Somehow I missed this story the first time around, but its a pretty fascinating example of somebody with a lot of guts (or a lot of stupidity) taking advantage of the war on terror.
On December 19, a few dozen armed men claiming to be members of “the army of the United States” seized control of the island of Moheli which is part of the Indian Ocean nation of Comoros.
The soldiers disabled most of the communications facilities on the island and broadcast messages in French accusing the president of Comoros of being in league with terrorists.
Comoros is made up of a series of islands, which have a habit of declaring themselves independent from time to time and don’t always get along with each other. Add an occasional military coup, and the result is a very unstable country. On Dec. 23, Comoros held a referendum on a new constitution, and the seizure of the island was apparently an attempt to disrupt that process.
The Comoros military quickly moved in and captured or killed many of the invaders, who Comoros claimed were mercenaries.