Saturday, June 05, 2004

Major Terrorist Said to Be Held by Algeria
Germany on the Wrong Side....Again

(Hat tip Instapundit) In a story that shows the maddening confusion and corruption in the backwaters where terrorists grow, a major Islamic terrorist has apparently landed in the hands of Algeria via Chad. It also shows the true nature of "allies" such as Germany and their utter refusal to assist us in any way:

Algerian forces took custody on Friday of a man believed to be one of North Africa's most powerful Islamic terrorists in a highly unusual multinational operation deep in the desert of Niger, according to an official from one of the countries involved.

"From everything we're hearing it is Al Para," the official said, referring to Amari Saifi, a terrorist with ties to Al Qaeda.

Mr. Saifi is known as Al Para because he was trained as a Algerian special forces paratrooper before joining the country's violent fundamentalist Islamic rebellion in the 1990's. He is wanted in connection with many crimes, including his suspected role in the killing of 43 Algerian soldiers and the kidnapping of 32 European hostages, both last year.

Germany paid Mr. Saifi nearly $6 million in ransom for the hostages' release, American and Algerian officials say. He is reported to have used the money to recruit fighters and buy weapons for the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, which is fighting to establish an Islamic state in Algeria.

In March, Chadian rebels captured 17 members of the group after a battle near the border with Niger. Mr. Saifi is believed to be among those captured.

The rebel organization, the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad, approached the United States and other countries involved in the American-led campaign against terrorism in hopes of delivering the prisoners and reaping a political benefit from its good deed.

But the group's leaders insisted that someone go to them to retrieve the terrorists, complicating negotiations because the group lacks internationally recognized legal jurisdiction over territory in Chad.

The controversy may have contributed to a split that erupted late last month among the Chadian rebel forces. One commander took the three most senior members of Mr. Saifi's group, all Algerians and including the man believed to be Mr. Saifi, and disappeared.

That set off a scramble by all parties involved to get Mr. Saifi from the Chadian commander. Other rebel leaders, the Algerian government and representatives of the Islamic group each negotiated with the commander by satellite telephone. The Islamists are believed to have offered a substantial payment for Mr. Saifi's release. It is not clear what the Algerians offered, but they appear to have won.

The rebel commander, whose surname is Allatchi, according to his associates, agreed to a secret rendezvous with the Algerians in Niger on Friday. Hundreds of troops were involved in the operation, according to a rebel official who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said the chief of the Algerian Army, Gen. Muhammad Lamari, had directed the transfer.

So, it would appear that a rebel group that is not even part of a recognized government, in a country like Chad, is capable of making better decisions than Germany. How many people have died because Germany chose to finance this piece of garbage rather than stand up to him? It appears that Europe, led by the likes of Germany,France and Spain, is well on its way to capitulating to these fascists just like they have always capitulated to fascists. 60 years ago we had to save the Eurotrash from themselves and they are not only ungrateful, they are belligerently treacherous.

And these are the people from whom the leftists want us to obtain advice and consent before taking action?

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