Another day, another dead AQ guy in Iraq
This is hott off the scream sheet. Bryan at Hot Air is reporting that we nailed another one today
From the WaPo:
U.S.-led forces conducting a crackdown on al-Qaida in Iraq killed a senior member of an insurgent group who was responsible for the high-profile kidnappings of several Westerners, a military spokesman said Thursday.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the killing of Muharib Abdul-Latif al-Jubouri, described as al-Qaida's information minister, had apparently led to confused reports that its top leader or the head of an umbrella group of insurgents had been killed.
Caldwell said the U.S. does not have the bodies of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State of Iraq, or Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, and doesn't know of "anybody that does."
He said the military had conducted numerous operations against al-Qaida in Iraq in the last six days.
Al-Jubouri was killed while trying to resist detention in an operation about four miles west of the Taji air base north of Baghdad early Tuesday, and the body was initially identified by photos, then confirmed by DNA testing Wednesday, he said.
Al-Jubouri was believed to have been deeply involved with the kidnapping of Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll, who was released, and Tom Fox, one of four men from the Chicago-based peace group Christian Peacemaker Teams who was found fatally shot in Baghdad on March 10, 2006, he said. He was also involved in the kidnapping of two Germans in January 2006, Caldwell said. ...
... The Interior Ministry said earlier Thursday that al-Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State of Iraq, had been killed and released photos of what it said was the body of the leader of the umbrella group, which includes al-Qaida.
But Caldwell said al-Baghdadi's death could not be confirmed.
"If that person even exists, again, we have nobody in our possession or know of anybody that does, alive or dead, that is going through any kind of testing or analysis at this point with respect to those two individuals," he said.
On Tuesday, officials reported that al-Masri, the head of al-Qaida in Iraq, had been killed by rivals north of Baghdad, but the body had not been recovered.
Regarding al-Masri, Caldwell said "we in fact do not have in our possession nor do we know of anybody that has anybody or person at this time that we think is him."
Al-Jubouri is good enough for right now, and we're still taking down the bad guys. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if al-Masri, his deputy commander, and al-Jubouri are dead, and we only have one body because we're the ones that smoked him, but AQ could have dragged the other two off. Had we not beaten AQ to Zarqawi after that airstrike, AQ would have taken his body so that we were left questioning whether or not we got him.
We can't question ourselves now. Until Masri and his deputy pop back up, MNF Iraq must proceed under the assumption they are dead. Strike now while they're in disarray, and strike fast. If, in the course of the raids you locate them alive, or locate their bodies, all well and good. But don't dilly-dally over whether or not they're dead. Those boys and girls abroad have a war to finish.
Publius II
From the WaPo:
U.S.-led forces conducting a crackdown on al-Qaida in Iraq killed a senior member of an insurgent group who was responsible for the high-profile kidnappings of several Westerners, a military spokesman said Thursday.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the killing of Muharib Abdul-Latif al-Jubouri, described as al-Qaida's information minister, had apparently led to confused reports that its top leader or the head of an umbrella group of insurgents had been killed.
Caldwell said the U.S. does not have the bodies of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State of Iraq, or Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, and doesn't know of "anybody that does."
He said the military had conducted numerous operations against al-Qaida in Iraq in the last six days.
Al-Jubouri was killed while trying to resist detention in an operation about four miles west of the Taji air base north of Baghdad early Tuesday, and the body was initially identified by photos, then confirmed by DNA testing Wednesday, he said.
Al-Jubouri was believed to have been deeply involved with the kidnapping of Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll, who was released, and Tom Fox, one of four men from the Chicago-based peace group Christian Peacemaker Teams who was found fatally shot in Baghdad on March 10, 2006, he said. He was also involved in the kidnapping of two Germans in January 2006, Caldwell said. ...
... The Interior Ministry said earlier Thursday that al-Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State of Iraq, had been killed and released photos of what it said was the body of the leader of the umbrella group, which includes al-Qaida.
But Caldwell said al-Baghdadi's death could not be confirmed.
"If that person even exists, again, we have nobody in our possession or know of anybody that does, alive or dead, that is going through any kind of testing or analysis at this point with respect to those two individuals," he said.
On Tuesday, officials reported that al-Masri, the head of al-Qaida in Iraq, had been killed by rivals north of Baghdad, but the body had not been recovered.
Regarding al-Masri, Caldwell said "we in fact do not have in our possession nor do we know of anybody that has anybody or person at this time that we think is him."
Al-Jubouri is good enough for right now, and we're still taking down the bad guys. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if al-Masri, his deputy commander, and al-Jubouri are dead, and we only have one body because we're the ones that smoked him, but AQ could have dragged the other two off. Had we not beaten AQ to Zarqawi after that airstrike, AQ would have taken his body so that we were left questioning whether or not we got him.
We can't question ourselves now. Until Masri and his deputy pop back up, MNF Iraq must proceed under the assumption they are dead. Strike now while they're in disarray, and strike fast. If, in the course of the raids you locate them alive, or locate their bodies, all well and good. But don't dilly-dally over whether or not they're dead. Those boys and girls abroad have a war to finish.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 9:33 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home