Article

2004-06-20 Africa: North

Algerian Military Says Nabil Sahraoui Toes Up

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Posted by Fred 2004-06-20 10:25:00 AM|| || Front Page|| [6 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 nice sweep, and two-fer with Okacha the Paratrooper among the swept

Posted by Frank G 2004-06-20 12:16:55 PM|| 2004-06-20 12:16:55 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 This maybe is a little long for Rantburg, but I really loved the picture of the fat lady singing, and this does relate to Algeria, but Fred, feel free to delete if you wish.

*************

So I'm at dinner last night, alone, and a very pretty woman, (or at least attractive enough), was having some trouble with a waiter and a food order. They were standing away from her table and because she kept sprinkling her conversation with French words, I stood up, smiled and decided to try to figure out and smooth over her problem.

Which was easily done, and after some fun flirting with her she took me over to her table to introduce me her husband, allegedly an Algerian Police official here in the US to train in and purchase advanced fingerprint and identification technology. There were five other officers in training on the equipment and an Austrian gentleman that was facilitating the transfer for the large corporation, but, truth be told, he distressingly reminded me far too much of Dr. Christian Szell as played by Sir Laurence Olivier in the Marathon Man.

He was a greasy, slippery merchant of high technology and I immediately took a dislike & distrust of him. Nonetheless we all seemed to get alone well, I am nothing if not gracious and a good dinner companion, and they invited me to join them at their table, which I did.

It is not that I know anything about this technology but if you are reasonably bright, anything can be intelligently discussed. We went over the arrest of the attorney Mayfield in Oregon, how the Spanish said the fingerprint points didn't match, but the FBI insisting that they had a 15 point match off the plastic bag holding the spare detonators. It was....a problem.

Just to put the Austrian on the spot, maybe even push a button or two, I made a joke about having their Export Licenses in order. It was a forced laugh by him and a palatable sense of iscomfort. But it was another problem, I insisted, everyone knowing the ease with which export restrictions could be circumvented ever for the most sensitive technology. But I smiled brightly with this comment.

Naturally we discussed the current US torture scandal at Abu Ghraib and at the detention facility at the Baghdad airport.

The Algerian police, and all of them, their position was that the United States wasn't showing enough determination in fighting terrorism. I strongly disagreed, maintaining that as a former soldier, I saw this as a matter of honor, you could kill your enemy, almost with impunity wherever you found him, but that it was dishonorably to torture or humiliate him once he was in your control. Kill him, certainly, dishonor him, never.

I further suggested that as a warrior it was an absolute necessity to have a sympathy for your enemy, and if you had that, torture would be impossible. Sympathy gave you a door to understanding, and without understanding him, you could never defeat him. Sympathy, compassion and an abiding respect were really the pathways to winning this or any war. This was I felt the problem with the current United States efforts in Iraq...essentially a lack of sympathy and respect for our enemy, though with great pain the US was being forced into finally respecting the insurgents and their position. The entire table nodded in agreement and allowed that mine was a fair point.

We most strongly disagreed over Morocco, where I felt the current King and government were making fair strides in taming the more outlandish difficulties of Islam. They in unison disagreed and felt that Morocco was going to hell in a hand basket, while Algeria was in far better shape. I disagreed and we finally agreed to honorably disagree. It was also suggested that Algerians in general had a bad disposition toward Morocco because Morocco never gave any aide to Algeria during the time of their most terrible troubles from 1962 through 1980.

It was fun, we all had a nice time...but, but...and yet, when walkingthem out to their car which turned out to be a white, rented mini-van, watching them all enter, it stuck me that these eight people could easily be members of a terrorist cell, that I could have been talking to the next Atta and Crew. I really didn't have a clue who they were. Several were really tough looking hombres, polite enough to be sure, but still tough, rugged, maybe even dangerous...and...and...

And almost for a moment in suspended time, there was a wild desire to drag them out of the vehicle, put some hot spot lights on them, and find out who they really were.....lol

And that's exactly the problem. Nine times out of ten, the people you want to question are perfectly innocent, free of any taint of wrongdoing or even wrong thinking, but you want to know...but more than know, you want to be Sure.

Life's a bitch. That's the only thing that's for Sure.

Best Wishes,

Traveller

Posted by Traveller 2004-06-20 5:02:57 PM|| 2004-06-20 5:02:57 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Good story. And good point. Thanks.

Posted by Fred 2004-06-20 6:38:23 PM|| 2004-06-20 6:38:23 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Ditto - Thx Trav.

Don't be such a stranger, eh? I've posted to you a couple of times, but no joy.

We're definitely in for a bumpy ride...

Posted by .com 2004-06-20 6:48:54 PM|| [http://www.amble.com/images/patriotic_duty.jpg] 2004-06-20 6:48:54 PM|| Front Page Top

#5
Hello, Mr. Com, Sir:

You know how it is, here and there, in and out, but I always try to follow your comments here at Rantburg. Through you, I stay plugged in.

The real problem is that I think I went a little crazy after the pull back from Fallujah. I more or less supported General Conway's decision to disengage from Fallujah...not because it was the right military decision, but rather because it was the necessary political decision.

In my estimation it wasn't 200 or even 500 Islamists that needed to be killed, the number would be in the thousands...which was fine with me, though I did think that we needed more than just a Brigade of Marines, the force level seemed again a little low, but the battle of Fallujah was certainly doable, certainly winable.

And maybe a necesssary and salutory lesson.

But one day, not too long ago, while reading the news out of Fallujah, my secretary was shocked to see me hurl the newspaper, all crinking newsprint and whoosping fluttering sound, across the room....she suggested that I was losing my perspective...lol

Losing it? Hell, it was making me crazy. But she was right, and I have tried to back away from all of this a little.

Still, your take on the recent events in Saudia Arabia have been a joy to follow. I know that this has been difficult for you also.

Well, we always will have Rantburg to make us at least smile a little.

Best Wishes,

Traveller

Posted by Traveller 2004-06-20 8:11:13 PM|| 2004-06-20 8:11:13 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 Lol! Great write-up - as is your wont. I can (sorta) picture the look on your secretary's face - and "get it" - that's like scaring / losing face with family... sobering, I'm sure.

Okay, I won't drive you crazy, but hope you are around when some of those moments occur, and the pullback from Fallujah is the perfect example, and we can rip the web page to shreds and line our respective digital bird cages - then laugh about it later, heh.

Grins!

Posted by .com 2004-06-20 9:11:25 PM|| [http://www.amble.com/images/patriotic_duty.jpg] 2004-06-20 9:11:25 PM|| Front Page Top

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