Another black op against Al Qaida has been blown by State Deparment leakers, along with our Permanent Ruling Class at the New York Times. According to John B. Roberts II in the Washington Times

Until now, I refrained from writing about the Somali front in the war on al Qaeda because of its extreme sensitivity and its vital importance. Regrettably, State Department career officials, in order to condemn the program, have now confirmed to the New York Times the existence of the covert operation being run by the CIA station in Nairobi, Kenya. This is an unconscionable breach of security that ought to outrage us all.

The links between Somalia and al Qaeda predate September 11 and unlike the disputed links between al Qaeda and Iraq before the war, these ties are incontestable. The 1998 bombings of our embassies in Tanzania and Kenya were carried out through the Somali networks. Since September 11, Somali—linked terrorists have bombed a hotel catering to Israeli tourists in Mombasa, attempted to shoot down an Israeli airliner, have been tied to the London transit bombings and were caught with radioactive contraband in Britain.

To counter the risk that Somalia will become a terrorist safe haven, the United States has stationed 2,000 fast—reaction troops in neighboring Djibouti. Under presidential authority, Washington also launched a covert action program relying on a coalition of secular Somali warlords called the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter—Terrorism.

The alliance has been used to harass and disrupt terrorist operations in Somalia and to capture al Qaeda operatives like Suleiman Abdalla Salim Hemed for interrogation by the United States. The callow exposure of this program's existence complicates our ability to work through proxy allies in fighting terrorism.

How long will it be before the leakers are prosecuted for treason in time of war? Or will it take another 9/11?

My pessimistic prediction: It will take another great disaster for the United States to turn against daily sabotage and treason. Let's hope we blunder through without that.

James Lewis   6 14 06