The Political Conundrum!

The Tuskegee Airmen, a group of black pilots who fought in World War II, have been invited to attend President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration.

Back in February 2006, in a pine-wood chalet in central Switzerland, I interviewed Malika el Aroud, the woman allegedly at the center of the terrorism plot that was broken up today in Belgium.

The interview was for CNN's two hour documentary "In the Footsteps of Bin Laden."

Belgian counter-terrorism sources tell me tonight that it's not clear yet whether the alleged cell members wanted to launch suicide attacks in Europe or whether they instead planned to become "martyrs" in Pakistan or Afghanistan. Several of the alleged cell members had recently returned to Belgium from that region.

Belgian authorities will have a maximum of five days to press charges, before they have to release the suspects. That possibility cannot be discounted. Malika el Aroud was arrested exactly a year ago, in connection with a suspected plot to free an Al Qaeda prisoner in Belgium, but released without charge, because of insufficient evidence.

An account of my exclusive CNN interview with El Aroud can be found here.

In an article in the latest volume of the Columbia Journal of International Affairs (Fall/Winter 2008), Michael Jacobson and I argue that while mounting an individual terrorist attack may cost relatively little, money remains of critical importance to terrorist organizations. Without it, terrorist groups would be incapable of maintaining the broad infrastructure necessary to run an effective organization. Finding means to quickly and securely raise, launder, transfer, store and access funds remains a top priority for all terrorist groups, from al Qaeda and its various globally oriented affiliates to regionally focused groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Terror finance is also an area of rapid change as terrorist organizations actively seek to evade governmental scrutiny and take advantage of new, emerging technologies. The shift in the nature of the global terrorist threat -- from a centralized al Qaeda to a franchise model -- has impacted terrorist financing as well.

Until the September 11, 2001 attacks, combating the financing of terrorism was not a strategic priority for the U.S. government. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the United States dramatically increased its focus on combating terrorist financing, designating and freezing the assets of numerous terrorist financiers and support networks, prosecuting individuals and entities for providing material support, as well as increasing its focus on "following the money" as a means of collecting financial intelligence.

The full article is available here.

A Virginia state lawmaker has drafted a bill that would allow more veterans killed in Iraq and Afghanistan to be listed on the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, a move inspired by a retired Airman whose son died in a helicopter crash in Iraq.

Some 20 members of the Rhode Island Chapter of the Patriot Guard Riders assembled at the Emerald Square Mall on Dec. 9 to join a convoy of state troopers, fellow members of Patriot Guard and two tractor trailers containing 10,000 Christmas wreaths heading to Arlington National Cemetery.

Agence France Presse and the Associated Press are reporting that Belgian authorities have arrested 14 suspected Al Qaeda terrorists including a jihadi who was allegedly planning a suicide attack. Sixteen raids were executed by 242 police officers in Brussels and in the eastern city of Liege. Security and judicial sources described the arrests as the “most important anti-terrorism operation in Belgium.” Citing the Federal prosecutor’s office, AFP reported that the move was targeting “a Belgian Islamist group involved in training as well as fighting on the Pakistan-Afghan border in cooperation with important figures in Al Qaeda.”

Expanding on the arrests campaign, Le Parisien wrote that since 2007 four Belgians and individuals from other nationalities joined a middleman by the name “M.G” in Pakistan (to undertake jihadist activities). A few months ago, two of the men came back to Belgium and were put under surveillance. A third man joined them on December 4. The initial investigation began last year based on information related to a plot to liberate Tunisian Nizar Trabulsi, an Al Qaeda cadre who is currentlly serving 10 years for preparing an attack against a Belgian base.

Sources added that a woman by the name of Malika al Aroud “has played an important role in the investigation.” Al Aroud was married to the assassin of Ahmed Shah Massoud, the anti-Taliban commander in September 2001. Her second husband is a member of the arrested group.

The Nouvel Observateur wrote that the current investigation which was opened in December 2007 “may have prevented an attack in Brussels.” Based on reports in France Info, Le Figaro and other specialized sources, the most likely target of the Al Qaeda network could have been European institutions in Brussels. It should be noted that the arrests were made on the eve of an important European economic summit scheduled to take place in Brussels.

What should we learn from this preemptive strike in Belgium aimed at Al Qaeda’s European network? Based on the scope of the operation, its precision and its timing and my own knowledge gleaned from four years of meetings with European counterterrorism officials as well Belgian national security officials, the short answer is we can learn a lot from this December 11 strike against terror:

Marine Corps generals on Thursday defended the decision to direct a jet pilot over a crowded San Diego neighborhood after an engine on his F/A-18D Hornet failed.

As my colleague Michael Jacobson argue in an article published in today's Guardian (UK), terrorist networks are active in the Persian Gulf -- including some that finance the group that carried out the Mumbai attack. US diplomacy in the region is the key to combating them.

After months of intense focus on the economy, the recent attack in Mumbai was a sombre reminder that the incoming Obama administration will have to confront many other serious threats as well. Beyond terrorism, Iran's nuclear programme is also likely to be high on the president-elect's priority list. The success of US strategy in tackling and resolving these critical issues will depend, in large part, on how effectively the new administration is able to work with -- and gain the cooperation of -- the countries in the Persian Gulf.
The Mumbai attack offers a case in point. The Gulf remains a major source of funding for al-Qaida and its affiliates, with millions of dollars being sent from the region to terrorist groups. Recipients of this largesse originating in the Gulf include the Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) -- a UN designated terrorist group now suspected of perpetrating the recent attack in India.

LeT operatives and supporters are particularly active in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, according to US Treasury department information released in the context of LeT-related terrorist support designations.

Consider, for example, the fact that LeT's finance chief, Haji Muhammad Ashraf, has personally traveled to the Gulf to raise funds for LeT. In 2003, he helped LeT leaders in Saudi Arabia expand the organisation and increase its fundraising activities there. Similarly, the Saudi-based al Haramain Islamic Foundation was designated as a terrorist-supporting entity in part because its office in Pakistan supported LeT.

The full article is available here.

Citing the most difficult fiscal environment he's seen in 30 years, the powerful chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee Jack Murtha said "there is going to be less defense spending." Murtha said the military's personnel costs are getting out of control.

Citing the most difficult fiscal environment he's seen in 30 years, the powerful chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee Jack Murtha said "there is going to be less defense spending." Murtha said the military's personnel costs are getting out of control.