Monthly Archives: October 2011

Is Al-Shabaab Going to Target Canada?

The headlines make a recent taped threat, if it can even be called that, seem quite ominous but don’t expect all hell to break loose in Toronto anytime soon. This is the result of a rant – not a new strategic initiative.

Details from the National Post:

“The English-language message specifically called for terrorist attacks in Canada and said it was a duty for Muslims to fight for Islam, urging listeners not to “just sit around and be a couch potato and just chill all day.”

“My brothers and sisters, do jihad in America, do jihad in Canada, do jihad in England [and] anywhere in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, in China, in Australia – anywhere you find kuffar [infidels],” it says.”

In short, it’s no different than any other martyrdom tape released in the past thirty years. Canada is not, nor will it be anytime soon, a priority target, for al-Shabaab or Islamic terrorists in general.

Recommended on Twitter: @allthingsct. Leah Farrall is an ex-counterterrorism analyst; returned academic type w/ background in IR.

Need to Know: October 30, 2011

Need to Know: October 29, 2011

Hacker Group Anonymous Takes on Mexican Drug Cartels

Anonymous is quite unhappy that one of their own was kidnapped in Veracruz and has issues a video threat in response:

An international group of online hackers is warning a Mexican drug cartel to release one of its members, kidnapped from a street protest, or it will publish the identities and addresses of the syndicate’s associates, from corrupt police to taxi drivers, as well as reveal the syndicates’ businesses.

So can Anonymous do this? Do the cartels even have the IT infrastructure to attack? Or does Anonymous even have to target the cartels directly?

I think this is 100% achievable for Anonymous. This intelligence could potentially be pulled from countless vulnerable law enforcement networks in Mexico, Texas, and other parts of the world. It is also possbile that elements of Anonymous already have some of this information since they’ve been raiding U.S. law enforcement systems quite regularly this year. If this is a serious threat you can expect follow-through. You can also also expect carnage.

If Anonymous can expose parts of the cartel network deaths will result. People will be killed, kidnapped, and tortured in ways you can’t imagine. Those killed might be evil cartel members deserving of whatever comes their way. However, they might also be innocents caught in the crossfire. The cartels also co-opt countless innocent people who only cooperate in the face of certain death. Do they need to be exposed, and almost certainly murdered as a result, as well?

What appears, at first glance, to be a delicious bit of vigilante justice is a nightmare in the making. Anonymous would be wise to think through the implications of their actions before they release their data.

Recommened on Twitter: @AnonOps. Frequent updates on Anonymous activities.

13 U.S. Troops Killed in Kabul Suicide Bombing

The Long War Journal has a detailed write-up on the attack:

A suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a Rhino Runner transporting NATO troops to the Kabul Military Training Center Kabul, a US military official told The Long War Journal. The Rhino is an up-armored bus that is used to transport large numbers of troops around the capital.

…”The Taliban first had to build a bomb big enough to penetrate the Rhino’s armor, and then they had to position the suicide bomber to execute the attack,” the official said. “Clearly they have been observing our movements and timed this attack.”

It sounds like this was a frequently used transport route. Any fixed pattern is vulnerable to attack but significant variation in timing and route is not always possible. I’m sure that sort of review is underway now.

Recommended on Twitter: @billroggio. Editor of The Long War Journal & Senior Fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies.