BAGHDAD– Al Qaeda sanctuaries are continuing to be eliminated or severely restricted as Iraqi and Coalition forces maintain the initiative in keeping pressure on terrorists groups, a Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman said today.
“The combination of the surge, coupled with the increasing capacity of Iraqi Security Forces and partnerships with the Iraqi people and local tribes and sheiks, have significantly degraded al Qaeda command and control networks, their car bombing networks and their ability to produce propaganda through the media,” said Navy Rear Adm. Mark I. Fox during a news conference here Sunday.
Fox said hundreds of al Qaeda terrorists have been killed or captured in the last month. He listed off a few of the top 25 that included the emirs of
“Iraqi Security Forces are increasingly becoming the first line of defense,” he said.
On Sept. 2, Iraqi forces stopped a suicide bomber from blowing up a bridge in
“These alert Iraqi Security Forces stopped the suicide bomber from reaching his intended target and prevented the destruction of the bridge and prevented untold death and injuries to the Iraqi people,” he said.
During operations in
Also on Sept. 3, Fox said, Coalition air strikes southwest of
“We will continue to hunt down al Qaeda in
“There is still a lot of hard work ahead,” Fox acknowledged. “We will continue to work closely with the people of
(Story by Carmen L. Gleason, American Forces Press Service)
In other recent developments throughout
• Coalition forces killed six terrorists and detained 21 suspects Saturday and Sunday during operations in the Tarmiyah area and
• Coalition forces positively identified a terrorist killed in an operation Sept. 3 southwest of Mosul as one of the terrorists responsible for the August bombings in Ninawa Province resulting in over 700 casualties.
Al Qaeda slips further from political goals
By Dan Murphy | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Abdullah Mullah shuddered as he thought back to the early 1990s. In his sprawling neighborhood, the center of
Imbaba was a place the police feared and the militants ruled.
Neighborhoods like this, teaming with devout Muslims, may have been considered fertile ground for Al Qaeda's goal of building a global movement. But six years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden's group appears to have attracted few loyal followers here. In fact, the militants who once reigned in Imbaba are all but invisible.
What has happened in
But this has come at a price. The Egyptian story is one of how an effective, often brutal, security establishment has pushed militant Islamists to the fringes.
Today,
Indeed, there are exceptions to the clout that militant Islamists hold within large segments of Arab society.
Hamas, the Palestinian group which now controls the Gaza Strip, is considered a terrorist outfit by the
In
"These groups have of course been around for a long time. But what people discovered with them is that they're incredibly rough and rigidly ideological," says Diaa Rashwan, an expert on political Islam at the Al Ahram Center for Strategic and International Studies in
A turning point for Imbaba
In 1992 the situation looked more ominous. More than 10 years earlier,
In the 1980s, that group and the Gamaa Islamiyah (GI), whose spiritual leader is the blind sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, currently serving a life sentence in the
In 1992, Sheikh Jabir Mohammed Ali, a firebrand leader of the GI started telling reporters that his men had "liberated" Imbaba from the Egyptian state. He vowed the rest of
At the time it appeared to some observers that
"Many very religious people grew fed up with being pushed around and threatened all the time," he says. "A lot of people might want women to wear head scarves, or to have a more Islamic country. But the group's men were on the streets with chains and knives. They were burning video stores and barbershops."
The GI's wave of violence culminated in a 1997 attack in Luxor, in which 58 foreigners and four Egyptians were murdered by a gang of militants. Those killings led to a backlash among average Egyptians and threw the tourist-based economy of
The role of government repression also can't be discounted in controlling these movements. In the 1990s, the government made thousands of arrests, sometimes rounding up men because of the mosque they prayed at or because they wore long beards. Also, there have been credible reports of torture of militants in Egyptian prisons.
"The principle thing that hurt these groups was government repression," says Yehia Fikri, a columnist for
The government's tough methods
Similar government tactics have been used in response to a series of terrorist attacks inside
Last year, the government released about 1,000 GI members from jails after the group's leaders forswore violence, some going so far as to label Mr. Sadat, a man whose murder they'd supported, a "martyr."
This year, the government has released more than 100 members of Islamic Jihad from jail after the group's founder, Imam Abdul Aziz al-Sharif, released excerpts of a forthcoming book renouncing violence in the name of religion. That was a sharp turnaround from Mr. Sharif's last book, "Foundations of Preparation for Jihad," which he wrote after fighting with Mr. Zawahiri and bin Laden in Afghanistan, and which has been described by some as the "Jihaddis' Bible."
None of this is to say that Islam does not remain a potent political force in the region, especially since most of the Arab world's powerful opposition parties are generally Islamist in nature.
But these groups, typified by
"The whole notion of what it means to be radical leaves most people in the world feeling uncomfortable," says Mr. Rashwan. "The Brotherhood has worked long term and focused on people's daily problems and needs, they don't have the big, dangerous dreams of revolutionaries so that's where the support ends up."
To be sure, Mr. Mullah says, Imbaba today is a far more polarized place than in his youth. "Everyone got along until the '70s. Before that, my father's best friend in the area was a Jew. Thirty years ago, the secular leftists were the major opposition in the area. But people's economic desperation, their lack of opportunities, have left them with nothing but Islam to cling to."
Mr. Fikri agrees that a violent Islamist takeover in
"New violent groups could resurface if the current wave of repression does not stop and democratic mobilization doesn't make any concrete gains," he says. "The problem is if the door is closed to reform completely, which seems to be the direction, the Brotherhood could lose control of some of its members."
General Says
By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service
“We do believe the enemy is on the run,” said Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, Multinational Division Central and 3rd Infantry Division commander, as he spoke with “bloggers” and online journalists. “We’ve had a good effect; we’ve killed or captured more than 500 of the enemy in those sanctuaries.”
Using combined artillery, aviation and ground forces since major surge operations kicked off in mid-June, Lynch said, his troops have completed operations “Marne Torch,” “Marne Avalanche,” and as of yesterday, “Marne Husky.”
Marne Husky, part of Multinational Corps Iraq’s overall “Operation Phantom Strike,” is an aviation-based combat offensive targeting Sunni and Shiia military safe havens and weapons smugglers in the southern belts of Baghdad. The 3,900
The general noted changes in the strategy of forces since his previous deployment to
Lynch said that since the enemy has a “phenomenal ability to fill a void” within 18 hours of clearing and leaving an area, troops must stay among the people.
“We no longer commute to work,” he said. “We live out with the population. This gives Iraqis a sense of security and allows them to be part of the solution, as opposed to part of the problem.”
In addition to keeping areas free of the enemy, residing within the villages contributes to an increase in tips on the location of weapons caches, improvised explosive devices and insurgents.
“What wins the fight here is human intelligence,” Lynch said. “I can’t tell you the number of IEDs and bad guys we’ve taken off the street based on locals saying, ‘Here it is.’”
Citizens also are helping to root out the enemy by joining the “Concerned Citizens Program.” Lynch said that nearly 7,000 citizens, mostly Sunnis, have volunteered to secure their own villages by blocking entrances to monitor the flow of al Qaeda and other militant groups. Lynch said intelligence from local sources has increased exponentially since the start of the program.
“These are individuals who’ve said they’d had enough of violence and intimidation by al Qaeda,” he said. By donning road guard vests and carrying their own weapons, they are standing up to extremist violence.
“They do want to be part of the solution,” Lynch said. “They don't want weapons; they don't want money; they just want to be recognized by the government of
BY TOM COGHLAN - The Daily Telegraph
August 24, 2007
Osama bin Laden's cement-lined swimming pool fed by a mountain stream still lies, half destroyed, at the entrance to his cave complex at Tora Bora.
Close to the caves, which have been dynamited shut, is a rusting 1980s Soviet tank; bullets and scraps of camouflage clothing litter the ground. An air of brooding gloom hangs about the cloud-wreathed mountains.
But six years after American Special Forces failed to capture the Qaeda leader in his mountain stronghold, the place where the September 11, 2001, attacks were allegedly hatched, American troops are again scouring the mountains of Tora Bora.
A week ago, American forces launched a major operation to counter a rejuvenated Al Qaeda, which has been steadily regrouping in the tribal areas of
American military officials say much of what is happening around Tora Bora remains "classified." Discreetly, Western officials in
Its surviving members fled into
"The bombing has been heavier than it was in 2001," said Haji Tahir, a prominent tribal leader who asked for his name to be changed because of the certainty of reprisals. Other fighters have been dispersed into the surrounding peaks and gorges.
"Five hundred infiltrated the area," said General Qadim Shah, the commander of the Afghan army's 1st Brigade in Nangahar. "We have captured 57 fighters from the Taliban and Al Qaeda. They include Chechens, Arabs, and Uzbeks."
Tribal leaders said these include several men known locally as longstanding Afghan figures in the Qaeda leadership.
General Dan McNeill, the NATO commander, moved a battalion from 82nd Airborne, which makes up his operational reserve in
It took several hours on foot, accompanied by a small group of armed tribesmen and an Afghan intelligence officer, to reach the cave complex that Mr. bin Laden built prior to 2001. Taliban fighters had last been reported in the area the day before, when they severely beat a number of local villagers. The intelligence officer contacted American forces by phone to forestall the danger of an air attack.
Newly built Taliban stone firing positions were visible close to the track. So too were American propaganda leaflets carrying sinister images of silhouetted Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters with white glowing eyes. Dropped as the operation began, they warn local people not to aid the insurgents.
Four hundred families are reported displaced from the remote area and at least seven local people killed by bombing.
"We came back yesterday night," said Noor Mohammad Khan, who farms near Tora Bora in an area called Milawa.
"We are very scared. Every night they are bombing the next valley. Last night, they dropped troops from helicopters on the top of this hill and they walked through this area."
In 2001 the American was criticized for relying on local militias, who reputedly took bribes to allow the majority of Al Qaeda's key leadership to escape. This time, American forces were dropped into the area by helicopter, blocking escape routes to the border.
The growing presence of Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in the area was first noted around two and a half months ago. Taliban "night letters" in local villages announced a new "Tora Bora Front" under the leadership of Maulawi Anwar ul-Haq Mujahed, the son of the prominent mujahedeen commander Younis Khalis, who fought the Soviet occupation. An important Qaeda figure, Dr. Amin ul-Haq, who has been listed by the American government as Mr. bin Laden's security coordinator, was also with the force. Local leaders say Dr. Amin was injured in a bombing raid and smuggled back across the border.
"I don't think that the biggest Al Qaeda people are on this side of the border, but they are close by, just over the border," said one local tribal leader.
Western intelligence has placed Mr. bin Laden close to the border, probably in the tribal region of Khurram, which lies across from Tora Bora, during recent months.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
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WASHINGTON: A majority of top US foreign policy experts say that Pakistan is most likely to become the next Al Qaeda stronghold and most likely to transfer nuclear technology to terrorists in the next three to five years, a new survey shows. According to the survey, 35 percent of the 108 experts polled by Foreign Policy magazine and the Centre for American Progress said that Pakistan was most likely to become the next Al Qaeda stronghold followed by Iraq 22 percent, Somalia 11 percent, Sudan 8 percent and Afghanistan 7 percent. Seventy-four percent of the experts said that
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Yesterday on "Fox News Sunday," the president's homeland security adviser, Frances Townsend, was asked about military actions in the Pakistani border provinces where Al Qaeda's chief, Osama bin Laden, and one of his two leadership councils reportedly meet regularly. "Just because we don't speak about things publicly doesn't mean we're not doing things you talk about," she said, using phrasing similar to that President Bush favors when asked whether he will use military force against Iran's nuclear program. American special forces operations inside the Pakistani border provinces are an open secret among close watchers of the region, but Ms. Townsend's words yesterday mark an escalation in public rhetoric against Mr. Musharraf. Mr. Musharraf has for the most part withdrawn his military from those provinces, which are dominated by tribes although subject to Pakistani federal control. The remarks pick up a theme that has been sounded this year by other top aides to Mr. Bush. On February Ms. Townsend's remarks in part are prompted by the completion of last week's National Intelligence Estimate on Al Qaeda and its replenished leadership. Yesterday on CNN, American forces in The Washington Post in 2006 reported that American forces participated in a raid on Saidgai, a village that was home to a Qaeda camp said to train forces to protect Osama bin Laden. Last month, the Pakistani press reported that NATO forces fired a missile into the Pakistani tribal areas. One American military officer yesterday told The New York Sun, "There has been a steady stream of public reporting on this. For domestic reasons, the Pakistanis cannot say we are involved in any operations in their territory." Last June and again in September, the Pakistani military began signing agreements with local jihadists in the tribal provinces, giving them, effectively, home rule. That provided Al Qaeda and the Taliban a safe haven from which to train operatives and launch attacks in Those provinces host one of the two known Shura Majlis, or leadership councils, for Al Qaeda. The other leadership council meets in eastern While the U.S. State Department has publicly and privately pushed for the talks, the outreach to One concern is that the talks will lead to a deal whereby General David Petraeus authorizes the release of senior Iranian operatives from military facilities in Yesterday, the American military detained two more suspected weapons smugglers that a press release said might be linked to A box in the classified text of the National Intelligence Estimate, about "Al Qaeda leadership," contains a bullet point that says "meets regularly in Eastern Iran and northern The wording changed from the final draft. Phrases to describe the senior Al Qaeda leaders meeting regularly in Publicly, American officials have said Al Qaeda leaders in The Director for Media Relations for the office of the director for national intelligence, Steve Shaw, declined to comment Friday on the classified National Intelligence Estimate |
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The "We have seen ordnance and weapons that come from other places, but we assess that they have come through "There are missiles that are actually manufactured in Fox also alleged Iranian agents continue to smuggle Iranian made armor piercing bombs - explosively-formed penetrators (EFPs) - to Iraqi extremist groups across the country's long border. "We do feel that there are networks of EFPs that are coming from "We have detained two suspects near the Iran-Iraq border just this weekend that we suspect to be part of the IRGC-Quds Force network," he said. The allegations come amid preparations for a second round of talks between "After a series of ups and downs, However, a The "They are distinctive ... in particular mortars, mortar pins, some of the residue that you see from the mortar attacks that are distinctly and uniquely Iranian," he said. "Also the technologies associated with some of the improvised-explosive devices, some of the triggering mechanisms and also some of the techniques and also the technology associated with manufacture of EFPs are distinctly and uniquely Iranian." The military maintains that many of the extremist groups trained by alleged Iranian agents are Shiite militants who have broken away from the Mehdi Army, the Iraqi militia loyal to anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. http://www.dailystar.com.lb Fox, nevertheless said the broader organization - which is a powerful political and religious movement as well as a militia - is not in itself a terrorist outfit. "As I described earlier there are secret cells, rogue elements of Jaish al-Mehdi [JAM] that we consider to be extremists, to be terrorists or that are not answerable to any higher authority and are in fact as I said rogue," Fox said. "We have not necessarily felt that the entire large organization of JAM is like that," he said, using the common "We understand that there are factions or splinters or pieces of JAM that are still decent and hardworking and members of society that are not like that." In The Meanwhile, a suicide truck bomber who police said killed at least six people and wounded 10 after slamming into a checkpoint manned by an anti-Al-Qaeda group in Taji, a town near a major A top aide to |
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SYDNEY (AFP) - Alexander Downer was responding to reports in the United States that a new intelligence assessment would show that Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda had rebuilt itself after being heavily targeted in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. "I think it's fair to say that in general since 2001, Al-Qaeda has been significantly disrupted and degraded," Downer told Australian television. "But it's also true to say that Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda-related and linked organisations still remain a very serious threat." The Washington Post said the new intelligence assessment found that Al-Qaeda had established a safe haven in remote tribal areas of western On Friday the US Senate doubled the bounty on Osama bin Laden to 50 million dollars, reflecting frustration that the group's mastermind remains free and rising anxiety over possible future attacks. Prime Minister John Howard's government is a strong supporter of US President George W. Bush's "war on terror" and Downer defended the effectiveness of the invasion of He said "On the ground the situation at the moment is, I think, a little better than it's been," he said. Downer said it was too early to write off the "Certainly in With US fatalities topping the 3,600 mark in |
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Iraqi tribes reach security accord July 23, 2007 By David Enders - TAJI, The extremists struck back yesterday with a suicide car bomb aimed at one of the Sunni tribes involved in the deal, killing three militiamen and wounding 14. Members of the First Calvary Division based at nearby Yesterday's suicide attack took place at a checkpoint that was set up under the security plan and run by members of the al-Zobaie tribal militia, nicknamed "Freedom Fighters" by the "We want to protect innocent civilians from killing and kidnapping," said Nadeem al-Tamimi, a Shi'ite tribal leader. "We have been working against al Qaeda for two years and paying for it from our own pocket. But we're not just against al Qaeda. We're against all murderers and thieves." Shortly after that meeting, Mr. al-Tamimi received a call saying one of his relatives had been assassinated in what was described as a "warning" from the Mahdi Army, a Shi'ite militia nominally loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The Mahdi Army fought Despite yesterday's attack, Immediately after Saturday's agreement, soldiers from the Seventh Regiment of the First Cavalry Division calmly walked through Jurf al-Mila and nearby Falahat, both Sunni areas, to demonstrate the change since the tribal leaders first approached them. Men from the village, most of the them carrying weapons, greeted the soldiers warmly, shaking hands and kissing cheeks in traditional Iraqi fashion. Mr. al-Tamimi was to make formal the arrangement today at a meeting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and two other Shi'ite politicians, including Bahaa al-Araji, a member of Sheik al-Sadr's parliamentary bloc. U.S. Capt. Martin Wohlgemuth, who presided over Saturday's meeting, said that step would allow members of the tribes to be officially hired and trained in the Iraqi police and military. The proposed deal is the latest in a series of agreements that have brought the Similar agreements in Anbar province have been credited with putting al Qaeda and its foreign extremists on the defensive while bringing relative peace to some of The Taji agreement, however, is the first involving both Sunni and Shi'ite sheiks, and the "A month ago, every single one of these people was shooting at us," said Sgt. Richard Fisk as he walked through Falahat pointing out places where his troops had been hit by roadside bombs. Capt. Wohlgemuth said the tribal leaders approached the The captain said that in some cases he has helped members of the new militia to get relatives released from The militiamen indicated a fear of the Mahdi Army as well as of the Sunni insurgents and said they worried that Shi'ite families driven out of the area in the last two years might return to take revenge. "They are both dangerous," said one militiaman as he stood in front of a kabob stand in Falahat with a Kalashnikov around his neck while Capt. Wohlgemuth arrived at the scene of yesterday's bombing minutes after the explosion. There, he met with Hassan Naji al-Zobaie, the sheik in charge of the militiamen in Jurf al-Mila. "For four years, different initiatives have fizzled. We can't let this one fail," he said of Saturday's agreement. Despite the initial success of such security arrangements, many Iraqis worry that the formation and arming of new militias will ultimately widen a civil war that has already killed thousands. After yesterday's car bombing, tensions between the Sunni militiamen and mostly Shi'ite Iraqi troops — who had failed to stop the car at a nearby checkpoint — nearly erupted into shooting. "It is like raising a crocodile," said Saad Yousef al-Muttalibi, a member of Mr. al-Maliki's Cabinet who is in charge of negotiating reconciliation agreements. "It is fine when it is a baby, but when it is big, you can't keep it in the house." c David Enders is reporting from |
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Iraqi Military's Readiness Slips Report Says That Since January, Fewer Units Can Operate Independently By Karen DeYoung Friday, July 13, 2007; A04 Despite stepped-up training, the readiness of the Iraqi military to operate independently of Combat losses, a dearth of officers and senior enlisted personnel, and an Iraqi army that has expanded faster than the equipment available for it have resulted in a "slight reduction" in the number of units designated at Level 1 status, or "capable of independent operations," the report said. The report's assessment of progress on 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks is likely to fuel ongoing disputes over what is really happening in The Pentagon refused yesterday to elaborate on the "slight reduction" in independent Iraqi units. Any information about the number, size or designation of such units is "in the classified realm," said a spokesman, Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros. On occasion, the military has issued more precise information on the subject, although its frequently shifting totals and terminology have made the true state of the Iraqi forces difficult to track. Gen. George W. Casey Jr., then the top U.S. commander in Iraq, created an uproar in September 2005 when he told Congress that the number of Level 1 Iraqi army battalions had decreased by two. Casey would not say why, although he said that "we have built enough Iraqi capacity where we can begin talking seriously about transitioning this counterinsurgency mission to them." Yesterday's report said 9 Iraqi army divisions, 31 brigades and 95 battalions are in the "operational lead for their area of responsibility," but Ballesteros cautioned that being in the lead is not the same as being able to operate independently. In December, Brig. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard, the commander of the Iraq Assistance Group, created some confusion when he said at a In May, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Peter Pace, told Congress: "There are 10 battalions that are operating by themselves as we speak. There are 88 additional battalions that are in the lead." The report also noted that the Iraqi government has budgeted $10 billion of its own money this year for reconstruction and job creation, winning a "satisfactory" grade for Benchmark 17. But while the rate of spending has tripled this year over last, the government will have to move much faster to reach its target. So far, the report said, Details behind Political authorities "may not be pursuing allegations even-handedly," it continued. "Trumped-up charges" by the de-Baathification commission "have been used in the past to cleanse Sunni officers." Some members of the Council of Ministers -- the most senior level of government -- "have publicly supported [security force] leaders while behind the scenes they continue to turn a blind eye to sectarian activities," the report said. The resulting shortage of competent officers, it indicates, is a leading obstacle to View all comments that have been posted about this article. |
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General: Al-Qaida Threat Growing Associated Press | July 25, 2007 Air Force Gen. Victor "Gene" Renuart, who heads U.S. Northern Command, said that as the terrorism threat within the nation's boundaries has increased officials have strengthened intelligence sharing, particularly in an effort to shore up security at ports. "I believe there are cells in the As for attacks, he added: "Am I concerned that this will happen this summer? I have to be concerned that it could happen any day." Other Renuart, who took over at U.S. Northern Command just four months ago, said the military has one brigade-size unit available to respond to nuclear, chemical and biological incidents at home. That number, he said, needs to grow to three. A brigade is about 3,500 troops. Renuart's comments came in the wake of a national intelligence report released last week, which concluded that al-Qaida is using its growing strength in the Middle East to plot attacks on Port security has long been identified as a key weak point for terror attacks, including the need to scan cargo containers coming into the country by ship. Renuart said officials are expanding their use of sensors and other technologies that allow them to track ships, including their location, their speed and other commercial information. And, while he would not provide details, he said there has already been "real payback" in terms of identifying vessels of concern and either checking or boarding them well before they entered In addition, he said he is increasing the number of Coast Guard personnel assigned to U.S. Northern Command to help during port security incidents or hurricanes. Currently there are 20 active duty personnel, and a new team of five reservists was created in April. Another five reservists are being added to that team by the end of the year. "Because the national intelligence estimate talks about the vulnerability of ports, and because of the importance that we place on the movement of a variety of goods through those ports, finding ways to improve that is a really important element of our day-to-day work," Renuart said. Improving communications between federal agencies and among emergency responders - including intelligence, homeland security and defense - has been an ongoing struggle. Officials identified significant communications failures during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and found that there were continuing problems during the hurricanes that devastated the Renuart said he has been working to improve the interaction between his office and the other intelligence agencies to ensure that information on terror threats is shared. That way, he said, the military will better be able to anticipate how terrorists might try to take advantage of any gaps or weaknesses in the system. At the same time, he said it will be at least two years before he is able to pull together the military units he needs to better respond to a chemical, biological or nuclear disaster in the The units, he said, could include active duty, reserves or National Guard troops. And while portions of the brigades will be located in different states, they will be expected to train together and to be able to respond quickly to a disaster. They would largely be made up of support forces, such as evacuation, medical, logistics and transportation troops. The Pentagon has been working since last year to identify units to be part of the brigade-size response teams. Overall, Renuart said that as the terror threat has increased, the nation's ability to detect problems has also improved. The intelligence report, he said, is a "summary of drumbeats, and the drumbeats are getting more prevalent out there. You cannot afford to ignore that." But, he said, a few years ago the nation was not as able to hear and interpret those drumbeats. Sound Off...What do you think? Join the discussion |
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Fed up with being part of a group that cuts off a person’s face with piano wire to teach others a lesson, dozens of low-level members of al-Qaeda in The ground-breaking move in Doura is part of a wider trend that has started in other al-Qaeda hotspots across the country and in which Sunni insurgent groups and tribal sheikhs have stood together with the coalition against the extremist movement. “They are turning. We are talking to people who we believe have worked for al-Qaeda in The sewage-filled streets of Doura, a Sunni Arab enclave in south Even if the war is still winnable in Multimedia Video: the online war Pictures: Life in Video: Drive to Related Internet Links Read the Inside Iraq blog from our team in Background Critique of US life in Green Zone wins prize Fort Hood - how US Army familes are coping with loss Related Links Mortar fire kills four troops in three days “Al-Qaeda’s days are numbered and right now he is scrambling,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen Michael, who commands a battalion of 700 troops in Doura. A key factor is that local people and members of al-Qaeda itself have become sickened by the violence and are starting to rebel, Lieutenant-Colonel Michael said. “The people have got to deny them sanctuary and that is exactly what is happening.” Al-Qaeda informants comprise largely members of the Doura network who found themselves either working with the group after the US-led invasion in March 2003, or signed up to earn extra cash because there were no other jobs going. Disgusted at the attacks and intimidation techniques used on friends, neighbours and even relatives, they are now increasingly looking for a way out, US officers say. “It is only after al-Qaeda has become truly barbaric and done things like, to teach lessons to people, cut their face off with piano wire in front of their family and then murdered everybody except one child who told the tale afterwards . . . that people realise how much of a mess they are in,” Lieutenant James Danly, 31, who works on military intelligence in Doura, said. It is impossible to corroborate the claims, but he said that scores of junior al-Qaeda in “He gave us dates, places and names and who did what,” Lieutenant Danly said. When asked why he was being so forthcoming, the man said: “Because I am sick of it and I hate them, and I am done.” Working with insurgents – even those who claim to have switched sides – is a leap of faith for both sides. Every informant who visits Forward Operating Base Falcon, a vast military camp on the southern outskirts of The risk sometimes pays off. A recent tip-off led to the fatal shooting of Abu Kaldoun, one of three senior al-Qaeda leaders in Doura, during a Progress with making contacts and gathering actionable information is slow because al-Qaeda has persuasive methods of keeping people quiet. This month it beheaded two men in the street and pinned a note on to their corpses giving warning that anyone who cooperated with US troops would meet the same fate. The increased presence of US forces in Doura, however, is encouraging insiders to overcome their fear and divulge what they know. Convoys of US soldiers are working the rubble-strewn streets day and night, knocking on doors, speaking to locals and following up leads on possible insurgent hideouts. “People in al-Qaeda come to us and give us information,” said Lieutenant Scott Flanigan, as he drove past a line of fruit and vegetable stalls near a shabby shopping street in Doura, where people were buying bread and other groceries. The informants were not seeking an amnesty for crimes that they had committed. “They just do not want to be killed,” Lieutenant Flanigan said. Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi – who was killed in a Others, however, describe al-Qaeda in Despite the uncertainties one thing seems guaranteed. A hardcore of people calling themselves al-Qaeda in Insurgents’ terror trail August 28, 2003 Two car bombs driven into the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, killing 85, including scores of Shia worshippers February 28, 2005 Car bomb explodes outside a clinic where police recruits were awaiting physical examinations, killing 125 July 3, 2005 Ihab al-Sharif, who was to become the February 22, 2006 Al-Askari Mosque in June 7, 2006 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi dies in an airstrike and is replaced as leader by Abu Ayyub al-Masri May 1, 2007 Iraqi forces claimed to have killed al-Masri, but al-Qaeda deny that this is the case Sources: Times archives; globalsecurity.org |
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Bin Laden search frustrates officials July 12, 2007 By Bill Gertz - Senior "We share your frustration," Thomas Fingar, deputy director of national intelligence, told Congress yesterday. "Being No. But capturing or killing bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, has been difficult because their security practices are "very good" and they are hiding in an area "that is more hostile to us than it is to al Qaeda," Mr. Fingar told the House Armed Services Committee. During yesterday's hearing on global security threats, three U.S. intelligence analysts told the committee that al Qaeda terrorism and the spread of nuclear weapons remain the most serious menaces to American security. Mr. Fingar said On Iraq, Mr. Fingar stood by the conclusions of a January U.S. intelligence assessment that said an 18-month withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country "almost certainly would lead to a significant increase in the scale and scope of sectarian conflict in Iraq, intensify Sunni resistance of the Iraqi government and have adverse consequences for national reconciliation." Mr. Fingar said al Qaeda leaders know that turning on cell phones, even in mountain redoubts of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, has led to the death or capture of other terrorists. He noted that the appeal of al Qaeda's Islamist extremist ideology is strong and has protected bin Laden and al-Zawahri from CIA Director for Intelligence John Kringen said his agency thinks bin Laden is alive and "probably in the tribal areas of "In terms of your frustration ... the challenge we face is those are ungoverned spaces in which the Pakistani government doesn't control much of that — very tribally based," Mr. Kringen said, adding that bin Laden does not communicate or interact directly with anyone for long periods of time. The officials were questioned by Rep. Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey Democrat, about why bin Laden has not been caught in the more than 2,000 days since the September 11 attacks killed 3,000 Americans. "Now, I don't equate capturing or killing Osama bin Laden with victory in the war against al Qaeda by any stretch of the imagination," Mr. Andrews said. "But I also understand that the psychological value to the American people and around the world and the strategic blow that it would strike to al Qaeda around the world is obviously of great significance." Mr. Kringen said that in some cases, Pakistani tribal leaders "are the very people who are protecting him." "We've had rewards out for bin Laden for a long period of time, and economic motivation is not a principal driver of how they behave," he said. The CIA analyst said it is very difficult to "turn" people in the region into agents willing to work for the |
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BAGHDAD - The United States and Iran have set a date for ambassador-level talks in Baghdad on the deteriorating security situation in Iraq - the first such meeting since late May, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Sunday. The two sides will sit down together on Tuesday, according to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and U.S. Embassy spokesman Philip Reeker, amid Zebari told The Associated Press by telephone that the discussions would be at the ambassadorial level and would focus on the situation in
Video: U.S.-Iran to Discuss Iraqi Security The May 28 meeting marked a break in a 27-year diplomatic freeze between the Tensions also have risen over At the same time, As recently as Sunday, McCormack said the The The Any direct talks between the two nations are rare, and even fleeting encounters at larger gatherings or diplomatic dinners are scrutinized for clues to their future relations. In American officials have pressed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and parliament to pass laws the American commander Gen. David Petraeus must report to Congress on progress in Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish lawmaker, and Abbas al-Bayati, a Shiite Turkman parliamentarian, said the oil legislation was not likely to be debated before September because political leaders have been unable to agree on a final draft of the legislation. "There must first be political consensus between the major blocs on the law but there is not enough time for this to be done before the August break," said al-Bayati, a member of the United Iraqi Alliance, the largest Shiite bloc in the 275-seat house. The draft oil legislation, approved by al-Maliki's Cabinet but not sent to parliament because of widespread opposition, calls for a fair distribution among Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis of the income from Iraq's massive petroleum resources. Sunnis, who make up the bulk of the insurgency, have virtually no known oil reserves in their territories yet still oppose the current draft legislation. Kurds, who control large reserves in northern Also Sunday, the moderate Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party balked at joining a new Shiite-Kurdish alliance designed to exclude Shiite and Sunni militants and help achieve national reconciliation. The Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's largest Sunni Arab political group, is a partner in al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government. Its statement was likely aimed at extracting more political concessions from Shiite and Kurdish politicians in return for the Sunni group's participation in the so-called "alliance of the moderates." So far, the talks on forming the alliance have included Al-Maliki has called for parliament to cancel its monthlong vacation or at least limit it to two weeks to deal with legislative matters - a plea that has not resonated among lawmakers. The infusion of about 30,000 more American forces, completed last month, was Bush's attempt to calm the capital and provide "breathing space" to pass the oil legislation. But so far nothing of consequence has reached the parliament floor and violence has persisted. In the latest violence, Iraqi police and morgue and hospital officials reported at least 38 Iraqis were killed or found dead across the country Sunday. The U.S. military also confirmed Sunday that Tariq Aziz, Saddam Hussein's former deputy prime minister, was hospitalized briefly in Iraq after a fall but was returned to a U.S. detention facility in normal condition. The 71-year-old Aziz became the public face to the outside world for Saddam's regime during his years as foreign minister. Sound Off...What do you think? Join the discussion. |
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“Greater than 50 percent of “Under control” doesn’t mean that no violence occurs in a given area, Odierno said, but that “citizens feel protected and feel comfortable going about their business.” The most contentious neighborhoods, Odierno said, are those that are mixed between Sunnis and Shiites. Throughout A combination of factors has led to the “significant weakening” of AQI, Odierno said. First, U.S. forces have had “great success” in eliminating top AQI operatives, Odierno said — 26 have been killed or captured in the past two months, Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, deputy director of public relations with the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq, told the Washington Times on Tuesday. “The leadership has been significantly fractured,” Odierno said. As the home-grown AQI movement is increasingly gutted by coalition forces, Odierno said he disagreed with an assessment in the new National Intelligence Estimate that says al-Qaida in That assessment is part of a declassified portion of the intelligence document that the administration released Tuesday. “I think it would be very difficult for them to export any violence outside of What Odierno does see evidence of, he said, is that the larger al-Qaida group is trying to use “That’s what I see as the biggest threat of al-Qaida,” he said. |