Monday, September 23, 2013

USA & Israel in Kenya targeting militants

The Alliance of the USA, the British (Empire) Commonwealth, and Israel created al-Qaeda during the 1970s, to be used against governments they didn't like, with funding and weapons going to al-Qaeda affiliated militias during the wars against Iraq and Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Russia during the 2000s, and Syria during 2013.
In the USA, the al-Qaeda threat is used by security companies and agencies to advocate for increased surveillance and harassment of ALL political dissidents, and for the increase in militerization funding for police.
In the following examples, a violent incident by an al-Qaeda affiliate at a shopping mall in eastern Alkebulan (Africa) is being used as an excuse for Israel and USA military attacks in the region, with increased surveillance and security at shopping malls worldwide.


"Israeli forces enter Nairobi mall: Kenyan security officials"
2013-09-22 from "Press TV" [http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/09/22/325379/israeli-forces-enter-nairobi-mall/]: A Kenyan security official says Israeli forces have entered a shopping mall in the capital, Nairobi, where Somali militants have already killed dozens of people and an unknown number of hostages are still being held.      
Local security officials say the Israeli forces have joined Kenyans to end the deadly mall siege on Sunday. The Kenyan troops backed by Israeli forces are now battling against gunmen holding dozens of people hostage inside the shopping mall for the second day.    
"The Israelis have just entered and they are rescuing the hostages and the injured," media outlets quoted an unnamed senior Kenyan security source as saying.    
Kenyan military spokesman noted that a large number of well-equipped forces are fighting the assailants that attacked the mall, killing nearly 60 people and injuring some 200 more.    
"We are still battling with the attackers and our forces have managed to maroon the attackers on one of the floors," said Colonel Cyrus Oguna, adding, "We hope to bring this to an end today."   
There are reports of sporadic gunfire inside the mall as Kenyan forces try to kill or capture the remaining 10 to 15 gunmen who are holding about 70 people hostage.    
The carnage on Saturday started when gunmen stormed the Westgate Mall in an upscale neighborhood, throwing hand grenades and indiscriminately firing at people.    
Somalia’s al-Shabab fighters have claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in retaliation for Kenya’s military intervention in Somalia.    
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta says he has lost family members in the deadly attack. He also vowed to bring perpetrators and attackers to justice for targeting innocent civilians    
"Let me make it clear. We shall hunt down the perpetrators wherever they run to. We shall get them. We shall punish them for this heinous crime,” Kenyatta said in a televised address to the nation late Saturday.   
The attack was the worst in Nairobi since an al-Qaeda bombing at the US Embassy killed over 200 people in 1998.


"Report: US military to hit targets in Kenya, other African states"
2013-09-23 from "Press TV" [http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/09/22/325470/us-military-to-hit-targets-in-kenya/]: The United States is reportedly preparing a list of targets for possible military strikes in Kenya and some other African countries.      
Former US general Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli said the strikes are aimed at targeting militants involved in Sunday's deadly attack on a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital city of Nairobi.    
Somalia’s Al-Shabab fighters have reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it is in retaliation for Kenya’s military actions inside Somalia.    
"They're developing targets . . . and refining target lists, trying to fill in any gaps that we possibly have," the former four-star general said during an interview with ABC's This Week on Sunday.    
"Intelligence has been gathered and will continue to be gathered to fill in any holes that we have about what happened in this particular attack and what could happen in the future," Gen. Chiarelli added.    
Chiarelli described the situation as “very chaotic” and added that US military officials are doing everything they can to gather information.    
He, however, refused to elaborate how and with what means the US forces or their allies will target the group’s hideouts in Kenya.    
This as Kenyan security sources in Nairobi revealed that Israel has sent its special forces to Kenya to fight with the militants at Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall, according to an AFP report.    
The report added that Israeli commandoes were airlifted to the east African country just after the start of the attack.


"Nairobi attack may trigger tighter security at malls worldwide"
2013-09-22 by Ilaina Jonas and Mark Hosenball from "Reuters" newswire [http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/22/us-kenya-attack-mallsecurity-analysis-idUSBRE98L0LP20130922]: The deadly attack on a high-end Nairobi shopping mall on Saturday put the safety of malls around the world into the spotlight and could trigger moves to improve security and make it more visible.   
"They're obviously going to ramp up security," said Malachy Kavanagh, a spokesman for the International Council of Shopping Centers, a U.S.-based trade group of mall and shopping center owners, adding that he expected the U.S. government's Department of Homeland Security to reach out to the heads of corporate security for all American malls following the events in Kenya.   
Some of the changes that may be made include bringing in off-duty police officers into the mall, putting more non-uniformed security officers into uniform, and more closely coordinating with local police departments.   
Islamist militants were holding hostages on Sunday at a shopping mall in Nairobi, where at least 68 people were killed and 175 wounded in an attack by Somalia's al Shabaab group. Those killed included Kenyans, Dutch, British and Chinese citizens and diplomats from Canada and Ghana. Some U.S. citizens were wounded, though the final toll is still far from clear.   
The Westgate mall has several Israeli-owned outlets and is frequented by prosperous Kenyans and foreigners.   
"Shopping centers and retailers will have to spend more money on security," Irwin Barkan, CEO of African mall developer BGI LLC, said in a phone interview from Ghana where he is based. BGI, based in the U.S., is developing properties in West Africa.   
"I hope it doesn't get to the point where it is like getting into an airport," Barkan said ahead of a trip to Nairobi for the African Hotel Investment Forum this week.   
Kavanagh said that U.S. shoppers have indicated they do not want to go through this type of security line with metal detectors and other security machines.   
Following the attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001, the trade group surveyed mall shoppers about their views on such ideas. "Unless there was an immediate threat, by and large they said 'no'," he said.   

FEAR OF IMITATORS  -
U.S. counter-terrorism officials and experts have privately expressed worries for years - since even before the September 11, 2001 attacks - that U.S. shopping malls and other public spaces, including public transport systems, were vulnerable to attacks.   
Juan Zarate, a former White House counter-terrorism advisor and author of "Treasury's War", a new book on the subject, told Reuters that one of the major concerns for counter-terrorism officials is that there could be imitators of this type of "soft target" attack.   
"Like the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, terrorist cells are learning that they can have strategic impact with dramatic terror focused on soft targets having significant psychological and economic effects," Zarate said.    In November 2008, 10 gunmen went on a three-day killing spree in Mumbai, attacking two luxury hotels, a train station and a Jewish center, among other places in the Indian city.   
In the United States, a source at one of the biggest mall owners said that the company is constantly focused on safety and security, not just after events such as the one in Kenya. The source said that shoppers can see some elements of security, while others are not visible.   
Dan Jasper, a spokesman for Mall of America, a large private mall in Bloomington, Minnesota, said in a statement that "We constantly monitor events and adjust plans accordingly. The safety and security of our guests remains a top priority."   
Westfield America declined comment, saying that it does not comment on security. Australia's Westfield Group owns nearly 100 shopping centers in Australia, New Zealand, Britain and the United States. Simon Property Group, the largest owner of U.S. mall and outlet centers and owner of outlets in Canada, Malaysia, Japan, Korea and Mexico, also declined to comment.

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