that? Could it be that Bush and Cheney were actually WINNING the war against al Qaeda and terrorism the way THEY were fighting it, as a WAR and not as a police matter? Instead, Obama and the Europeans are treating terrorism as a never-ending police matter, with the same results we had prior to 9/11/2001. I guess the world hasn’t learned much since the first 9/11, at least not here in the United States.
Miss George W. Bush yet?
That can’t be right.
After Obama boasted his very self “HIS own effort (and his admin’ diplomatic effort)” had AQ (quote) on the run (unquote).
“On the run to where” is what Obama didn’t specify.
Iraq was a practice lesson for AQ in how to use guerilla tactics against a more powerful conventional military. They are very good at that now. Those fighters and the people they have trained are doing very well as conventional forces in Syria, Mali and elsewhere.
Bush’s biggest mistake was thinking that democracy was a good idea in the ME.
Ask the guy who’s been wearing his Muslim Ring of Power since college.
“Gaggling with the media en route to Lisbon, Portugal, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he’s “been in discussions with the minister of defense and will continue to have those discussions” about what else France may need from the U.S., particularly in its fight against al-Qaeda in Mali,”
Chuckles Hagel will simply ask to have a dialogue with AQ. And not call them terrorists.
“Failed” is NOT a bridge to far. The purpose of the raid was to rescue the hostage. If 10 French soldiers were killed and the hostage rescued then the raid was a success! However, if the hostage dies the raid “failed.”
That said, it was a brave and valiant effort worthy of praise and songs and movies! Who could have imagined a Socialist French President would be the only power willing and able to stand up for the world and against Islamist terrorists. We should be helping our French allies.
It kind of puts a little different kind of spin on the French opposition to Gulf War II a/k/a the Iraqi Quagmire.
Viva France!!!!!!
The French just sent a big message.
If you kidnap any of our people, soldiers will come and attack you.
That is a very strong message. Right now it looks like the French have got more balls than any of the other Western powers.