Somalia's Omar Hammami: Life, death, Jodi Arias and Biebs

Tracking the life and death of American rapper-wannabe-turned-jihadist Omar Hammami, aka: Abu Amriki, is to national security types, what the Jodi Arias trial is to a reality-television-obsessed public (thanks to friend and Star colleague Jennifer Quinn you can figure out who Arias is here and here.

Last year Hammami released his memoir where he waxed nostalgic about his love of Tim Hortons and his year living in Toronto. In March, the U.S. issued a $5 million bounty for his capture which made you wonder how Western forces couldn't find a guy who tweets about as much as Justin Bieber (just FYI, on May 9th at 7:30 a.m., Biebs wrote: "Gonna go on a walk." It was retweeted 29,805 times and counting. Hammami, who goes by @abumamerican on Twitter has only 2,900 "followers").

Spencer Ackermann wrote a great profile where Hammami talks about his very public split with some of Somalia's Al Shabab leaders. Hammami has been chatting on Twitter with various national security analysts, both publicly and privately, describing the inner workings of the group and at one point offering details about the death of Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, Osama bin Laden's top leader in East Africa. (His account seemed to confirm what security sources told the Star in 2012.)

He had been privately writing the Star too, describing how he knew Canadian university student Mahad Dhore, who reportedly led a team of suicide bombers in Mogadishu last month. 

On April 25, he live tweeted what he claimed was an assassination attempt and then posted the photo (above) of a bullet wound in his neck.

Now his Twitter feed has gone silent and there are unconfirmed reports that he was killed by other Shabab members. Fuad Shangole reportedly announced his death, although the claim has since been disputed (Star readers will recall Shangole as one of Ismail Khalif Abdulle's captors. Ismail was the teenager whose hand and foot were amputated because he wouldn't join the Shabab. He is now living in Norway thanks to the efforts of concerned readers).

Some analysts with time to kill apparently (sorry Clint) have gone to extraordinary lengths to try to get at the truth by analyzing the veracity of the tweets about his death.

It has seemed for awhile now that Hammami is living on borrowed time - hunted not just by Somali and Western forces but also by those he once considered allies. One thing is certain. If Hammami is indeed still alive, he's sure to tell us soon enough.

Michelle Shephard is the Star's National Security correspondent and author of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a three-time recipient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on Twitter @shephardm

 

Guantanamo's flights cancelled as hunger strike grows

Sunset at Guantanamo's Camp Delta Oct. 24, 2010. (MICHELLE SHEPHARD / TORONTO STAR)
 

The journey to Gitmo, as the notorious U.S. detention centre on Cuba's southeast shore is known, is not easy. There are two ways to go once attaining Pentagon clearance. Either you fly from Maryland's Andrews Air Force Base, on a weekly chartered military flight, which costs the U.S. government about $90,000 per wheels up. Or, take a small charter flight out of Fort Lauderdale. Having done both, the flexibility and frequency of flights for the Florida option is much preferable.

For the lawyers of the 166 remaining detainees who take repeated trips, those charter flights are crucial - as the Miami Herald's Carol Rosenberg explains in a recent article:

"The small shuttles that carry about 20 passengers had been a vital air bridge to Guantánamo, especially since the U.S. Supreme Court gave attorneys access to the prisoners in August 2004. The flight also served as a gateway for journalists, entertainers, business executives and contractors who streamed to the base in the years following the establishment of the prison camps in January 2002."

Well, apparently those flights are now cancelled due to a rather odd edict from Guantanamo's Navy Commander. Odd, because as Rosenberg reports, he is "invoking a federal regulation that the Pentagon has apprently waived for years."

Apparently, Federal Regulation 32CFR766 prohibits regular passenger service by a commercial operator. Apparently, no one has noticed in the more than two decades that those flights have been flying to the U.S. Navy base.

With more than two dozen prisoners now on a hunger strike, the timing of this decision is of particular concern to detainee lawyers - who have longed complained that logistical woes and Pentagon classification restrictions have already made their jobs virtually impossible.

According to CNN, a statement from lawyers representing an Afghan detainee named Obaydullah (who they say has already lost 30 pounds in the hunger strike) says the two issues are connected and accuses the military of trying to cover up the protest. "Though the military has started acknowledging that more prisoners are striking, we are being denied the ability to meet with them and see the true extent of what's happening there," the statement reads.

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's National Security correspondent and author of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a three-time recipient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on Twitter @shephardm

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/17/3291679/navy-ruling-ends-commercial-flights.html#storylink=cpy

$5 million bounty for American-Tim Hortons-loving-jihadi

 

The U.S. State Department's "Rewards for Justice" program has added two Americans and $10 million in bounties to the list of wanted Al Shabab suspects (first reported by CNN's Elise Labott Wednesday).

Somalia's Al Qaeda group has diminished in membership and power in the last two years, but a suicide bombing in Mogadishu this week that killed at least 10 civilians, was a devastating reminder that the Shabab still has active members who can reach the capital.   

Omar Shafik Hammami and Jehad Serwan Mostafa both reportedly left the U.S. for Somalia in 2006, when a group called the Islamic Courts Union had briefly taken control of Mogadishu. According to the State Department: "Both are wanted for conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, which includes their significant contributions to al Shabaab’s media and military activities."

The timing of the bounties is curious. Labott quotes an unnamed FBI source stating that the two "had a persistent interest in targeting U.S. interests." But it appears it is not an imminent threat but that the reward is based "on actions (Hammami) has already taken." Hammami is generally not regarded as leader in the group - especially since his very public fallout with the Shabab last year.

Millions in bounties for the Shabab leadership was first offered in June - the greatest reward of $7 million (U.S). for Ahmed Abdi aw-Mohamed Godane, the group's leader, who also goes by the name Mukhtar Abu Zubair. The elusive and influential Ibrahim Haji Jama, also known as Ibrahim al-Afghani (a nickname because of his training in Afghanistan), was also listed.

But it was the Shabab leaders who were not listed that was most intriguing - and the widely-held theory among analysts was that the bounties were less about the bounties themselves and more about the U.S. trying to further divide the leadership. At the time, there was a split between members who believed in Al Qaeda's global aspirations and those who were more Somalia-focused. There were also an effort by the government to get certain leaders to defect. As always in Somalia, clan played a role too.

So why now for the two Americans?

Hamammi is the better known of the two. He is a difficult character to take seriously - an Alabama-born "rapper," with a taste for Tim Hortons, who waxes poetically in the tortured language of jihadists.

Most analysts, counterterrorism experts and journalists are fans of dark comedy (mea culpa), thus his story has been widely covered. He seems to consume it all.

Last Friday, he apparently read a blog I wrote about the latest act in Terrorism's Theatre of the Absurd,  mentioning his Twitter feed (although there has been some doubt as to whether it is really him). The blog stated: "Lately, his tweets have been about as exciting - and frequent - as the teenager who wants to tell you about the bagel she had at lunch, or when she's off for a mani-pedi."

He responded the next day on Twitter: "bagel? Canadian feminist humor?"

Then again Wednesday "he" - if @abumamerican is indeed Hammami - was busy again, responding to various national security and foreign policy Twitter types. He seemed eager to compete in Twitter Fight Club (#TFC13.. think, like, nerd online Olympics).

This was his last tweet before the bounty was announced:

 

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's National Security correspondent and author of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a three-time recepient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on Twitter @shephardm

The quiet prosecution of Bradley Manning

 

                                                                                       
                                                                                            PATRICK SEMANSKY / ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

Private Bradley Manning is not a household name in Canada. Actually, he is not that well-known in the U.S. either - despite the dogged coverage of various activists and journalists. (New York lawyer Chase Madar has also written a book and a grassroots support group, "Save Bradley Manning," has 66,136 Facebook "likes.") 

Manning is the 25-year-old soldier who pleaded guilty Feb. 28 to providing classified government documents to WikiLeaks - a crime that could put him behind bars for 20 years. The most well-known leak was of U.S. soldiers celebrating airborne killings in Baghdad, which claimed the lives of civilians, including Reuters' photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and 40-year-old driver Saeed Chmagh.

He has been heralded by some as our generation's Daniel Ellsberg, who famously leaked the Pentagon Papers concerning the Vietnam War. Ellsberg said as much in a Huffington Post column last week praising Manning. "I believe Bradley Manning is the personification of the word whistleblower," he wrote.

To others, Manning is a troubled soldier and a traitor.

Indeed, a Rorschach test - for those who have heard of him anyway.

The case continues as Manning still faces a June trial for the crime of "aiding the enemy," and, he faces a life sentence if convicted.

Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald wrote recently about the lack of media coverage, noting that the secrecy surrounding the case prohibits even transcripts being released.

NPR's "On The Media" also explored why there has been so little coverage in an interesting discussion with Arun Rath, who reports for PBS Frontline. Rath says if it weren't for the tenacity of three independent journalists -  Alexa O'Brien, Kevin Gosztola and Adam Klasfeld - who have covered the pre-trial hearings at Ft. Meade, Md. there would be even less known about the case. The three are admittedly sympathetic to Manning and therefore the coverage reads more as columns, but as O'Brien notes, she also wears the hat of court reporter, writing transcripts since the U.S. government refuses. Rath addresses this with On The Media host Brooke Gladstone: 

ARUN RATH:  Well, like you said, they don’t pretend to be objective at all. These are people that do believe Bradley Manning is a hero and come from that perspective. But here’s – here’s Alexa’s response to that.

ALEXA O’BRIEN:  I’ve thought about it quite a bit because this question oftentimes comes up, you know, with the sort of pejorative-ness of being an independent journalist. And my response is there's nothing more objective than a transcript.

Now an audio recording of Manning's statement has been leaked and posted by Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) (which Greenwald helped found) generating much attention.

Award-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras (also on the FPF board) and Jenny Perlin have turned the recording into a 5-minute film (below), which has so far garnered more than 200,000 YouTube hits.

"For me, it's all a big mess," Manning is heard telling the military court in explaining his reaction when he first saw the Baghdad video, "and I'm left wondering what these things mean, and how it all fits together."

 

 

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's National Security correspondent and author of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a three-time recepient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on Twitter @shephardm

 

A sad update from Palau

                                                                                                                                                   Facebook Photo

 

Akram was one of those little boys who never seemed to cry. He fell down. He got up. He giggled. He watched you with wide eyes. He giggled. If you actually tried to make him laugh, the giggles ran together and ended in hiccups. His laugh was contagious.

Akram Abdulrahman, 22-months-old, died late Friday on the Pacific island of Palau in the hospital where he had been surviving only with the help of life support. He had never regained consciousness since falling off a balcony a few days earlier. He had pulled a chair quickly and quietly to the edge to peer over to see what one of his uncles was doing down below. The trauma to his head was too great. Nothing could be done. Many tried.

News of his death will spread quickly in Palau - not just because news always travels quickly on the island of 20,000 - but also because Akram is the son of one of the island's most famous residents, Abdulghappar Abdulrahman, one of six former Guantanamo detainees given refuge there four years ago.

Abdulrahman is Uighur, a Muslim ethnic minority persecuted in China. Twenty-two Uighur men were caught in the post-9/11 dragnet and endured years of detention even though the courts declared their incarceration illegal. Palau was one of the few nations willing to help the U.S. find homes for the men and in doing so, accept China's wrath.

Palau was supposed to be temporary - it's not an easy life there for them. Yet, it is there five of them remain, each other's family, as they build their own. (One of the men managed to flee to Turkey to join his wife and child.)

Abdulrahman's wife came to join him a few years ago. They were doting parents to Akram - theirs was a house of happiness despite Abdulrahman's sadness.

Three weeks before Akram died, the couple welcomed their second son, a birth overwhelmed now by such tragedy. Akram died on his father's 40th birthday.

Ahmad Abdulahad, one of Akram's "uncles" wrote an email on behalf of Akram's parents, thanking everyone for the concern.

Our hearts are breaking, he wrote.

"We are very sad."

 

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's National Security correspondent and author of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a three-time recepient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on Twitter @shephardm

Kenya's foreign press pariahs and zombie scribes

 

The of Kenya's largest newspaper March 4, 2013. (Michelle Shephard/Toronto Star)

 "Any journalist worth their salt should start feeling itchy when praised by those in authority," writes author and journalist Michela Wrong in an excellent blog about reporting Kenya's election last week. 

Wrong, who has covered Africa for nearly two decades, laments both the backlash against foreign scribes, as well as the malaise of the local press - whom she greatly admires - but says it was transformed for the elections into a "zombie army."

To step back, some history:

In the last election five years ago, various media outlets were blamed for stoking the violence that followed the contested vote and resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200. Joshua arap Sang, the owner of radio station Kass FM, has been indicted by The Hague's International Criminal Court for allegedly airing hate speech to incite ethinc tensions.

Kenya's government spokesperson was none too subtle in his warnings to the media in the lead up to the March 4th vote. "We will set you on fire before you set us on fire," Muthui Kariuki told a gathering of international press in January.

Foreign journalists carried on, but what turned Kenya's normally fiesty local media into what Wrong calls the "zombie army," was a code of unprecedented restraint. Kenya's Media Owners Association told The Associated Press' Jason Straziuso that there was "gentleman's agreement" among media bosses to not air any political statements live, or publish "inflammatory statements."

It is understandable, or even as Straziuso calls it, "a noble goal," given how desperate everyone was to avoid the horrors of five years ago.

But did the self-censorship go too far and what does that mean for the future of Kenya's journalism?

There were some insightful columns, but the live television coverage, was bizarre to watch: a 24-hour live scroll of vote tallies set to an excrutiating superhero soundtrack that looped over and over and over again, broken only by equally numbing roundtable discussions where analysts spoke in hypotheticals.

Was this what election and government officials praised (which as Wrong says, should make them get a little itchy, especially since the election did not go as smoothly as many Kenyans may have believed)?

Political analyst, Ken Opalo told The Independent's Daniel Howden that he believed the self censorship went "too far," while the Committee to Protect Journalists' Tom Rhodes reported that not all local journalists were happy with the gentleman's agreement, but frustrated by "editors who cull(ed) their stories in the name of maintaining peace."

It's no wonder in contrast the foreign press appeared as dangerous naysayers, accused of hyping the threat with a-need-to-feed-journalism-speed. There were some examples of questionable reports, but it was "foreign press" in general that was targetted. On Thursday, the information ministry warned that foreign journalists would be prosecuted or deported if they did not have proper work permits.

Intimidation of the foreign press hurts all media in Kenya - and is especially tragic when the local press has fought so hard for the independence they normally enjoy.

Wrong and others are also asking if the self-censorship impacted the election itself? Without fullsome coverage - including allegations of vote rigging that prompted the running mate of presidential candidate Raila Odinga to call for a recount - were Kenyans may have been lulled into a sense of security through distorted facts ... and a superhero soundtrack?

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's National Security correspondent and author of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a three-time recepient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on Twitter @shephardm

 

 

 

TGIF and terrorism's theatre of the absurd

Time for another installment of Terrorism's Theatre of the Absurd:

For gamers: "Muslim Mali," which pits Islamic militants against the French Air Force in Mali is reportedly taking Internet jihadi forums by storm. And hey, it's a win-win, even if you lose, you supposedly get a message that says "Congratulations, you have been martyred." Foreign Policy's National Security Reporter John Hudson tried the game so you don't have to.

What terror roundup is complete without the rantings of one of the most famous American jihadists - Omar Hammami, aka: Abu Amriki. He is the Alabama native who spent a year in Toronto - long enough to fall in love with Tim Hortons - before joining the fight in Somalia. He reportedly communicates through Twitter, although there has been some doubt as to whether it is really him. Lately, his tweets have been about as exciting - and frequent - as the teenager who wants to tell you about the bagel she had at lunch, or when she's off for a mani-pedi.

Don't bother following "him" on Twitter, but watch for analysis by Clint Watts on his blog Selected Wisdom or J.M. Berger at Intelwire. They have the patience to communicate with him and read the tweets. Berger says he is convinced it is Hammami.

Amid all the babble, there are some interesting nuggets of information that may shed light on Somalia's Al Qaeda group, Al Shabab, which Berger and Watts highlight.

Earlier this month, Yemen's Al Qaeda branch released its 10th edition of the English-language "Inspire" magazine. The much-ridiculed publication known as Al Qaeda's Cosmo, follows a similar format from past editions despite a new editorial board, including some self-help hints, such as avoiding getting petrol on yourself when you're torching cars. Now you know.

And for your weekend read, an update to our blog about Yemen's newest museum - to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, by Saleh. The intrepid Sanaa-based journalist Adam Baron, chewed some khat and got a tour, writing about his adventure and Saleh's "hot pants."

 

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's National Security correspondent and author of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a three-time recepient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on Twitter @shephardm

 

 

A 'cyber 9/11' - move over Al Qaeda

Imagine a doomsday scenario where all systems crash. There is no electricity. You can't use your phone or email, can't get money from ATMs. Wall Street goes beserk, and trains and subways are vulnerable. 

It is harder to imagine a devastating cyber attack than it is to be fearful of hijacked planes crashing into highrises - but increasingly counterterrorism officials are asking us to do just that.

On Tuesday, the U.S. director of national intelligence appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee and warned that cyber-attacks and cyber-espionage have replaced Al Qaeda as greater threats to the U.S.

Last year, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, told the Stars and Stripes that we were in a "pre-9/11 moment" and warned that attacks on public utilities could spark a "cyber Pearl Harbor."

In response to Panetta's October comments, Canada's Public Security Minister Vic Toews told reporters in Ottawa, "I don't know whether he has overstated it, but certainly there is a risk to cyber security."

The Pentagon has reportedly created 13 teams of computer programmers and experts trained to carry out offensive cyberattacks if the U.S. were hit. As the New York Times noted, this admission Tuesday is the first time the Obama administration has publicly admitted to developing "such weapons for use in wartime."  

Canada has the CCIRC, the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre, but security analysts have recently citicized Canada's efforts as lagging behind. "The Canadian government has been somewhat remiss in its approach to the problem," Queen's University professor and internet security expert David Skillicorn, told the Financial Post.

As a damning auditor general reported highlighted last year, the CCIRC was keeping banking hours - although someone could be paged on the weekend.

Working hours at the CCIRC have reportedly been increased since. 

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's National Security correspondent and author of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a three-time recepient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on Twitter @shephardm

 

 

 

 

Somalia's International Women's Day of celebration and dismay

 

Dadaab Refugee Camp, 2008. LUCAS OLENIUK / TORONTO STAR

 

First, the good news on International Women's Day in Somalia.

There is much to celebrate right now and much of that is thanks to the sheer determination of Somali women. One of the country's most famous over the years has been "Mama Hawa," a 65-year-old obstetrician, gynecologist and lawyer, who along with her daughters have created a safe oasis inside Somalia for women and thousands of others displaced after two decades of fighting.

Many Canadian women are the forefront as well, including Toronto's Fartuun Adan, the executive director of the Mogadishu-based Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre, whose husband was assassinated in 1996 by warlords for his peace activism. Adan received the well-deserved U.S. State Department's International Women of Courage Award this week. Today, she will meet Michelle Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington.  

A whole new generation of women leaders are emerging.

Sadly though another story continues, and is dominating headlines. Twenty-seven-year old Lul Ali Osman Barake has gone public with her story of rape and the travesty that followed. She says she was not only gang raped by uniformed men but when she reported the crime to police and a local journalist, she was put in jail and sentenced to a year. As the Guardian's David Smith writes in his exclusive interview with Barake, "she has been raped twice: first by a gang of men in military fatigues, then by the judicial system in what is meant to be a liberated Somalia."

Through a Somali interpreter, this is what she told Smith:

"It was on 14 August, she said, that she woke up feeling unwell at her home constructed from sticks, plastic and metal sheets in one of the camps for internally displaced persons (IDP) that still scar the Somali capital. She went to a food distribution point and was approached by five men in uniform.

"They stopped me, slapped me and blindfolded me," Barake said.

"One took my hand and I had to follow them inside an empty school. I said I'm an IDP, I'm getting food to eat, what do you want with me?

"They said nothing. They were angry and they took me.

"They raped me, one after another, with four standing guard. When all five had finished, I said please allow me to leave, I'm breastfeeding a baby and need to get home. They allowed me to go. After I left the area I fell three or four times. Whenever I walked for 10 metres, I had to sit and rest."

She asked that her real name be used in the interview.

The case brings back memories from 2008 when along with photographer Lucas Oleniuk we tracked down the story of a 13-year-old Somali girl who was stoned to death for "adultry" after allegedly reporting a rape. That was a time when Somalia was at it's worst in recent history. Now it's is supposed to be at it's best.

The verdict against Barake of "defaming a government body and making false accusations" was thankfully overturned earlier this week. "The court has recognized the lady was the real victim," the judge said according to Smith, who added that Barake was present at the hearing with her seven-month-old baby.

And yet a sentence was upheld against the freelance journalist, Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim, who interviewed her. As Human Rights Watch notes, the conviction itself is unclear. Al Jazeera reported one of his charges was "making a false interview, and entering the house of a woman whose husband was not present." Ibrahim was reportedly researching a story on sexual violence and his reports had not yet been published or aired. His sentence of six months was upheld.

There have been so many brave Somali journalists who have lost their lives in the two-decades of fighting, including the Canadian co-founder of HornAfrik (and friend) Ali Sharmarke. There have been so many women who have kept their families alive through years of war and under the hardships of the misogynist rule of Al Qaeda's East African proxy, Al Shabab. 

To have women's rights, along with press freedom, challenged now in a time of newfound peace is not the International Women's Day many Somalis had hoped to celebrate.

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's National Security correspondent and author of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a three-time recepient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on Twitter @shephardm

 

 

Frequent flyer ultrasounds

Okay Air Canada, what have you done for me lately?

Kenya Airways - whose motto is The Pride of Africa - is offering free echo cardiograms or kidney profiles for travel from Nairobi to Delhi. Kind of makes that whole Air Canada elite lounge access seem lame suddenly.

The offer for free "World Class Health Care At Your Doorstep," is advertised on the back of every Kenya Airways ticket stub. It seems all you have to do is take a direct flight from Kenya's capital to India and you're entitled to a free "Executive Health Check Up" from the Asian Institute of Medical Sciences. That includes an ultrasound (whole abdomen), liver function test, a lipid profile, and ECG, among other medical tests.

Kenya Airways representatives were unavailable for comment - not surprising since life is essentially on hold here as the votes are counted in the country's historic election. But an email sent to Jacob Deepika at Asian Hospital (as advertised on the ticket) was promptly returned saying that, well yes, all that was required was a boarding pass and passport.

He attached this brochure:

 

Free nuts and soft drinks? How yesterday.

 

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's National Security correspondent and author of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a three-time recepient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on Twitter @shephardm