Strategy to cut off Zarqawi’s Horn of Africa escape route

The Australian

Aug 25, 2005 (London) — Britain and the US are training border guards in the Horn of Africa in the belief that al-Qa’ida’s leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, may seek sanctuary there if forced to flee Iraq.

Major-General Douglas Lute, director of operations for US Central Command, which is responsible for Iraq and Afghanistan, said that once Iraq was stabilised, Zarqawi might head for the Horn of Africa to find a “safe haven”. He listed Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia as “ungoverned spaces” where Zarqawi might seek sanctuary to run his terrorist operations.

US specialist teams, supported by British counterparts, are training border guards and working with Customs and immigration officials in the region, hoping they will be ready to spot Zarqawi and other

al-Qa’ida leaders.

Major-General Lute said: “We call this the long war — the fight against al-Qa’ida and its affiliates. Even though al-Qa’ida is not state-based or sponsored, its leaders still require physical sanctuary — they still need somewhere to live.”

Zarqawi would have little option but to leave once the country was politically stable. “We think he might move to the Horn of Africa,” Major-General Lute said. “It’s a vast space, which causes us concern.”