Al-Qaida Turns 21

By Chuck Missler

Al-Qaida had its 21st birthday on Tuesday, August 11, but its supporters will probably not celebrate at the local pub since alcohol is verboten in strict Islam. The rest of the world will not celebrate at all because al-Qaida has caused constant grief since 1988.

Kuwait

Most recently, Kuwait has thwarted an effort by terrorists linked to al-Qaida to bomb a US military base, as well as the headquarters of Kuwait's internal security agency. Six Kuwaiti men have been arrested and confessed their plans to officials. The main US base in Kuwait is Camp Arifjan, which houses 15,000 troops. According to The Daily Telegraph, the local media in Kuwait report that the group had purchased a truck, which they intended to fill with explosives, chemicals and fertilizer and smash into the US camp during Ramadan.

Kuwait was once a British protectorate, and it has strong ties to the West – especially since the Persian Gulf War (1990-91) when the Americans, British, and their allies came to Kuwait's rescue after Saddam Hussein invaded. Still, there are those sympathetic to al-Qaida within Kuwait's borders.

Iraq

Eight people were killed and another 22 wounded in Baghdad when a car exploded and two other bombs went off within minutes of each other on Tuesday. Another 29 people were killed in Baghdad in bombings on Friday and Monday. Baghdad is not alone. Attacks on Monday and Friday in Mosul (ancient Ninevah) claimed the lives of 78 people total. Nobody offered responsibility for the bombings, but al-Qaida in Iraq is well known for its use of car bombs and suicide bombers. The Iraqi security forces have been working to fight terrorists independently since the end of June, when American forces pulled out of the major cities.

"What's vital to realize is these attacks have failed to move the Iraqi people to ethno-sectarian violence," said Brig. Gen. Stephen Lanza, a U.S. military spokesman. "I believe the Iraqi people, regardless of sect, see their country moving forward and refuse to have their future stolen by violent extremists."

Somalia

An Islamic group linked to al-Qaida has got the Somali government on the ropes these days. President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has called on Al-Shabaab to cease with its violence and begin negotiations, but the terrorist group has shown no interest in peace. Al-Shabaab refuses to deal with the government, which it plans to overthrow so it can make strict Sharia law the rule of the land. Right now, it doesn't look like the government has the ability to fight Al-Shabaab. The terrorists have been able to just go and take the military's weapons as their own.

Political analyst Ali Abdullahi told VOA News,

"Al-Shabab has a lot of spirit and they have a well disciplined group of militants and the government is not well prepared to challenge them on the battlefront. So the best way they (government) could think of is maybe to have a negotiation on the table. But I wonder whether the government will be ready to negotiate from a point of weakness rather than a point of strength."

Al-Shabaab continues to murder those who do not bow in the name of Islam. We reported in the July 28th eNews that Al-Shabaab beheaded seven Christian men on July 10th. Even before that eNews was sent, four more Christians were kidnapped on July 27th and later beheaded because they would not renounce Jesus Christ. These Christians were working to help Somali orphans, demonstrating Al-Shabaab's utter contempt for human life.

Pakistan

The leader of the Taliban in Pakistan is believed to be dead, and there is a scramble in the ranks to decide who will replace him. President Barack Obama's security advisor Retried General Jim Jones told the Fox News Sunday program that the US believes Mehsud to be dead.

"Mehsud was a very bad individual, a real thug, responsible for a lot of violence, a lot of innocent people losing their lives," he said.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik says that al-Qaida wants to fill Mehsud's seat with one of its top people, even as Mehsud's own Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan leadership fight among themselves. TTP's deputy leader Hakimullah Mehsud said that Baitullah Mehsud is still alive, but Malik and Jones both argue that the most credible information has the man dead. Jones told Meet The Press,

"We put it in the 90 percent category."

Twenty-one-year-olds can easily feel invincible and ready to take over the world, and al-Qaida is still fighting and winning some battles. In the end, though, the group is only made up of human beings.

Keep praying for the Christians in Somalia and Iraq, Pakistan and around the world. Extreme Islam is a threat to everybody, including those Muslims who reject its violent and tyrannical practices. Christians and Jews are particularly vulnerable in countries dominated by Islam, and they need our prayers and support.

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