Algeria: Forging Connections With Terror
For those who wonder why the West should concern itself with the well-being and the political stability of African nations, this should answer your question.
An extremist group known for deadly bombings and a brutal campaign to create an Islamic state in Algeria is moving to establish stronger ties with al-Qaeda, raising fears the militants may launch terrorist attacks beyond their North African territory.
The new leader of the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC), an armed organisation whose decade-long aim has been to overthrow the Algerian government, declared allegiance to Osama bin Laden's network in the fall.
At the time, it received little attention, but now authorities worry the Salafists could become a dangerous affiliate of al-Qaeda, which has shown an ability to work through local groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah in Asia, United States officials in Washington said.
Algeria is likely to be one of a handful of African nations that will welcome terrorists, giving them a new home from which to launch attacks against Western interests and train a new generation of terrorists and Islamic extremists. That, all by itself, is a good reason to pay attention to Africa.
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Posted by zombyboy at March 10, 2004 01:29 PM
