Report: "rogue aviation fleet" linked to Al Qaeda

[CougarKing]

Just a snip from a much longer article:

From REUTERS via Yahoo newsfeed



TIMBUKTU, Mali (Reuters) - In early 2008, an official at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent a report to his superiors detailing what he called "the most significant development in the criminal exploitation of aircraft since 9/11."


The document warned that a growing fleet of rogue jet aircraft was regularly crisscrossing the Atlantic Ocean. On one end of the air route, it said, are cocaine-producing areas in the Andes controlled by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. On the other are some of West Africa's most unstable countries.


The report, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, was ignored, and the problem has since escalated into what security officials in several countries describe as a global security threat.


The clandestine fleet has grown to include twin-engine turboprops, executive jets and retired Boeing 727s that are flying multi-ton loads of cocaine and possibly weapons to an area in Africa where factions of al Qaeda are believed to be facilitating the smuggling of drugs to Europe, the officials say.

(...)

 

 

[brandon_]

How does Al Qaeda manage to get all these jets  ???

 

[a_majoor]

How does Al Qaeda manage to get all these jets  ???

When Saudi princes spend millions to pay you to go "play" elsewhere, you can start affording a better class of toy...

 

[VIChris]

So are we going to see Aegis ships in the anti pirate flotilla now?

 

[OldSolduer]

Is this confirmed?

 

[Jarnhamar]

Lets start smuggling guys with bombs onto their retired 747's.

Not so funny is it now!

 

[VIChris]

^^ Flawed Design, thanks for that. I damn near shot a mouthful of Shreddies all over my laptop.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Well AQ has always been known to be highly organized, so the planning required for this plays to their strengths.

 

[Journeyman]

Well AQ has always been known to be highly organized, so the planning required for this plays to their strengths.

OK, first, I'm sorry, but in this sentence, "always," "known," "highly," and "strengths" are somewhat subjective terms. Do you have a source? In addition to a preference for opinions being informed, I also have a related bugbear about broadly-sweeping, but unsubstantiated, generalizations.

But more importantly, in reading the complete article, I see a story about drug smuggling from Columbia (where FARC happens to hang out), through Mali (where AQIM happens to hang out), into Europe (where....uh, Queen Elizabeth hangs out -- but there's a lucrative market for drugs).

Sadly for the original intelligence analyst whose "threat warning" is being ignored, I believe this is called capitalism. While I have no doubt that bad people (ie - FARC and AQIM) may deal for mutual benefit, the article really doesn't convince me that Ahmed the Dead Terrorist will be proselytizing in Spanish any time soon.

 

[Jungle]

... the article really doesn't convince me that Ahmed the Dead Terrorist will be proselytizing in Spanish any time soon.

"Is ACHmed... ACHHH..." !!! 

Why do you do this... I had to look up "proselytizing"...  ;D

 

[Colin Parkinson]

OK, first, I'm sorry, but in this sentence, "always," "known," "highly," and "strengths" are somewhat subjective terms. Do you have a source? In addition to a preference for opinions being informed, I also have a related bugbear about broadly-sweeping, but unsubstantiated, generalizations.

But more importantly, in reading the complete article, I see a story about drug smuggling from Columbia (where FARC happens to hang out), through Mali (where AQIM happens to hang out), into Europe (where....uh, Queen Elizabeth hangs out -- but there's a lucrative market for drugs).

Sadly for the original intelligence analyst whose "threat warning" is being ignored, I believe this is called capitalism. While I have no doubt that bad people (ie - FARC and AQIM) may deal for mutual benefit, the article really doesn't convince me that Ahmed the Dead Terrorist will be proselytizing in Spanish any time soon.

Bin laden has a rep for being highly organized and you will notice that Intelligence agencies have noted many times that they have captured highly detailed information on AQ, including pay, equipment, accounting information, personal lists and documentation. One recent article noted that currently the "new AQ" does not have the central control structure it was once known for. In other words the isolation of OBL and his cadre has caused the AQ to splinter more on regional lines making it less effective in some ways but harder to combat in other ways.

 

[Journeyman]

One recent article noted that currently the "new AQ" does not have the central control structure it was once known for. In other words the isolation of OBL and his cadre has caused the AQ to splinter more on regional lines making it less effective in some ways but harder to combat in other ways.

OK, so one of its strengths was that it was often considered (I'm still a little leery of saying "always been known") to be "highly organized."
You're now saying that it is not highly organized, and is in fact, less effective.

Either you've negated your intial post, or I'm just not following your argument.



Again, it's one of several topics in which I'm professionally interested, so I tend to read posts closely in the hopes of learning more. I know that that can sometimes be a nuisance.

 

[observor 69]

"Is ACHmed... ACHHH..." !!! 

Why do you do this... I had to look up "proselytizing"...  ;D

Muahaha.. A very funny stand up comedy act featuring Jeff Dunham, a ventriloquist and his puppet,

Ahmed - the dead terrorist! Silence! I Kill You !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neTsQng-70o

 

[leroi]

Journeyman, I wonder if Colin P is referring to this recent Jan. 9, 2010 G&M article by Michael Valpy: Al-Qaeda Inc: 'Head office is gone missing'  ???

The title is a quote Valpy borrows from Janice Stein; and the article draws on various "expert" opinions about a-Q--I'm no security expert and I'm not claiming Valpy's piece is correct--but according to Valpy, a-Q has changed  from a very efficient, centrally controlled terrorist organization (as evinced by 9-11, for example ) to one of regional, transnational, decentralized "franchises." Valpy further claims that the current de-centralized form of a-Q is just as great a threat to the West.

(I'd posted the article to milnet.ca and subsequently removed it because it wasn't formatting properly  :-[  Thanks to dangerboy's advice I now know how to fix the format problem: 'tools,' 'compatibility view' )

* Anyway, I'm re-posting the link here for you Journeyman so you can check it against your own analysis since this area is one of your "professional interests."

 

[Journeyman]

Journeyman, I wonder if Colin P is referring to this recent Jan. 9, 2010 G&M article by Michael Valpy: Al-Qaeda Inc: 'Head office is gone missing'  ???

Thanks leroi; I'd seen it when it first came out.

While I seldom agree with Michael Valpy's politics (he did run for the NDP, after all), when he puts his mind to it, he does very wide-ranging research.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

it's merely one of many sources that have stated for years that AQ was highly organized. In fact the experts expressed surprise at the intelligence gained from capture of AQ and AQI resources. Over the last 5 years I have seen many different quotes from various intelligence and military sources directly referring to significant data captures, including personal lists, expenditures, financial accounting, etc. It would seem the command and control infrastructure that made AQ such a threat has also become their Achilles heal. To survive I suspect they are morphing into a more "franchise operation base model" as opposed to the centrally controlled model they have had. Since neither you or I are privy to much of the intelligence on AQ or allowed by AQ to view their current model, it's all speculation based on past evidence and current trends.

 

[Redeye]

Getting their hands on large jets I'd think would be difficult given that they're supposedly fairly well tracked.  There's one 727 that is sort of "unaccounted for", N844AA, a former American Airlines 727 that disappeared in Africa a few years ago.  It made some news because of the implications of the possibility of it being used in a 9/11 style attack.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N844AA

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Not that hard at all, just like our own drug gangs do, buy [or start] a whole business and make it seem 'legitimate'.