U.S. Africom General: There Is Probably An Al Qaeda Connection To The Libya Consulate Attack

Photo: Africom General Carter Ham

Qaeda Links To Militants In Libya Envoy Attack: U.S. General -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Militants who killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya in September probably had links to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the top U.S. general in Africa said on Wednesday, warning that a growing threat from the group must be urgently addressed.

General Carter Ham, head of the United States' Africa Command, said that a military plan unveiled on Sunday by West African regional bloc ECOWAS to dislodge AQIM from northern Mali still needed detailed work, and any intervention would probably take "some months to prepare".

Ham, in Paris to meet French officials to discuss issues including the Mali crisis, expressed concern at mounting al Qaeda influence in the region and beyond.

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Update #1:  US general says Al-Qaeda offshoot threatens Europe, US -- AFP
Update #2: US: Al-Qaida link to consulate attackers in Libya -- AP

My Comment: General Carter Ham is NOT buying the anti-Muslim video excuse.

U.S. Preparing To Escalate It's Covert War In Africa

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

The African network

The U.S. military has established small air bases across Africa to spy on al-Qaeda affiliates and other militant groups. Shaded areas indicate the presence of those groups, according to U.S. Africa Command.

US 'Begins Drawing Up Targets In Response To Benghazi Attack' -- The Telegraph

America has begun drawing up potential targets in Libya ahead of a possible retaliatory strike with drones or special forces following the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, it was claimed.

The US military's secret Joint Special Operations Command has reportedly begun preparing "target packages" – lists of suspected militants to present to the White House – in response to the September 11 attack, which killed US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

The claim comes as the US State Department was accused by Republicans in Congress of turning down repeated security requests from US diplomats in Libya who believed the lightly-guarded site was a vulnerable target.

While the US has deployed extra marines to embassies across the region it has not yet responded militarily to the killings in Benghazi.

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More News On The U.S. Preparing To Escalate It's Covert War In Africa

White House widening covert war in North Africa -- AP
White House Secret Meetings Examine al-Qaeda Threat In North Africa -- Washington Post
U.S. considers drone strikes in North Africa -- Reuters
Report: U.S. Weighing Drone Strikes in North Africa -- Defense News/AFP
Military Stands Ready to Help African Partners, Little Says -- US Department of Defense
US 'to deploy drones to launch air strikes against al-Qaeda in Mali' -- The Telegraph
Drones and Proxies: The Expanding War Plans for North Africa -- Antiwar.com
Washington Post Adds to Report on US Pursuing Force Options Against AQIM in Africa -- Lawfare
No secret, U.S. wants in on North African counterterrorism -- E-Ring/Foreign Policy

My Comment: No public debate. No Congressional input. Limited if absent media coverage. No outcry or protest from academia/anti-war movements/human rights organization.

U.S. Officials Voice Their Concerns On Al Qaeda's Growing Influence In Africa

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

The African network

The U.S. military has established small air bases across Africa to spy on al-Qaeda affiliates and other militant groups. Shaded areas indicate the presence of those groups, according to U.S. Africa Command.

White House Secret Meetings Examine al-Qaeda Threat In North Africa -- Washington Post

The White House has held a series of secret meetings in recent months to examine the threat posed by al-Qaeda’s franchise in North Africa and consider for the first time whether to prepare for unilateral strikes, U.S. officials said.

The deliberations reflect concern that al-Qaeda’s African affiliate has become more dangerous since gaining control of large pockets of territory in Mali and acquiring weapons from post-revolution Libya. The discussions predate the Sept. 11 attacks on U.S. compounds in Libya but gained urgency after the assaults there were linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM.

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My Comment: Al Qaeda's victory in northern Mali early this year and the continuing deadly campaign of Boko Haraom in Nigeria were my red flags that Al Qaeda was growing and expanding (and winning) in the conflicts that they were focusing on in Africa. Hmmmm .... it seems that I was not alone in expressing these concerns as mirrored by these now public secret White House meetings.