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* Con Coughlin: Biden's Arms Package for Ukraine Is Long Overdue
* Lawrence A. Franklin: The Islamist Plan to Conquer East Africa: U.S. Missing in Action


** Biden's Arms Package for Ukraine Is Long Overdue ([link removed])
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by Con Coughlin • January 18, 2023 at 5:00 am
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* In one of the more damning examples of his indecisive leadership, Biden has seemed to be more concerned about upsetting Russian President Vladimir Putin than confronting the Kremlin's unprovoked act of aggression against its Ukrainian neighbour.
* It could even be argued that Russia's invasion of Ukraine would not have happened in the first place had it not been for Biden's catastrophic handling of the withdrawal of military forces from Afghanistan in the summer of 2022. Biden's decision to abandon the Afghan people to their fate... sent a clear message to autocrats like Putin, as well as China's President Xi Jinping, that the Western powers... no longer had any interest in standing up to tyrannical regimes.
* The West's perceived weakness may also explain why Putin made a series of veiled threats about using nuclear weapons if the Western powers became too involved in the Ukraine conflict, which initially had the desired effect of persuading the Biden administration to keep its distance.
* At a moment when Putin is giving serious consideration to a new spring offensive to make up for the disastrous losses he suffered last year, the US arms package could prove to be decisive in making sure the Ukrainians do not lose ground.
* It is vital, therefore, that the US and its allies set aside their reservations about defeating Putin's Russia, not least because all the indications are that Putin is currently losing his war, and Western support can make sure he suffers a catastrophic defeat.
* It is vital therefore that, rather than constantly questioning the need to support the Ukrainian cause, American politicians, policymakers and the media comprehend that making sure that Russia suffers a devastating defeat is very much in America's interest.
* It would remove the threat Russia poses to global security for a generation, allowing the Western powers to concentrate their focus on the far greater threat posed to world peace by Communist China.
* Neutralising Putin means the Western alliance can ensure it is fully-prepared to deal with any future aggression from Beijing, such as threatening the independence of Taiwan.

In one of the more damning examples of his indecisive leadership, US President Joe Biden has seemed to be more concerned about upsetting Russian President Vladimir Putin than confronting the Kremlin's unprovoked act of aggression against its Ukrainian neighbour. Pictured: Biden and Putin meet on June 16, 2021 in Geneva, Switzerland. (Photo by Peter Klaunzer - Pool/Keystone via Getty Images)

The most charitable thing that can be said about US President Joe Biden's belated decision to supply Ukraine with armoured vehicles is that his administration is finally coming to understand what is required to ensure the Ukrainian forces achieve victory in the brutal war with Russia.

The Biden administration may have taken an age to reach its decision to provide Ukraine with 50 Bradley Armoured Vehicles, but the provision of such weaponry is exactly what the Ukrainians need if they are to achieve their goal of defeating their Russian aggressors.

The American decision, moreover, has prompted other Western nations, such as Britain, France and Poland and Germany, to provide their own armour to the Ukrainians, a move that could immeasurably improve the ability of Ukrainian forces to liberate their country from Russia's illegal occupation.

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** The Islamist Plan to Conquer East Africa: U.S. Missing in Action ([link removed])
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by Lawrence A. Franklin • January 18, 2023 at 4:00 am
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* The most potent threat to East African stability remains Al-Shabaab, rooted in Somalia. Al-Qaeda helps to finance Al-Shabaab through its contacts across the Gulf of Aden in Yemen.
* Al-Shabaab's threat to the American homeland should not be discounted: the group has explored possible scenarios of launching a 9/11 style assault on the US. Shabaab is assessed by US intelligence as Al-Qaeda's wealthiest and largest affiliate.
* If Islamists succeed in establishing an Emirate in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique's government could be rendered powerless to combat the spread of radical Islam throughout the country. Using Mozambique as a base of operations, jihadists potentially could export terrorist cells to Indian Ocean island countries such as the Comoros Islands, Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles, and ultimately to southern African nations as well.

If Islamists succeed in establishing an Emirate in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique's government could be rendered powerless to combat the spread of radical Islam throughout the country. Pictured: Burned and damaged huts in the village of Aldeia da Paz outside Macomia, Mozambique on August 24, 2019. On August 1, 2019, the village was attacked by an Islamist group. (Photo by Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images)

Jihadist terrorism poses an existential challenge to Africa's nation-states. While North Africa has been Islamic for a millennium, the Sahel, that part of the continent south of the Sahara, remains under siege by affiliates of the global Islamist networks, Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

France, after a ten-year effort, has abandoned its responsibility to safeguard the sovereignty of its former colonies. Consequently, the Sahel's counterterrorist mission now rests upon the shoulders of a group of regional states called the "G5" : Burkina Faso, Chad. Mali. Mauritania, and Niger.

The most potent threat to East African stability remains Al-Shabaab, rooted in Somalia. Although Al-Shabaab pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda in 2009, it maintains autonomy for its terrorist operations. Al-Qaeda helps to finance Al-Shabaab through its contacts across the Gulf of Aden in Yemen.

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