October 21,2008:
Warships from France, Italy, Portugal,
Spain, Malta, Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia are holding training
exercises off the coast of Algeria. These nations also cooperate in counter-terror
operations and trying to control the illegal migration from North Africa to
Europe. While most of these migrants are simply looking for jobs, several percent
are Islamic radicals, either fleeing the police, or seeking to work with the
Islamic terrorists already established in Europe. In North Africa, the Islamic
radicals are on the defensive, despite widespread dissatisfaction with the
tyrannical and inefficient governments that control most of the region. The terrorists
problem is that Islamic radicalism has an even worse reputation. Al Qaeda has
tried to cope with this reputation problem, and expand its network of radicals,
but it has not been able to get beyond a radical fringe, who are more feared
than supported by the general population. But that fear does not turn into
control, because too many of the people have cell phones, and no fear of using
them to call the cops when Islamic terrorists are seen.
October 18,
2008: Two Islamic terrorists were killed
in a police operation east of the capital. The terrorists were discovered due
to a tip from civilians.
October 11,
2008: In the west, four Islamic
terrorists were cornered and killed. Four assault rifles and documents were
recovered.
October 10,
2008: Eight more Algerian migrants were
arrested in Spain and charged with terrorism. The eight were recruiting
terrorists and raising money to support terrorist efforts. This is what often happens
when Islamic terrorists flee Algeria for sanctuary in Europe. But the
counter-terror effort in Europe is becoming more alert to this threat, and
watching the Arab migrants more carefully. Spain and Italy are most frequently the
destination of illegal migration from Algeria, and police and diplomatic
officials from all three countries are coordinating their efforts to deal with
the problem.