June 20,
2008: The cause of both the Islamic
terrorism, and the large number of people dying trying to flee across the water
to Europe, is the same; government corruption, and the resulting economic
stagnation. In Algeria, the government pays more attention to prosecuting
Christians, than in going after corrupt and inept government officials.
June 17,
2008: Police killed an al Qaeda leader
some 50 kilometers east of the capital, and dismantled the terrorist cell he led.
June 14,
2008: Al Qaeda officially took credit
for three bombings in the last two weeks. As deadly as the terrorism is, it is
not as lethal as another illegal activity; attempts to smuggle people across
the Mediterranean to Europe (and a better economic future). Last week it was
discovered, when a few survivors were rescued, that a people smuggler boat went
down off Libya, killing at least 150 (including fifty Egyptians, and victims
from all over North Africa.) That's ten times the number of those killed during
recent Islamic terrorist attacks.
June 10,
2008: In Spain, police arrested eight
Algerians who belonged to an al Qaeda cell that recruited terrorists and raised
money for terrorist attacks among the Algerian exile community. Violence was
threatened if expatriate Algerians did not contribute, and that made the
Islamic militants unpopular with fellow Algerians.
