US Strikes at Al Queda Inside Syria

Background on Abu Qaswarah:

Abu Qaswarah, al Qaeda in Iraq’s second in command who was killed by US forces in Mosul, was a naturalized Swedish citizen who was wanted by United States, according to information obtained by The Long War Journal.

Abu Qaswarah al Skani (the Swede), whose real name is Mohamed Moumou, was killed in Mosul during an Oct. 5 raid on an al Qaeda command center. He detonated his vest after being mortally wounded and killed three women and three children.

The US military said Abu Qaswarah was a Moroccan who trained in al Qaeda camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the 1990s. He had close connections with Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the slain leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, and commanded al Qaeda forces in northern Iraq before being appointed second in command.

Today, a Swedish newspaper reported that Abu Qaswarah was a naturalized Swedish citizen. Abu Qaswarah was “born in Morocco and became a Swedish citizen in the 1990s,” The Local reported. He was tied in with the notorious Brandbergen Mosque in Stockholm, which has been linked to other terror suspects.

The US military could neither confirm nor deny Abu Qaswarah’s citizenship. “He had many aliases but I cannot confirm any of them,” Technical Sergeant Chris Stagner, a Public Affairs Officer serving in Baghdad told The Long War Journal. “And for clarification, MNF-I [Multinational Forces Iraq] never said he was Swedish. Our operational information is confirming that Abu Qaswarah was Moroccan-born.”

But in an inquiry with a senior US military intelligence official who is familiar with al Qaeda in Iraq’s command structure, it was confirmed that Abu Qaswarah was indeed a Swedish citizen, and in fact is none other than Mohamed Moumou, a wanted terrorist who trained in the al Qaeda-run Khalden terrorist training camp in Afghanistan.

A look at Mohamed Moumou’s history, provided by the US Treasury Department, and Abu Qaswarah, as provided by the US military and the Swedish press, shows their background is nearly identical. Mohamed Moumou was classified by the Treasury as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on Dec. 7, 2007.

Both Abu Qaswarah and Moumou have been identified as Moroccan nationals with Swedish citizenship. Both are said to have traveled to Afghanistan in the 1990s to train and maintained close ties to senior al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Both were part of Zarqawi’s inner circle (the US Treasury described Moumou as “Zarqawi’s representative in Europe for issues related to chemical and biological weapons).

Qaswarah and Moumou have been described as senior leaders in the Brandbergen Mosque (the US Treasury described Moumou as “the uncontested leader of an extremist group centered around the Brandbergen Mosque”).

#Look guys, this is not a video game. There are actual consequences to launching attacks in third party countries, even countries where the inhabitants have dark skins and beards, like Syria and Pakistan. Apart from the unbelievable stupidity of handing the Syrians a propaganda coup – they are claiming that innocent people and children were killed – negotiations aimed at weaning the Syrians off their allegiance with the Iranians were at an advanced stage but now look like they are scuppered. And next time Russia want to invade a neighbour or two, they’re just going to claim necessity. If you don’t agree with the concepts of international borders and state sovereignty, take a lead and dismantle your border with Mexico.

The US has shied away from conducting strikes inside Syria in the past. If confirmed this would be the first such strike inside Syria since the US invaded Iraq in March of 2003.

Syria has sheltered Iraqi insurgents and foreign al Qaeda fighters, and allowed the groups to run camps inside the country. Syria also facilitates the movement of foreign fighters into the country and across the border into Iraq.

mynameis:

There are actual consequences to launching attacks in third party countries,

Yeah….tell that to Syria and Iran for running interference in Iraq’s security and stability. How many U.S. and Coalition soldiers and civilian contractors have lost their lives due to foreign fighters and support for the insurgents, streaming across the borders? How many Iraqi innocents have been intentionally blown to pieces by homicide bombers coming in through Syria? How many government officials targeted for murder, setting back political progress for the budding Iraqi government?

Perhaps Syria would do well to respect Iraq’s borders and sovereignty.

Shhhh…..