The Threat in Algeria

When I was in Algeria a couple of months ago, I watched a CNN reporter talking about terrorist threats and he mentioned Algeria along with a host of other countries. I wondered what he knew that I didn't.
Terrorism is an old foe of Algerians, and we knew the situation when we signed on for the work--although Algiers seemed pretty well fortified and hadn't been targeted in quite some time.

A few days after this CNN reporter's mention of Algeria, a grenade was lobbed at a Haliburton shuttle bus in Algiers, followed by a load of machine-gunning. One person was killed, several were injured, and we were told to be more careful than we were already being--no daily patterns that could be tracked, no visiting mosques, and, as usual, no taxis. A report by the terrorist group was issued to Algerians, telling them to stay away from Americans, lest they end up as collateral damage.

This group was responsible for the massacre of 200,000 of its own countrymen during the 1990s, and still manage to pull off about one bombing a week, although usually not in Algiers.

It seems they'd like to change that. The GSPC, as they're known in French, has recently partnered, such as it is, with Al Qaeda and issued a video threatening French and Americans who "support" the Algerian government, calling them "looters."

I'll be back there soon, but only for a couple of weeks. Not much time to "loot the government."