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On Belmokhtar's group: 'They believe the West is one great Sodom and Gomorrah' (Al-Queda in Mali)
Longwar Journal ^ | January 18, 2013 1:47 PM | Thomas Joscelyn

Posted on 01/18/2013 1:02:43 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach



Robert Fowler was kidnapped by Mokhtar Belmokhtar's not-so-merry band of terrorists in 2008 and published a book about the experience, "A Season In Hell: My 130 Days in the Sahara with Al Qaeda." From the excerpts I've read, the title accurately sums up Fowler's experience. Belmokhtar's group is, of course, responsible for the recent assault on a natural gas field in eastern Algeria and the subsequent hostage crisis.

Fowler, a Canadian diplomat who was serving the United Nations when he was kidnapped, has had some interesting things to say about Belmokhtar and his henchmen.

ABC News reports:

"I was afraid for my life all the time," recalled Fowler, "when I woke up in the morning and when I went to sleep at night." ...

Fowler also said Belmokhtar's band was made up of "experienced desert fighters" who hate the West. "I can't tell you the extent to which they hate us," he said. "They believe we are evil incarnate. They believe the West is one great Sodom and Gomorrah."

Some have tried to portray Belmokhtar as a mere criminal. There is plenty of evidence in our write-ups of the siege in Algeria showing that is not true. While Belmokhtar has certainly engaged in wide-ranging criminal activity, it has only served his broader objectives. Fowler is describing ideologues, not criminals.

Then there is this from The Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Belmokhtar appears to have been the principal intermediary between AQIM and al Qaeda in Pakistan, according to analysts who follow the sect, including Robert Fowler, a Canadian diplomat.

Now that is interesting, isn't it? In a few of our pieces we noted that, according to the Associated Press, Belmokhtar's spokesman said just over one month ago that "they remain under the orders of al Qaeda central."

The WSJ notes that Belmokhtar is a bit of a myth-maker when it comes to his biography. The article concludes with these paragraphs [emphasis added]:

Some militants remained unsure of Mr. Belmokhtar's arrangement. "AQIM, Belmokhtar, we don't know what their situation is," said Algabass Ag Intallah, a commander with Ansar Dine, one of the militias in Mali that received weapons and recruits from AQIM.

But on Wednesday, Mr. Hamaha, a commander in AQIM who says he answers to Mr. Belmokhtar, said the entire organization was responsible for the Algerian attack, in retaliation against a common foe--France, for intervening in Mali.

"Now, you're going to see what you've unleashed," he said.

Keep in mind that even though Belmokhtar broke off from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) to forge his own group, there are numerous reports that his group still fights alongside AQIM and its allies.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: africa; algeria; algier; belmokhtar; mali; waronterror
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Can't really blame ‘em can we?

Parts of the US sure seem like that to me. And, or course, our TV is a vast wasteland with few oasisis.

21 posted on 01/18/2013 1:55:31 PM PST by Little Ray (Waiting for the return of the Gods of the Copybook Headings.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

on that subject they aren’t far from the mark


22 posted on 01/18/2013 1:56:24 PM PST by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; Dallas59

Oh, wait! I forgot about bestiality...Khomeni’s first published work was a fatwa in an “ask the mullah” column telling Muslim men it was okay to use chickens for sex. However, they were not to eat the chicken afterwards, although I believe it was permissible to sell it in the market.


23 posted on 01/18/2013 1:56:27 PM PST by livius
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To: Dallas59

God uses other nations at times. For instance, when explaining to the Israelites about their promised land He told them that the reason the natives were being invaded and were to die is because they practiced child sacrifice. The Israelites were warned that if they also followed these pagan practices they, too, would suffer the same consequences. It happened.

God hates child sacrifice. Why are we surprised at the consequences?


24 posted on 01/18/2013 1:58:31 PM PST by huldah1776
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To: livius
BARF!!
25 posted on 01/18/2013 2:00:31 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ((The Global Warming Hoax was a Criminal Act....where is Al Gore?))
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To: Ken H

Most of us aren’t really agreeing with them. But in all the rhetoric, they scored a point.

We say back to them “nice try, but no cigar since the criticism is coming from goat molesters and woman beaters”.

I despise them, but I also cannot defend the culture of this country under leftism. Perhaps it would be nice if we were in the position to set an example. But we are not.


26 posted on 01/18/2013 2:19:44 PM PST by dforest
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To: GladesGuru

Islam is sedition.


27 posted on 01/18/2013 2:24:12 PM PST by Paladin2
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To: faithhopecharity

Something we all need to understand. When your country has lost any moral compass and we allow people with no sense of morality to run our country, we set ourselves up for this kind of attack. Are these people any better? Nope, but they would say the same about us!

We are paying the price now. I know, 50% do not agree with our immoral government, but we do not run things. The misery will be foisted upon us too, like it or not, as a result.


28 posted on 01/18/2013 2:28:47 PM PST by dforest
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To: TigersEye
I don’t care how right he is about our culture. Kill him.

LOL. I'm with you 100% on that one, Tiger.

29 posted on 01/18/2013 2:46:06 PM PST by concerned about politics ("Get thee behind me, Liberal")
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

I guess they’ve seen Tulsa.


30 posted on 01/18/2013 3:41:48 PM PST by LouAvul
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Belmokhtar is correct. Barack Obama is the proof


31 posted on 01/20/2013 7:18:20 AM PST by bert ((K.E. N.P. N.C. +12 .....The fairest Deduction to be reduced is the Standard Deduction)
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