January 17, 2013 | NPR
The Diane Rehm Show
Algerian officials scrambled Thursday Jan. 17, 2013 for a way to end an armed standoff deep in the Sahara desert with Islamic militants who have taken dozens of foreigners hostage, turning to tribal Algerian Tuareg leaders for talks and contemplating an international force. The group claiming responsibility — called Katibat Moulathamine or the Masked Brigade — says it has captured 41 foreigners, including seven Americans, in the surprise attack Wednesday on the Ain Amenas gas plant. Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kabila said the roughly 20 well armed gunmen were from Algeria itself, operating under orders from Moktar Belmoktar, al-Qaida's strongman in the Sahara.
Guests
Jean-Luc Marret: senior fellow at the Fondation pour la Recherche Strategique, a leading think tank on international security issues in France.
Daveed Gartenstein: senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Robin Wright: journalist, joint fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson International Center, and author of “Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World.”
Paul Pillar: director of graduate studies at the Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University and a former CIA National Intelligence officer.