Somali pirates and Islam: natural allies?

Last year, we saw one major wave of Somali pirate attacks on tankers and other ships traversing the region.  In December, analysts were warning that, in its weakened state, Somalia may become a new safe haven for militant jihadis as well as pirates and other international criminals.

Around that same time, in a particularly ironic move the Somali Islamist group Al-Shabab  “vowed” to hunt down and attack the pirates who hijacked a Muslim-owned Saudi oil tanker.

However, analysts have posited the idea that in fact the al-Shabaab extremists are in collusion with the pirates and have sought to take a share of any ransom gained. 

Now, UPI writer Claude Salhani suggests that Somali pirates are natural allies of radical Islam:

U.S. Navy warships supported by helicopter gunships tracked four Somali pirates and their American captive in the Horn of Africa throughout the weekend as American negotiators tried to obtain the release of the hostage.

Local militias, many of them adherents of strict Islamist theology, offer a fertile breeding ground to al-Qaida and its affiliates. If and when the day Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida begin to feel the pressure in their current safe haven, the region around the Horn of Africa will look very enticing.

F-16 fighters escort stolen Cessna across the Midwest

Via Instapundit.com.

ABC News reports:

A Cessna was stolen from Ontario, Canada Thunder Bay International Airport just before 3:00 p.m. by a flight student and is currently flying over the Midwest, escorted by two military F-16s. “The pilot has been unresponsive to multiple requests that he establish communications with ground controllers.” CBP is also monitoring the stolen plane.  It has been tracked since it entered Michigan’s UP around 3:25 p.m. and flew over Minnesota, through Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri.

Details are scarce except that the offender is a student and his motives are unknown.

“When asked if the fighter jets might have to shoot down the aircraft if it shows hostile intent, Kucharek told ABC News that could happen.

‘NORAD pilots, once authorized by higher authority, are authorized to use everything within their power to protect U.S. citizens, up to and including lethal force,’ he said.”

Another point of interest:

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane was flying for a while at 14,500 feet. Over 10,000 feet the air is quite thin and commercial planes would be pressurized, but the Cessna 172 is not. As a result, the pilot could be suffering from hypoxia, or lack of oxygen, which can lead to confusion.

The plane later dropped its altitude to 3,700 feet, where there is more oxygen.

For more on this story, click here.

Update: ABC News reports that the pilot is 31- year old Yavuz Berke, (formerly known as Adam Leon), a naturalized Canadian citizen of Turkish origin. Reportedly, his goal was to commit “suicide by cop,” by “fly[ing] the aircraft into the United States where he would be shot down…[h]e stated several times that at any time he thought he was going to be shot down.”

Instead, Berke landed the single-engine Cessna 172 on U.S. Highway 60 in Ellsinore, Mo., at 9:50 p.m. ET. He made his way to a convenience store where a clerk noticed him and called police. He was found drinking Gatorade, seemingly relieved that his ordeal was over.

H/T: The Rhetorican

10 top-level drug defendants extradited from Mexico to the U.S.

On the last day of 2008, 10 defendants thought to be associates in major Mexican drug trafficking organizations were extradited from Mexico to the United States to face charges.

The organizations include the Gulf Cartel, the Arellano Felix Organization and the Sinaloa Cartel. The defendants arrived today in Texas and will face criminal proceedings in the Southern District of Texas, the Southern District of California, the Central District of California and the Northern District of Georgia.

The extradition of these 10 defendants brings the total number of extraditions from Mexico to the United States to 95 for 2008, the highest yearly number of extraditions from Mexico to date, surpassing last year’s record number of 83.

DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart stated, “Extradition is one of the most powerful weapons we have to battle drug cartels. The cartels fear not only the U.S. justice system, but the strength of our partnership with President Calderon and the Mexican government in this fight.”

Click here for full story.