Wednesday, September 22, 2010

On red alert and perilously uninformed

There's a fine line between leveling with the public about security threats and scaring people to death with inflammatory terrorism alerts and warnings. The Obama administration has commendably tried to lower the temperature in its public statements, but in recent weeks, officials may have erred on the side of providing too little information about terrorist threats, especially in Europe.
The Washington area is always in something of a security lockdown. But even so, it was unusual to see officers brandishing automatic weapons at the CIA's entrance in Langley on Tuesday morning. An agency veteran spotted them and wondered aloud, What's up?
CIA spokesman George Little wouldn't talk about specifics, but he offered this general comment: "Security at CIA headquarters takes different forms over time and is always a top priority, whether it's visible or not."
The security puzzle is complicated by sharp warnings issued this month by officials in France, Britain and Germany. It would be good to know whether U.S. officials agree with these foreign assessments of an increased terrorist threat, probably emanating from the tribal areas of Pakistan. I have been asking this question since Friday, but so far, the only comment is this oblique statement from a spokesman at the National Counterterrorism Center: "There's always something out there."
Now, I agree with President Obama's efforts to avoid the Bush administration's mistake of bumping up the threat level whenever it received worrisome intelligence. Still, there's a need to provide good information -- precisely so the public will understand that terrorism is a fact of life in the modern world and not an existential disaster.
For timely public discussion about the current terrorism threat, you must examine statements from other governments, which express growing concern.
"All the lights are red. They are flashing from everywhere," Bernard Squarcini, France's counterterrorism chief, told Le Monde on Saturday. He had warned in a Sept. 10 interview with Journal du Dimanche that the risk of a terrorist attack on French soil has "never been higher" and that "objectively, there are reasons for worry."
Adding to French jitters was an anonymous phone call Sept. 14 warning of an attack on the Eiffel Tower. French police cleared 2,000 people from the area. That same day, a caller warned about a bomb at the big Metro station at Saint-Michel. Both warnings proved to be false alarms.
Concern was also voiced by Joerg Ziercke, the head of Germany's federal crime office, a national police agency. He told Der Tagesspiegel on Sept. 5 that since the beginning of 2009, Germany had noticed a growing number of residents traveling to terrorist camps and that he now classified 131 people in Germany as "potential instigators" He said 70 of them had "completed paramilitary training in terror camps" and 40 had combat experience with the insurgents in Afghanistan.
What are the comparable figures for the United States? Does the FBI know? Do U.S. officials share Ziercke's concern that it's harder to track these militants because of limits on storing telecommunications data?
Jonathan Evans, head of Britain's MI5 security force, warned of rising threats from Yemen and Somalia last Thursday in a speech to the grandly named Worshipful Company of Security Professionals. He noted that "a significant number of U.K. residents" were receiving training from al-Qaeda's Somali affiliate, known as al-Shabab, and that "it is only a matter of time before we see terrorism on our streets inspired by" these Somali recruits.
What does the U.S. government think about these terrorism reports? Are they accurate or overblown? I can't offer any guidance for readers, because officials at the White House and various agencies still wouldn't comment as of late Tuesday. The new threats seem to involve targets in Europe, but U.S. officials are also focused on operations in Yemen to capture or kill militant American-born cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi.
Americans shouldn't obsess constantly about terrorist threats. It's bad for our national psyche. But by the same token, if terrorism becomes an unmentionable subject -- with officials across the government clamming up -- then we're living in another sort of artificial world.
Evans explained to his audience in London why it is important to have a measured, open discussion: "In recent years we appear increasingly to have imported from the American media the assumption that terrorism is 100 percent preventable, and any incident that is not prevented is seen as a culpable government failure. This is a nonsensical way to consider terrorist risk and only plays into the hands of the terrorists themselves." Washington Post
davidignatius@washpost.com

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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