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| Cameron rhetoric on Al-Qaida in Africa could backfire | Cameron rhetoric on Al-Qaida in Africa could backfire |
| (2 months later) | |
| David Cameron's shrill response to the hostage crisis in Algeria is in danger of being dangerously counter productive. Crusader-sounding rhetoric might even be an incitement to those extremists vying for influence and recognition in their jihad against the west. | David Cameron's shrill response to the hostage crisis in Algeria is in danger of being dangerously counter productive. Crusader-sounding rhetoric might even be an incitement to those extremists vying for influence and recognition in their jihad against the west. |
| "What we face is an extremist, Islamist, violent al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group. Just as we had to deal with that in Pakistan and Afghanistan, so the world neds to come together to deal with this threat in north Africa ", Cameron said on Sunday. "This a global threat and it will require a global response", he said. "It will require a response that is about years, even decades, rather than months". | "What we face is an extremist, Islamist, violent al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group. Just as we had to deal with that in Pakistan and Afghanistan, so the world neds to come together to deal with this threat in north Africa ", Cameron said on Sunday. "This a global threat and it will require a global response", he said. "It will require a response that is about years, even decades, rather than months". |
| Cameron said he would use Britain's chairmanship of the G8 this year to ensure that the issue is "right at the top of the agenda". | Cameron said he would use Britain's chairmanship of the G8 this year to ensure that the issue is "right at the top of the agenda". |
| Western security and intelligence agencies have for years looked on complacently as west African governments indulged in corruption and their populations suffered. Al-Qaeda in the Islamist Maghreb (AQIM) were "not interested in Europe", they said. | Western security and intelligence agencies have for years looked on complacently as west African governments indulged in corruption and their populations suffered. Al-Qaeda in the Islamist Maghreb (AQIM) were "not interested in Europe", they said. |
| Well, they are now, and the west is interested in them. | Well, they are now, and the west is interested in them. |
| The hostage-takers in the Algerian gas facility close to the Libyan border, called themselves "Those Who Sign In Blood'' – part of a splinter group led by the veteran jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar's Mulathameen Brigade ("the Masked Ones"). | The hostage-takers in the Algerian gas facility close to the Libyan border, called themselves "Those Who Sign In Blood'' – part of a splinter group led by the veteran jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar's Mulathameen Brigade ("the Masked Ones"). |
| One-eyed Belmokhtar, who made fortunes by kidnapping westerners and cigarette smuggling (hence his nickname, "Mr Marlboro") was forced out of AQIM. | One-eyed Belmokhtar, who made fortunes by kidnapping westerners and cigarette smuggling (hence his nickname, "Mr Marlboro") was forced out of AQIM. |
| AQIM may now feel the need to steal a march on Belmokhtar. | AQIM may now feel the need to steal a march on Belmokhtar. |
| William Hague, the UK foreign secretary, adopted a more sober tone. It was a "complete illusion" to think Britain was "omnipotent" in solving the problems of west Africa. "There is no perfect answer," he told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme. | William Hague, the UK foreign secretary, adopted a more sober tone. It was a "complete illusion" to think Britain was "omnipotent" in solving the problems of west Africa. "There is no perfect answer," he told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme. |
| Cynics might say Cameron was also doing the armed forces a favour — by talking up the need for a British military presence in west Africa after the army leaves Afghanistan next year. | Cynics might say Cameron was also doing the armed forces a favour — by talking up the need for a British military presence in west Africa after the army leaves Afghanistan next year. |
| The trouble is that he has agreed to a defence budget which places more emphasis on Trident nuclear ballistic missiles and large aircraft carriers — than anything that might be useful in countering a terrorist threat. | The trouble is that he has agreed to a defence budget which places more emphasis on Trident nuclear ballistic missiles and large aircraft carriers — than anything that might be useful in countering a terrorist threat. |
| Cameron's military chiefs are smart enough to realise that the emphasis in Africa — west and east, notably Somalia — must be on training local forces, a constructive use of surveillance assets, and, above all, recognising the needs of poverty-stricken inhabitants, rather than deploying battalions of troops on the ground. | Cameron's military chiefs are smart enough to realise that the emphasis in Africa — west and east, notably Somalia — must be on training local forces, a constructive use of surveillance assets, and, above all, recognising the needs of poverty-stricken inhabitants, rather than deploying battalions of troops on the ground. |
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