*Nice to see that the jihad has become as globalized as capitalism. What with a banking crisis and the euro possibly breaking up, the disorder might get more globalized than the New World Order.
*Kind of a good thing that this way of life is so relatively unattractive. Unless you're sixteen, male, ticked-off, and they give you a gun, that is.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/07/somalia-civil-war-al-qaida
(...)
Foreign backing
Just as the government receives military and financial support from Ethiopia, Djibouti, the EU and US, al-Shabab also look abroad for money, weapons and fighters.
"The government takes support from the west so we take support from our brothers the muhajiroon - immigrants," says Qadir. "Some are part of the fighting brigade, some don't leave their hiding places. They work in manufacturing explosives and strategy and those are not seen.
"They are Asians, Yemenis and Arabs with American passports, but there are also many Africans – Kenyans, Tanzanians and Moroccans." A large number of the muhajiroon arriving in Mogadishu are Somalis with western passports, he says. Some of them went on to become suicide bombers. (((The Somalis have a kind of up-front artlessness about their activities that is rather endearing after the endlessly machiavellian Iraqis, Iranians, and Afghans.)))
"We take films of the shelling and the bombing by the government and the African Union, and we show to the young in the diaspora and they come here enraged and passionate," he says. "We have our supporters in America, Australia and in Europe. Their duty is to recruit men and bring them to Somalia. The young men, most of them haven't seen war in their lives, go to military training for six months and then they fight."
Another commander with Hezb al-Islam explains the dynamics of the different foreign fighters flocking to Somalia: "Most are from Africa – Nigerians, Sudanese and Zanzibaris. There are Arabs also, most of them Yemenis, and a few Asians. And there are the Somalis from Britain, Holland, Sweden and Norway." Many of the foreigners have been trained and able to instruct Somali fighters and returning Somalis in tactics and first aid. "The foreigners, especially from Pakistan and Yemen, have a very high training. They also teach us how to make explosive belts how to plant time bombs in walls and under the floor." Later a Hizb al-Islam commander tells me his group was also attracting fighters from abroad. "Now the foreigners coming are Arabs from Europe, from the US and from Yemen. They are very experienced fighters in directing mortar and artillery fire and very good snipers...
(((And now you have to envision a buzzing horde of lawless, unacknowledged, kill-at-will CIA Predators buzzing above all this. It's not the Somme or anything, but don't get too surprised at the weird shape of your life when this war comes home.)))
