Mali terror attack
Mali officials believe that there are 10 gunmen holding about 170 guests hostage in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamaka, Mali. According to the UK Telegraph, they burst into the lobby yelling “Allahu Akbar” while firing their guns and throwing grenades. Two Malians and one French citizen were killed in the assault. The gunmen have been releasing hostages who can recite passages from the Koran, according to reports. The President of neighboring Chad, Idriss Déby Itno, assures the media that the attack on the hotel has nothing to do with religion, though.
Malian Special Forces have raided the hotel and about 80 hostages have either been released or were able to escape on their own. Some of them report that there are only four gunmen and not ten as it was reported earlier. A unit of French paramilitary hostage rescue teams are in route to the hotel, according to the French government.
A Reuters reporter says that he heard the gunmen speaking English.
Category: Terror War
“Nothing to do with religion”. Yeah, Christian/Jewish/Hindu/other non-Moslem extremists always begin a terrorist attack by yelling “Allahu Akbar” and ask people to quote the Koran before giving them their freedom.
GMAFB.
Hondo,
See my comment below. This is just a case of the esteemed fourth estate taking a few words (after translation from French to Englis) out of context.
See my reply below. I don’t agree. The Chadian President’s statement – either in the English translation or in the original French – does not appear to contain either explicit nor implicit condemnation of the act as being against the principles of Islam. The quote by the press here appears accurate.
Had the Chadian President wanted to condemn the attack as being counter to Islamic principles, he could have used language similar to what I suggested below. He did not.
Must be Mormans because they yelled “Allahu Akbar”.
Not us Mormons. We yell “MORONI! MORONI!”
(for everyone out there, NOT Mormon, this is “satire”)
Also a pretty good pun – one that’s unfortunately lost on many. (smile)
was once a famous subtitle flub during a Sunday NFL game when the poor bugger doing the subtitles did a typo and described the quarterback as “the first non-moron to graduate from BYU”
Workplace violence has reached epidemic proportions worldwide…
I am starting to think that ‘jobs’ are the answer. All these terrorists need jobs and with a job they won’t or can’t kill.
So, I propose we issue all terrorists a shovel and tell them to start digging.
We can pay them prevailing wage from their country of origin.
What comes next is apparent.
Midnight basketball
Under this
clown krewe running the show in DCAdministration, you just might be correct.Precisely!
Thanks for totally understanding.
OVER!
Don’t forget that we also need to stop climate change to prevent them from radicalizing!
Must not forget climate change as THE big factor.
Hell yeah. According to something posted by a guy named Taylor, that’s what caused the Syrian Civil War and led to the rise of ISIS!
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=62841&cpage=1#comment-2725789
Don’t jump to conclusions. Their inability to afford health care could also be a factor.
The Peesident of Chad says it isn’t about religion. Who does he get his Intel from, Commissar? What are they then, Jehovah’s Witnesses on LSD?
I’m always wary of how the press reports what they want.
What President Deby said was:
“Je condamne de la manière la plus ferme possible cet acte barbare qui n’a rien à voir avec la religion.”
http://www.presidencetchad.org/affichage_news.php?id=1413&titre=%20G5%20Sahel%20:%20Ouverture%20des%20travaux%20du%202%E8me%20Sommet%20ordinaire.#sthash.K1Z9I7TJ.dpuf
He’s is actually condemning the hostage takes as religious heretics, when you stop to read the entirety of his remarks.
FWIW, the Chadians have been kicking ass and taking names when it comes to tracking down and killing extremists. The caught the ringleader of the Boko Haram attack on their police Hq’s, held a trial, established guilt then took them out and executed them. Problem solved.
Um, not sure I buy that L4C. Here’s the entire quote from the President of Chad, translated into English. It’s courtesy of Google Translate, and my French is rusty – but I can’t find any glaring errors.
“We live at this moment another terrorist attack in Mali. A hostage in the Radisson, as everyone knows. There are men and women, citizens who are just doing their job and have become targets. I condemn in the strongest possible way this barbaric act that has nothing to do with religion. I reaffirm our unwavering support for our brother Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and the entire people of Mali. Nothing is very accurate. But we can expect blood and tears.”
What I get from that is a clear statement that this terrorist attack was not a religious act. I don’t get any direct condemnation of the act, nor do I get the impression the Chadian President was stating that the act was against the tenets of Islam.
Had the Chadian President truly wanted to condemn the attackers as being contrary to Islam, he could have said something along these lines:
“Cette attaque terroriste ignoble était contre les principes de l’Islam. Shaytan peut prendre les responsables de ses régions infernales.”
His implication in the choice of language (I agree I would prefer your quote to send the heretics to hell), is that the terrorist don’t represent the religion and are just thugs. That’s one of the problems of using an electronic translation system.
Either way, I think his actions have spoken much louder than his words anyway.
Wonder if this incident will finally motivate AFRICOM/DOD to get their asses moving and issue HF/IDP for uniformed personnel in country, USG civilians have been receiving danger pay for several years. Always struck me as inequitable.
No argument that Chad has been doing its share, and should be commended for doing so. I just wish their President had had the guts to come out and tell the truth about the attack in plain, unambiguous, and highly undiplomatic language.
By failing to condemn clearly such attacks as being against the principles of Islam, by their silence Islamic leaders are engaging in implicit endorsement. Until that changes, public attitudes in those nations will therefore remain receptive to terrorists and their evil message.
The reports on the morning news had the number of gunmen at 8 and then at 4, so all I got out of it was that another hotel was being used as a hostage point.
Well, that ends any interest I might have ever had in going to Mali… or Chad… or Somalia.
Maybe I’ll try the Skeleton Coast as a vacation spot. I hear that it’s mostly visited by aging lions and desert elephants.
Rouge band of hungry surfer-dudes.
They were actually yelling “Aloha Snackbar!”
Hey, those surfers can be fanatics!
…
(Ok, so comedy is outside my scope of practice….)
That’s why the Beach Boys called it Surfin’ Safari. Maui/Mali. Who needs ocean?
After the 14th century or so, it has been all downhill for Mali. Tourists are encouraged to arrive with their own hotels, as Mali is not awash in them.
This should be broadcast in every school and on every television in this country. Repeatedly, if necessary.