Unsurprising Headline of the Day

“Mali Army, Riding U. S. Hopes, Is Proving No Match for Militants”

NYT

Algerian Terror Toll Rises

The hostage death toll in the Algeria terror attack at the BP natural gas plant has risen to 37.  Three Americans are among them, while seven Americans survived.

Death Toll Rises in Algerian Terror Attack

The death toll from the terror attack at the BP gas facility in Algeria, for which Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility, has risen to 81.  The Algerian military found 25 more bodies, in such bad shape that they couldn’t tell if they were terrorists or foreign workers held as hostages.  Plus, one of the freed hostages, a Romanian, has died.

The Algerians are searching the site for explosives because the terrorists had planned to blow up the entire plant.

 

Algerian Hostage Crisis Ends

A final military assault has ended the terrorist hostage crisis at a BP natural gas plant in Algeria that has been going on since Wednesday.

It is reported that a total of 23 hostages are dead, along with 32 terrorists.

685 Algerian workers and 107 foreign workers have been freed.

American Dead in Algeria

The death of at least one American has been confirmed in the terror attack on the BP facility in Algeria, but it is not known exactly how he died, whether from the terrorists or the Algerian military trying to free the foreign hostages.

The Latest on Algeria

More information has emerged about the Algerian military attack on the Islamic terrorists holding foreigners hostage at a BP natural gas plant.

573 Algerians have left the plant, as have about 100 of the 132 foreign hostages.

The terrorists still have as many as seven hostages and are demanding the release of two terrorists held in U. S. jails, one of whom is the “Blind Sheik” responsible for the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center.

There are reports that two Britons and two Filipinos were killed in the rescue raid, while one Briton and one Algerian died during the initial hostage taking.

Algeria says that 18 terrorists have been killed.

Algerian Terror Incident

The State Department confirms that the Algerian military launched an assault on Islamic extremists who are holding foreigners hostage at a BP natural gas plant.

Algeria claims it freed 600 hostages, while Islamic terrorists claim that the raid killed 35 hostages and 15 kidnappers.

Americans are among those held, but their fate is unknown.

This Algerian act of terror was in retaliation for France’s fight against terrorists in Mali because Algeria is allowing France to use its air space.

Terrorists Hold Americans Hostage in Algeria

Islamic extremists have attacked a BP natural gas site in Algeria and seized 41 European, Japanese, and American hostages.  Seven of the hostages are believed to be American.  Two foreigners were killed in the initial attack.

Algerian troops have surrounded the facility.

Looks like a rescue mission for the Israelis…

Quote of the Day

“If Sen. McCain and Sen. Graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me.”

President Obama at his press conference, defending U. N. Ambassador Susan Rice on Benghazi.

The Benghazi Speech

I know the Prez is doing a press conference next Wednesday, but he really needs to do a speech about Benghazi.  It needs to be an air-tight, comprehensive speech that will stand up a month, six months, a year from now.  No drip, drip, drip.  He needs to explain exactly what happened, what went wrong, and what’s being done to fix it.  The White House should release documentation to supplement and back up the speech.

He will never have more good will from the American people than he has right now.

Having executed a brilliant campaign, I worry that his people will drift back into their first-term crappy communicating.

He needs to explain why the Africa Command (Africom), established in 2007 under Bush 43, was the only command not to have its own Commanders’ In-Extremis Force (CIF) and  had to rely on help from the European Command, which meant forces that were on a mission to Croatia.

As for the members of the GOP who have been critical of Benghazi, like John McCain and Lindsey Graham, they had to have known that Africom didn’t have a CIF.  I’ve heard John Bolton rant about a lot of things on Fox News — why wasn’t he complaining about this?