Osama brother in law killed in Madagascar

Bill Roggio:

Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, one of Osama bin Laden's brother-in-laws with deep roots in al-Qaeda as a financier and facilitator, has been reported to have been murdered in his bedroom in Madagascar. Khalifa, "who mined and traded precious stones in Madagascar," was reported to have been murdered by "a gang of 20 to 30 gunmen broke into his brother's bedroom, shot him dead 'in cold blood' and stole his belongings."

"I don't think [his death] was politically motivated," said Malek Khalifa, Mohammed Jamal's brother. But Khalifa's deep ties to al-Qaeda, coupled with his history of funding global terrorist operations, his operations in mining precious stones in Africa (a source of untraceable income), and the size of the 'gang' that murdered him, suggests otherwise. We suspect Khalifa was assassinated.

Jamal Khalifa's history with al-Qaeda and Islamic terrorism is extensive. His involvement with al-Qaeda stretches as far back as the late 1980s, at the founding of the terrorist organization.

He was instrumental in the establishment and financing of the Abu Sayyaf Group, a Filipino terrorist and criminal gang made up of fighters returning from the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union. Filipino forces, back by the United States and Australia, are fighting against Abu Sayyaf to this day. Khaddafy Janjalani, the recently slain leader of Abu Sayyaf, claimed just prior to his death that Khalifa funded Abu Sayyaf. Khalifa also funded the Islamic Army of Aden, which was responsible for the suicide boat attack on the USS Cole which killed 17 US sailors.

...

Mohammed Jamal Khalifa is perhaps the poster-child for failure in exclusively relying on the law-enforcement model for counterterrorism operations. Khalifa was detained numerous times, but each time was freed. Khalifa was released by the U.S. and deported to Jordan, where he was sentenced to death for a string of bombing in the country. The conviction was overturned after a witness recanted. "No government had enough evidence to put him behind bars," noted a CBS News report in 2003. "Khalifa was arrested in America, in Jordan, and after 9/11, in Saudi Arabia, and on each occasion was eventually released."

Khalifa cannot escape the grave.

There is more. The failure of the lawfare model for fighting terrorism should be obvious to everyone but liberals by now.

Madagascar is an island off the east coast of Africa that has many exotic animals and vegetation that is only found there. For a time it was a French colony and French is still spoken by most of the educated. The local language is Maligassy. One of my daughters has had two extensive studies on the island and found the people to be friendly and helpful.