Algerie får mye pepper for stormingen, men hvis man er klar over hvor deres sikkerhetsstyrker fikk opplæring, gir fremgangsmåten mer mening.

Den algeriske hæren ble opplært av russerne, og de gjør kort prosess, uansett omkostninger.

At Algerie overkjørte utenlandske makter, har å gjøre med at terrorgruppen tråkket på den nasjonale æren. Å erobre gassanlegget som produserer 10 % av eksporten, var en provokasjon som ikke kunne passere.

Charles Pellegrini, the former head of France’s anti-terror unit, says it was clear the hostage taking would end in a blood bath, as the Algerians are from the ‘Russian school’. Speaking to Le Parisien, he said:

Trained in Russia during the Soviet period, those in charge of the Algerian army never negotiate with terrorists and always resolve this type of situation Russian-style…

In 1994, it took huge international pressure for them to allow a hijacked Air France plane to land on their soil. Also, one must understand that Belmokhtar (the kidnapper’s assumed leader) is their personal enemy. Sentenced to death in absentia, he is for the Algerians the symbol of the explosive years fighting Islamist groups. All that means the hostage taking could only end in a blood bath…

As the site did not house many French, it appeared (to Algerian authorities) less exposed than others. And the commando no doubt said to themselves that by taking foreign expatriates hostage, notably Americans, the risk of an immediate and violent response by Algerian authorities was smaller. Belmokhtar’s men, who were in need of a high-profile strike to gain rank in the jihadi fight, clearly underestimated Algerian national pride.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/algeria/9810282/Algeria-hostage-crisis-live.html