Open season for Spanish nationals?

Three Spanish nationals working for the humanitarian aid group, Barcelona- Accio Solidaria, where kidnapped by gunmen near the Mauritanian town of Chelkhett Legtouta on the road between Nouadhibou and the capital, Nouakchott on Sunday. The incident, which has not been claimed, is somewhat of a rarity in the north west African state which has not experienced many abductions in recent years. The prime suspects in this case are undoubtedly al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the local al-Qaeda affiliated franchise. The group, which has carried out half a dozen attacks against locals and foreigners in the country in the past year, has a growing presence in the wider region and is posing a growing threat to local states keen to project an image of security to foreign investors. At the moment the aid workers remain unaccounted for and the local security forces have been dispatched to the area to search for the group. The likelihood that they will be recovered is diminishing with every passing hour due to the sheer enormity of the possible land area that needs to be searched. The abductors, if they escape the dragnet, will most likely take refuge in central or northern Mauritania or along the border with the Western Sahara before demanding a ransom payment from the Spanish government. If this happens the state will probably pay. Earlier in the month the Spanish government paid two million pounds Sterling for the release of 36 Spanish seamen kidnapped by pirates off Somalia. This policy has been criticised by the UK and other Western governments, who refuse to pay ransoms for the release of their nationals. This payment has likely sent a strong message to prospective kidnappers "Open season for Spaniards". Our message to Spanish citizens in North Africa - consider a vacation back to the homeland.

Election timetable out the window in Iraq

The January 2010 timeline for the Iraqi general elections is looking like a distinct impossibility at the moment as opposing sides continue to bicker over power sharing agreements in any future Iraqi government. Bickering between Kurds (who want greater autonomy in the north and control of Kirkuk), Sunnis (who feel left out of the political process all together) and the majority Shiite (who continue to fight among themselves) are the greatest obstacles at the moment. Making matters worse is the rise in violence over the past few months that has seen Iraq's major cities being struck by wave after wave of devastating suicide and car bombings. The Sunni tribal elements who long gave refuge to Sunni extremists groups (read al-Qaeda) are also beginning to doubt the willingness of the Shiite majority to allow them into the mainstream after they were made promises that they would be incorporated into the state fold if they rid their territories of the insurgents. They have kept their side of the bargain but are beginning to think that they were suckered into a deal before anything concrete was forthcoming from the central government. As for the US troops, currently getting fatter in their bases outside of the primary urban centres, no one seems to know when or how they will be pulled out of a country that is no where near able to provide security for its own civilians. The cost in American lives has dropped due to the recent withdrawal of US troops from the towns however the financial cost of staying in Iraq continues to drain the American taxpayer. It is becoming increasingly likely that the poll will be further delayed barring any miraculous election deal. MECASR continues to watch developments with great interest.