From: mart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- It sounds like the CIA is once again using it's hacks in the media to prepare us for a further widening of the war.....this time a war on the Democratic Republic of Congo! mart ----- Original Message ----- From: Stasi To: Anti-NATO Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 6:43 AM Subject: Stratfor: U.S. Intelligence Probe Expands in Africa HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- Thursday, January 03, 2002 11:31 AM Stratfor U.S. Intelligence Probe Expands in Africa 2300 GMT, 020102 Summary U.S. intelligence agencies are investigating links between Hezbollah, al Qaeda and mining investments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The investigations shed light on the links between militant groups and organized crime and more importantly, illustrate the freedom with which criminals and militants raise illicit funds in Africa. The discoveries, combined with al Qaeda's ties to drug trafficking, will lead the United States to expand its presence in Africa and thus build cooperation with African governments. U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies are looking into links between al Qaeda, Lebanon-based militant organization Hezbollah and mining concerns in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Washington Post reported Dec. 30. So far, the investigation has uncovered a network of Lebanese diamond traders with ties to militants -- who have assets in the Congo -- and alleged al Qaeda members. The United States hopes to paralyze al Qaeda by uncovering and seizing its sources of funding. Doing so, however, will have lasting consequences only if Washington can permanently shut down those sources of revenue. Africa, which has a wealth of natural resources, also has a number of failed states where large swaths of territory are beyond government control. A healthy black market and the presence of foreigners also combine to create attractive opportunities for criminals. Permanently preventing al Qaeda from exploiting the lawlessness of mineral-rich countries like the DRC will lead Washington to expand its engagement with African governments. But the United States must back up greater engagement on issues of security and politics -- including closer cooperation between U.S. and African intelligence and law enforcement agencies -- with investment and development aid. For the government in Kinshasa, expanded relations with the United States could translate not only into increased investment but also into greater political support for its war against rebels in eastern DRC and their foreign backers, Rwanda and Uganda. The DRC has immense natural resources, including minerals and timber, but it has been ravaged by more than three years of civil war. According to a United Nations report released in April 2001, all five of the foreign nations involved in the conflict have plundered the Congo's mineral resources -- including cobalt, coltan, copper, diamonds and gold -- in order to fund their war efforts. Other nations are not the only looters to set up shop in the Congo's provinces. The U.N. report also cites the systematic looting of natural resources by organized criminal cartels with worldwide connections. U.S. intelligence officials say one of these groups is Hezbollah. The group -- which is known to have a global network including Latin American drug traffickers, European diamond traders and Middle Eastern militants -- may be using the DRC's illicit diamond trade to fund its activities. It may also be working in concert with other militant groups, like al Qaeda, involved in illicit fundraising activities in the Congo. Though no direct evidence linking the two has surfaced, al Qaeda has owned and operated businesses in other African nations including Kenya, Tanzania and Sudan. According to the Washington Post report, U.S. officials are also investigating terrorist ties to the mineral trade in Tanzania, where suspects arrested after Sept. 11 have been linked to al Qaeda. The reasons militant groups can operate with impunity are simple: Many African governments have little or no control over large swaths of territory, the network of illicit trade is well established and borders are porous. This description fits many African nations where natural resources are being exploited, including Angola, the DRC, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The events of Sept. 11 forced the United States to pursue al Qaeda's international sources of financing. The plethora of opportunities for illicit fundraising in places like the DRC or Sierra Leone will prompt Washington to explore options for uncovering al Qaeda's assets in these countries and finding means of shutting them down. But with 60 percent of sub-Saharan Africa's urban labor force employed in the black market, penetrating and dismantling al Qaeda's revenue streams may prove impossible. Faced with such a Herculean task, the United States will turn to African governments to serve as its proxies to fight terrorism. In places like Liberia, where it may be politically impossible to work openly with President Charles Taylor, Washington will seek other regional allies in hopes of pressuring the government in Monrovia. The new -- and therefore untainted -- administration of DRC President Joseph Kabila is an attractive ally for Washington, but Kinshasa's assistance against al Qaeda won't come cheap. The DRC government may hope to leverage the United States' need for help with al Qaeda against its enemies -- perhaps asking Washington to pressure enemies Rwanda and Uganda into reducing their support for rebels in the country. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
