Al-Qaeda leader may flee to Africa

[ECH1969]

BRITAIN and the United States are training border guards in the Horn of Africa in the expectation that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, may seek sanctuary there if forced to flee Iraq.

Major-General Douglas Lute, the director of operations for US Central Command, which is responsible for Iraq and Afghanistan, said yesterday that once Iraq was stabilised, al-Zarqawi might head for the Horn of Africa to find a “safe haven”. He listed Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia as “ungoverned spaces” where al-Zarqawi might seek sanctuary to run his terrorist operations.

Small US specialist teams, supported by British counterparts, are training border security guards and working with customs and immigration officials in the region, hoping that they will be ready to spot al-Zarqawi and other al-Qaeda leaders.

Al-Zarqawi, already being squeezed inside Iraq, would have little option but to leave once the country was politically stable and secure. “We think he might move to the Horn of Africa. It’s a vast space, which causes us concern,” General Lute said.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-1749601,00.html
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Wow, are these people real? They are training Africans to find Zarqawi on the chance that Iraq will stabilize over night and he will chose to move to Africa. How about spending those trainers to Iraq... morons.

[wli]

1. al-Zarqawi is as fake as bin Laden n/t

[bemildred]

2. I guess Abu Musab has been written back into the script. nt

[acmavm]

3. That's one of the dumbest cover stories for a more than likely illegal,

absolutely no doubt sneaky and rotten operation that I've ever heard.

[CityDem]

4. Capture Alert

Isn't it about time for the US military leadership to announce they have captured or killed the number 3 al queda operative in Iraq?

[Igel]

5. I'm fairly sure the training is going on independent of

the Man from Zarqaa. You get that from the article, but only if you know it's there.

It's been in the news a bit.

[maxsolomon]

6. "Al-Zarqawi, already being squeezed inside Iraq"

based on what evidence?

[ConcernedCanuk]

7. ummm - ANYONE catch this??? - there ain't no big rush . . .

.
.
.

right in the text posted in the original post

"that once Iraq was stabilised"

half those guys will be retired before that happens

(sigh)

[Eugene]

8. Why East Africa?

Al-Zarqawi is in his element in the Middle East
with plenty of places to hide.

It is interesting that U.S. troops are helping
to secure "ungoverned spaces" with oil and gas
potential.

[0rganism]

9. Ethiopia is "ungoverned space"? Better tell the Ethiopians about that.

Jesus. Is there anyone left in the rest of the world that bush's idiot administration HASN'T found a way to piss off?