America’s European allies must recognize and help fight a growing threat from the spread of al Qaeda and allied Islamic guerrilla groups into northern Africa, NATO’s top general said on Friday. U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, commander of all alliance forces in Europe, said Washington was seeking military access to small bases from Morocco to Mali in the vast Sahara Desert and its fringes. Allies should join the effort, he said. “I think we need to raise the level of awareness. … We need to get the jump on this right now,” Jones told a group of reporters, stressing that al Qaeda members apparently were being driven into Africa from Afghanistan and the Middle East. Full Story