The obvious thoughts that enter the minds of Americans today are the attacks on September 11th and into those of Spaniards, March 11th. But let me move passed these large scale crisis in an attempt to unearth a hidden "trend" that al-Qaeda has followed regarding these dates. I must assure you that this list is scant and in no way covers the mass amounts of causalities at the hands of al-Qaeda on the 11th of each month, it is simply used as visual evidence of my idea.

March 11, 2004 -- a series of coordinated bombings against the Cercanías, commuter train, system of Madrid, Spain in the morning that killed 191 people and wounded 1,755 a mere 3 days before Spain's elections. This, the first major attack since 9/11, was al-Qaeda's way of making good on a promise that all countries aiding the US against them would pay.

July 11, 2006 The Mumbai Train Bombing -- a series of seven bomb blasts over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and India's financial capital that killed 209 people and injured more than 700.

March 11, 2007 Casablanca Bombing -- On the 3 year anniversary of the Madrid Train Bombings, a suicide attack killed 1 and wounded 4 in an internet cafe in Casablanca, Morocco. The owner stopped the two bombers as they attempted to log into an Islamic Extremist website, supposedly to receive instructions about a larger attack. Overall, this attack is viewed as a failed attempt to attack some possible tourist locations and a success in foiling a much larger possible event.

Now to the date I want to focus on April 11, 2002 Ghriba Synagogue Bombing -- a natural gas truck fitted with explosives drove past security barriers at the ancient Ghriba Synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba. The truck detonated at the front of a synagogue, killing 14 German tourists, six Tunisians, and one Frenchman. More than 30 others were wounded.

April 11, 2006 -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that his country had succeeded in enriching uranium on a small scale for the first time.

April 11, 2007 Algiers bombing -- two suicide car bombs exploded in the Algerian capital Algiers. The headquarters of the Algerian prime minister were hit by a large explosion. Another explosion targeted a police station in an eastern suburb of the city, near the international airport. The first attack, which was on the prime minister's office, killed 12 people and injured 118, and the second attack on the police station in the Bab Ezzouar district of Algiers killed 11 and injured 44. al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is the group claiming responsibility for these two attacks. This group was formally known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. A recent New York Times Article states that because of this attack, April 11th is a date that "now fill Algerians with dread."

A photograph provided by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and verified by The New York Times shows Abdelmalek Droukdal, fourth from left. His group has become a force in Osama bin Laden’s global jihad. Taken from a NYT Article quoted below

April 11, 2008 An Interview with Abdelmalek Droukdal -- Published on July 1, 2008, The New York Times directed a question at the leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb about an alleged April 11th plot that did not happen:

"The New York Times: How do you respond to critics who say the Algerian government has weakened your operational abilities, and that the passage of April 11 without a large attack was evidence of this?

Abdelmalek Droukdal: The Algerian government can lie to the public however it wants and it can make its effort to field facts. But what can not be hidden is that its soldiers are killed constantly and that the bombs of the mujahedeen harvest dozens of them monthly. And that the western interests cannot be protected, and that it will get its share also as we did with the U.N. and the Interpol headquarters and the embassy of Israel in Nouakchott, and the German hostages, then the Austrians.

Just as a reminder, this is not the first time that they repeat this talk. For years, they described the mujahedeen as tattered and tearing. But, during the recovery of the jihad in the last few years people discovered the size of the government’s misleading of them with the complicity of the Algerian press that is dependent, especially in what concerns the security news that is controlled by the intelligence agencies. Concerning the April 11th question and that we couldn’t strike this year in this date, of course we are not stupid to let our enemy define for us the date when we should strike. But, by the strength from God, we define the date and the place. The apostates and their masters have to wait for the strikes that the heroes of Islam will generously do in the right place and time."

This question is drawn from allegations that al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb was planning another April 11th attack as a follow-up to their attack in Algeria.

Why should American's worry?

So now we can look at this date in comparison with other dates of meaning across the globe. Surely all London people will never forget the date 7/7, Spain will forever mourn the victims of 3/11, and our grandchildren will study 9/11 in their textbooks without a doubt...but what about the dates that could have been? Tunisians and Algerians both already recognize 4/11 as a date to remember and my guess is that America will not be far behind. al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have already shown their power in North Africa on this date, going back to the Tunisian and Algerian bombings, establishing fear across the Middle East. However, fear in the Middle East is not the view of al-Qaeda...fear in the West is. The average American knows nothing of those two attacks, making it a prime date to bring into the spotlight.

al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is growing. A Salafist Islam supporting group that has been in existence since the early 90s under the name Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, they recently became a part of al-Qaeda after their leader, Abdelmalek Droukdal contacted bin Laden's number 2 Aymen al-Zawahiri in the middle 2000s to receive help in freeing a captured member: Amari Saifi (El Para). Originally, their main target was France, however, after the al-Qaeda merger, American interests became their enemy as well. No one questions that this group is a threath to America and their attacks have gone from small to large scale in the matter of a year. In December 2007, they attacked the United Nations and court offices in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, killing 41 and injuring 170. They are also known for the 1994 hijacking an Air France plane with the intentions of using it as a missile against the Eiffel Tower before they were killed at a stop in Marseille and, more notably, they carried out the 7/7 Paris Bombings. This group now has the experience, and backing, to pose a legitimate threat to American Interests. They also has pre-disposition with the date of April 11th. Two of their 4 most important attacks came on this date.

The future potential of this date, rather than the past events, are what should have Americans on edge. al-Qaeda is not known for repeating large-scale attacks on the same date, they like to create more fear by using new dates. Because of the previous attacks that went unnoticed in America, and because of al-Qaeda's persistance, my brain is making the conclusion that 4/11 might soon become a day that won't go untouched.

Iran's Nuclear Capabilities

You may have noticed one April 11th snippet I threw in with no links to al-Qaeda. This was about Iran enriching Uranium for the first time. I believe we are already seeing the repercussions of their "accomplishment", and the future issues are still yet to be seen. Could we be going to war with Iran over their nuclear capabilities? It has been reported that we are sending special ops into Iran and that Israel has performed test bombing flights that cover peculiarly similar distance as that from Israel to Nuclear facilities in Iran. Now, with Iran test firing missles, the war games have begun...I guess all we can do now is wait and see.

al-Qaeda and the 11th of the Month

My own research shows no historical or religious significance to the date April 11th. Easter has fallen on this date a few times, but that just doesn't seem like enough to garner attacks. This is what leads me to believe that al-Qaeda is gunning for X/11 to be their own. More people have been killed in attacks on the 11th of a month than any other day and that trend does not seem to have an end. March, April, and September are the 3 months leading the charge and of those three, April is the only one lacking an international crisis. So much can change in the next 9 months between now and April 11, 2009. Regardless, it is a day that, so far, hides in obscurity (at least for Americans)...I sure hope it stays there.

La farce pourrait être drôle si la vie des deux Autrichiens, Andrea Kloiber, 44 ans, et Wolfgang Ebner, 51 ans, n’était pas réellement en danger.

Rappelons les faits : le 22 février dernier, Qaïdat Al Jihad Fil Maghreb Al Islam (QJMI) enlevait les deux touristes en Tunisie. Dans un communiqué placé jeudi sur le forum Al-Ekhlass l’organisation islamiste lançait un ultimatum, également adressé à la représentation diplomatique autrichienne à Alger, en demandant libération de cinq islamistes algériens, dont El Para, contre celle de leurs otages.

Amar Saïfi, dit El Para, ancien militaire et l’un des principaux « émir » du Groupe salafiste pour la prédication et le combat (GSPC devenu QJMI en septembre 2006), avait été l’instigateur de l’enlèvement en 2003 dans le Sahara algérien d’un groupe de 32 touristes européens.

Dix-sept de ces 32 touristes suisses, allemands et néerlandais avaient été libérés au nord de Tamanrasset (extrême-sud algérien) par l’armée algérienne et quatorze avaient été libérés le 18 août suivant à Kidal (Mali) après le versement par Berlin d’une rançon de près de 5 millions d’euros, selon des informations jamais confirmées officiellement. Une otage allemande avait trouvé la mort dans le désert fin juin des suites d’une insolation.

Arrêté au Tchad et remis à l’Algérie, « El Para» est depuis en détention dans l’attente d’un procès reporté à plusieurs reprises. C’est que le prisonnier est encombrant et risquerait de confirmer ce que des anciens membres des services secrets algériens disent depuis longtemps : le GSPC est tellement infiltré par le DRS (ex sécurité militaire algérienne) qu’il en est quasiment une succursale.

Il n’y a qu’à un public occidental que l’on peut faire croire que des hordes de terroristes se cachent entre les dunes du Sahara. En réalité, QJMI évolue sans inquiétude, surtout dans la Mitidja Est, à Mizrana, à Khemis Khechena et à Boumerdes. Longtemps, la plupart des réunions des membres influents de QJMI ont été organisées à Sid Ali Bounab, un lieu bien connu du DRS, mais rien n’a été fait pour décapiter ce groupe armé, bien au contraire.

Dès lors, les questions qui se posent aujourd’hui sont :

1. Qui a le plus intérêt à la libération d’El Para, de sorte à éviter son procès ?

2. Qui à besoin de faire croire à la présence significative d’Al-Qaeda dans les pays du Maghreb ?

Lire également : Abderazak le para n’est qu’un “produit” du DRS (services-secrets algériens)

Ainsi que :

Qui contrôle réellement le GSPC, Al-Qaïda ou le DRS ?

Guerre secrète autour d’Abderezak El-Para

Ci-dessous, une vidéo très instructive sur les méthodes d’infiltrations des services secrets algériens :

 [dailymotion id=x2arwl]

Mecanopolis : http://mecanopolis.wordpress.com/2008/03/16/lautriche-compte-sur-ses-allies-pour-resoudre-la-crise-des-otages/