Saturday, June 18, 2005
Flintlock 05
We've been blogging about al Qaeda's growing presence in North Africa for months. Fortunately, the government of the United States is out in front.
North Africa is of growing relevance, not only because of its own significance but also for its impact on the wider war. The relatively quiet war on al Qaeda in North Africa may be spilling into Iraq and back again in sort of a feedback loop.
The left will claim that none of this would have happened if we hadn't gone to war in Iraq. Needless to say, I look at it quite differently. War always motivates the enemy to expand its army and it always provides the enemy with combat experience. Why should this war be any different? The trick will be to make the jihadi trek to Iraq unidirectional for as many of the foreign invaders as possible.
Flintlock, which runs June 6-26, is a series of military exercises conducted with U.S. theater security cooperation partners in Africa. European and the NATO partner nations are also participating, either directly or in an advisory role.
The principal purpose of this training is to ensure all nations continue developing their partnerships; further enhance their capabilities to halt the flow of illicit weapons, goods and human trafficking in the region; and prevent terrorists from establishing sanctuary in remote areas, said Air Force Col. Brad Arnold, deputy commander of Special Operations Command Europe.
The training takes place in several countries: Algeria, Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Chad. Participants will practice a wide variety of skills to include airborne operations, small-unit tactics, security operations, land navigation, marksmanship, medical skills, human rights training and land warfare.
North Africa is of growing relevance, not only because of its own significance but also for its impact on the wider war. The relatively quiet war on al Qaeda in North Africa may be spilling into Iraq and back again in sort of a feedback loop.
North Africans are beginning to show up among insurgents in Iraq, raising US concerns that they will carry home tactics and techniques learned from that conflict, two senior US officials said.
Major General Thomas Csrnko, head of US special operations command in Europe, said analysts were still trying to determine where the North Africans came from and who they were affiliated with.
"The potential does exist for individuals or groups to go to Iraq and either conduct operations or receive some of the training," he said.
"And one of our fears is that if they do get that training and get some of the techniques that are going on Iraq, they could bring that back to Africa," he said.
The left will claim that none of this would have happened if we hadn't gone to war in Iraq. Needless to say, I look at it quite differently. War always motivates the enemy to expand its army and it always provides the enemy with combat experience. Why should this war be any different? The trick will be to make the jihadi trek to Iraq unidirectional for as many of the foreign invaders as possible.
0 Comments:
