US: Top al-Qaida in Iraq Figure Captured

[George Gervin's Afro]

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070718/ap/d8qevb680.html




Wednesday July 18, 7:10 PM
US: Top al-Qaida in Iraq Figure Captured
The U.S. command said Wednesday the highest-ranking Iraqi in the leadership of al-Qaida in Iraq has been arrested, adding that information from him indicates the group's foreign-based leadership wields considerable influence over the Iraqi chapter.

Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, also known as Abu Shahid, was captured in Mosul on July 4, said Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a military spokesman.

"Al-Mashhadani is believed to be the most senior Iraqi in the al-Qaida in Iraq network," Bergner said. He said al-Mashhadani was a close associate of Abu Ayub al-Masri, the Egyptian-born head of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Bergner said al-Mashhadani served as an intermediary between al-Masri and Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri.

"In fact, communication between the senior al-Qaida leadership and al-Masri frequently went through al-Mashhadani," Bergner said.

"Along with al-Masri, al-Mashhadani co-founded a virtual organization in cyberspace called the Islamic State of Iraq in 2006," Bergner said. "The Islamic State of Iraq is the latest efforts by al-Qaida to market itself and its goal of imposing a Taliban-like state on the Iraqi people."



Is this the biased media reporting good news in Iraq? Does the media want us to lose in Iraq?.. I'm still trying to reconcile all of the complaints from the dead enders that the media doesn't report anything good in Iraq..

[boutons_]

It's great they caught a top AQ guy.

Does it make ANY difference? fuck no

Did killing Zarqawi make any difference? fuck no

Did killing Saddam make any difference? fuck no

Petraeus could totally destroy AQI and he'd still have ALL the Sunni/Shiite violence on his hands, because that's where the vast majority of violence arises.

Tony Snow excuses the Iraqi parliament's month-long August holiday saying it's 130F, way too hot for Iraqi parliament, even in the last month before the Sept surge report.

Will the Iraqi parliament suspend their month-long August vacations to work in their air conditioned parliament building on political reconciliation while the US troops die in 130F heat all month to stabilize Bagdad?

The Iraqi govt knows dubya won't commit Iraqus Interruptus because they know he wants their oil, so they dawdle in luxury and under the protection of the US military and play the US military for suicidal fools.

[xrayzebra]

^^boutons, what has our Congress done this year. And should
they skip their summer recess?

One other thing. Did you stay up last night to watch Harry and
company do their all nighter? Wasn't that brave of them......

approval ratings for Congess are lower than for Bush.

[DarkReign]

approval ratings for Congess are lower than for Bush.

And rightfully so. When are people going to realize it isnt about Red and Blue, its about agenda.

The Dems said what they needed to get elected. They were elected under the premise that Iraq would end.

Besides some very half-hearted, purely-for-show funding attempts, they havent done jack shit. Repubs are on step above the Dems in organizational unity, but judging by the primaries, theyre both reaching the same depths of incompetency.

2008 cant come fast enough.

[PixelPusher]

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan...funny how jihadi terrorists originate/thrive in those "for us" countries...but let's all pretend it's all about Iranian influence.

[xrayzebra]

And rightfully so. When are people going to realize it isnt about Red and Blue, its about agenda.

The Dems said what they needed to get elected. They were elected under the premise that Iraq would end.

Besides some very half-hearted, purely-for-show funding attempts, they havent done jack shit. Repubs are on step above the Dems in organizational unity, but judging by the primaries, theyre both reaching the same depths of incompetency.

2008 cant come fast enough.


Have to agree with you. Neither party has done jack.

[xrayzebra]

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan...funny how jihadi terrorists originate/thrive in those "for us" countries...but let's all pretend it's all about Iranian influence.

It is all about religion not countries. And the countries
you quote the "leadership" barely exist and it is more about
tribes than country. The countries leaders hang on by
the skin of their teeth and only react when someone
really threatens their rear-end. Corruption in government,
is the norm. Much like Mexico.

But saying all that. The Persians (Iranians) do want to
keep things stirred up and they do furnish arms and money
and safe haven for the religious zealots. More of a mutual
affair, don't mess in our affairs and we wont bother you.

I have said and do think if they had more industry and jobs
things would be much different. Those people have
too much time on their hands.

[Yonivore]

Kind of puts the lie to the whole al Qaeda wasn't in Iraq until this sham organization suddenly appeared in 2004, eh?

Capturing the Man, Destroying the Idea (http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2007/07/capturing-man-destroying-idea.html)


Fox reports (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289727,00.html) that "the highest-ranking Iraqi in the leadership of Al Qaeda in Iraq has been arrested".


Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, also known as Abu Shahid, was captured in Mosul on July 4, said Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a military spokesman. Al-Mashhadani is believed to be the most senior Iraqi in the Al Qaeda in Iraq network," Bergner said. He said al-Mashhadani was a close associate of Abu Ayub al-Masri, the Egyptian-born head of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Bergner said al-Mashhadani served as an intermediary between al-Masri and Usama bin Laden and Al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri. "In fact, communication between the senior Al Qaeda leadership and al-Masri frequently went through al-Mashhadani," Bergner said. He added: "There is a clear connection between Al Qaeda in Iraq and Al Qaeda senior leadership outside Iraq."
Bill Roggio (http://billroggio.com/archives/2007/07/islamic_state_of_ira.php) has more details, but the gist is this:



Mashadani was a long-time Salafist agent. He was al-Qaeda's man sent to direct the Sunni insurgency
Both the Islamic State of Iraq and its leader supposed leader, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, were constructs of al-Qaeda too. Abu Omar al-Baghdadi was the entirely fictional counterpart of Mashadani.
Roggio describes how the imposture worked:


Al Masri then swore allegiance to al Baghdadi “which was essentially swearing allegiance to himself, since he knew that Baghdadi was fictitious and totally his own creation,” said Brig. Gen Bergner. “The rank and file Iraqis in AQI believed they are following the Iraqi al-Baghdadi but all the while they have actually been following the orders of the Egyptian Abu ‘Ayyub al- Masri.”

Mashadani said the domestic insurgents groups recognize that al-Baghdadi and the Islamic State of Iraq are fronts. “The idea of al-Baghdadi is very weak now because other insurgent groups have realized that the concept of al-Baghdadi is controlled by the al-Qaeda foreign fighters in Iraq,” said Mashadani to his interrogators.

Mashadani stated that al Qaeda in Iraq is operationally controlled by foreign fighters, not Iraqi insurgents. “Mashadani confirms that al Masri and the foreign leaders with whom he surrounds himself, not Iraqis, make the operational decisions for AQI,” said Brig. Gen Bergner. “According to Mashadani, in fact, al Masri increasingly relies only on foreigners, who make up the majority of the leadership of AQI. He does not seek or trust the advice of Iraqis in the organization.”
One of the most interesting aspects of these revelations is that they support the principal counter-narrative that MNF is trying to promote: that of Iraqi nationalist and tribal groups struggling against the "outsiders", i.e. al-Qaeda, out to rule their country by remote control. As pointed out in the post Empire of the Mind (http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2007/07/empire-of-mind.html), an extensive analysis of Jihadi propaganda by Radio Free Europe analysts (first class, BTW, the RFE report should be read in its entirety) shows that the actual and principal ideological split in terrorist narratives as revealed from postings, statements and propaganda or their websites is precisely between the "locals" and the pan-Islamics, led by al-Qaeda. It is on this weak point that Bergner's revelations hammer on mercilessly. Belmont Club readers will remember the post, Zawahiri Tape (http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2007/07/zawahiri-tape.html), where al-Qaeda's number two was making an impassioned appeal for unity among the Iraqi Jihadis, saying disunity was wrecking everything. It was tacit admission of this particular ideological division. Zawahiri was especially bemoaning the lack of perceived legitimacy of his Islamic State of Iraq, not just among locals, but even among regional governments as well. Zawahiri, sounding almost like "a used car salesman" (in my words) made odious comparisons between Brand A, the "thugs" of Hamas, who were semi-prisoners of the Jew and yet accorded international respect and Brand B, his own Islamic State of Iraq, which was regarded as "unempowered" despite its magnificent achievements. Why, he asked, should the Palestinian Hamas receive so much support while no one heeded his commander's calls for recruits. He even played audio from his commanders with the chilling threat to gouge out the eyes of those who were deaf to his call for Jihad. Readers will also recall how Zawahiri, instantly forgetting his gouging threat, then went out of his way to characterize his fighters as blameless of shedding innocent blood, especially when contrasted with Hamas who he disparaged yet again. Then, after proclaiming al-Qaeda's innocence Zawahiri then makes the curious offer to refer any complaints about al-Qaeda in Iraq men to an Islamic judicial tribunal, thus acknowledging on the one hand what he denied with the other.

Bergner's remarks about the fraudulence of the "Islamic State of Iraq" -- that it it is simply an al-Qaeda front -- and about the fictive nature Abu Omar al-Baghdadi are the first direct indication that MNF is not only learning how to play the meme game but that their operations are already having a powerful effect. Zawahiri's worry about the Islamic State of Iraq's legitimacy may be the effect of MNF counternarrative operations or perhaps reason they are harping on it. Bergner's revelations hammer directly upon the weakest point of al-Qaeda's narrative: it's legitimacy and standing not only in political, but religious terms.

Viewed in retrospect, MNF's focus on emphasizing al-Qaeda as the source of atrocities and highlighting it's "foreign-ness", brutality and Salafist religious affiliation may have been a brilliant move. Whether this achievement is accidental or intentional history will tell. Those who read the post Empire of the Mind may remember how, on Jihadi websites, al-Qaeda systematically characterized its rivals in sectarian terms. The Radio Free Europe researchers wrote:


The vast majority of the statements issued in March 2007 use religion-based, pejorative codewords for the targets of attacks.U.S. and coalition forces are called “crusaders”and “worshippers of the cross.” Iraqi police are “apostates.” Iraq’s National Guard is the “Idolatrous Guard.” The Shi’ite Imam Al-Mahdi Army—named after the Mahdi, or redeemer, whose coming is supposed to herald the end of the world—is referred to as the “Army of the Antichrist.” Shi’a are termed “rejectionists” for their supposed rejection of true Islam. Thus, insurgents’ rhetoric implies that they fight U.S. and coalition forces because they seek to impose Christianity on Iraq, government forces because they have turned their backs on Islam, and Shi’a because they are heretics.
Bergner is simply -- and very effectively -- paying them back in their own coin. Now the "Idolatrous Guard" is having a chuckle over the "fake" Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, as AQI's feared leader turns out to be no more genuine than Mickey Mouse. One can only imagine how the Shi’ite Imam Al-Mahdi Army, AKA the “Army of the Antichrist”, is reveling in confirmation that the Islamic State of Iraq is nothing more than a front organization for a bunch of Salafists holed up in a Pakistani cave.

Roggio is right in saying that Mashadani's capture is a victory for US Special Forces. Without those kinetic operators and the intelligence behind them no information operations will work. Words need bullets to back them up. But bullets need words behind them too, if they are to destroy ideas and not simply gunmen. So Mashadani's capture is also a victory for the shadowy warriors of the counternarrative. They are not only telling a story. They are writing one.
For those interested, it is Wretchard at The Belmont Club and Michael Yon who have the most influence over informing my opinions on the War in Iraq and the greater war on global terrorism. But, there are others.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Kind of puts the lie to the whole al Qaeda wasn't in Iraq until this sham organization suddenly appeared in 2004, eh?

Capturing the Man, Destroying the Idea (http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2007/07/capturing-man-destroying-idea.html)


For those interested, it is Wretchard at The Belmont Club and Michael Yon who have the most influence over informing my opinions on the War in Iraq and the greater war on global terrorism. But, there are others.


Maybe because they are preaching to the choir? Sort of like xray who believes everything hush limbaugh spews

[boutons_]

Yoni fails to document that the tiny presence of AQ in Iraq, or Saddam/Iraq at all, before March 2003 was any kind of threat to the USA or that it justified the US invasion.

Yoni also ignores that AQI has greatly increased its presence in Iraq AND then started to be lethal to the US only after dubya invaded Iraq.

AQ world HQ is in the Paka FATAs, but dubya attacks Iraq, because the oil is in Iraq.

dubya's own intelligence agencies report that 5+ years of dubya war on terra, the threat to USA from terrists is greater, not less. Sounds like dubya is being defeated.

That's saying that dubya is losing the war on terra as badly as he is losing the war in Iraq.

Is the NIE report fabricated and released this week to assist dudya's scare-mongering program to co-incide with the Senate Iraq war vote but dubya really is winning the war on terra?

Or is the NIE accurate and fake cowboy sheriif dubya really is losing the war on terra?

Pick your poison.

[Yonivore]

Maybe because they are preaching to the choir? Sort of like xray who believes everything hush limbaugh spews
So, who do you believe George? Where is the intelligent analysis of why things aren't as is being reported?

Seriously. Upon whom do you base your opinion of the state of things in Iraq?

By the way, both Yon and Wretchard are fairly apolitical in their views.

[Yonivore]

Errata
Wait a minute... This can't be right, can it (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0707/5000.html)?


...Senate Republicans pushed through a nonbinding resolution stating that "precipitous withdrawal" from Iraq would "create a safe haven for Islamic radicals, including Al Qaeda and Hezbollah, who are determined to attack the United States and (U.S.) allies." The vote was 94-3.
Last I checked, there are right around 100 Senators, total.

If the Politico is accurate in their overwhelming vote count of 94-3, then this strongly suggests that a supermajority of Democrat Senators are admitting that the withdraw plan they clamor for will result in creating "a safe haven for Islamic radicals, including Al Qaeda and Hezbollah, who are determined to attack the United States and (U.S.) allies," and they still favor it.

Please tell me why these Democrat Senators will admit that they support a plan that they believe will encourage terrorism?

More proof the hysterical calls for withdrawal, from Reid and his Slumber Party cohorts, are just a ruse. People on the left need to get used to the idea that their political heroes are a bunch of freakin' liars.

[Oh, Gee!!]

Why are we just now hearing about this guy's capture? It happened 2 weeks ago; good news usually doesn't take that long to travel.

[Yonivore]

Harry Reid wanted a debate, and he got one, especially from John McCain, during last night's stunt -- which, by the way, Reid, himself, mostly skipped.

It didn't change a single vote, and more importantly, Reid didn't get what he wanted -- a Republican refusal to engage. Instead, Republicans made it clear that they had no intention of allowing Congress to usurp the role of the executive, and McCain made it clear why.

For all his faults, this man knows what's what on the war on terrorism.

Here's his entire statement from the debate early this morning:


Mr. President, we have nearly finished this little exhibition, which was staged, I assume, for the benefit of a briefly amused press corps and in deference to political activists opposed to the war who have come to expect from Congress such gestures, empty though they may be, as proof that the majority in the Senate has heard their demands for action to end the war in Iraq. The outcome of this debate, the vote we are about to take, has never been in doubt to a single member of this body. And to state the obvious, nothing we have done for the last twenty-four hours will have changed any facts on the ground in Iraq or made the outcome of the war any more or less important to the security of our country. The stakes in this war remain as high today as they were yesterday; the consequences of an American defeat are just as grave; the costs of success just as dear. No battle will have been won or lost, no enemy will have been captured or killed, no ground will have been taken or surrendered, no soldier will have survived or been wounded, died or come home because we spent an entire night delivering our poll-tested message points, spinning our soundbites, arguing with each other, and substituting our amateur theatrics for statesmanship. All we have achieved are remarkably similar newspaper accounts of our inflated sense of the drama of this display and our own temporary physical fatigue. Tomorrow the press will move on to other things and we will be better rested. But nothing else will have changed.

In Iraq, American soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen are still fighting bravely and tenaciously in battles that are as dangerous, difficult and consequential as the great battles of our armed forces’ storied past. Our enemies will still be intent on defeating us, and using our defeat to encourage their followers in the jihad they wage against us, a war which will become a greater threat to us should we quit the central battlefield in defeat. The Middle East will still be a tinderbox, which our defeat could ignite in a regional war that will imperil our vital interests at risk there and draw us into a longer and far more costly war. The prospect of genocide in Iraq, in which we will be morally complicit, is still as real a consequence of our withdrawal today as it was yesterday.

During our extended debate over the last few days, I have heard senators repeat certain arguments over and over again. My friends on the other side of this argument accuse those of us who oppose this amendment with advocating “staying the course,” which is intended to suggest that we are intent on continuing the mistakes that have put the outcome of the war in doubt. Yet we all know that with the arrival of General Petraeus we have changed course. We are now fighting a counterinsurgency strategy, which some of us have argued we should have been following from the beginning, and which makes the most effective use of our strength and does not strengthen the tactics of our enemy. This new battle plan is succeeding where our previous tactics have failed, although the outcome remains far from certain. The tactics proposed in the amendment offered by my friends, Senators Levin and Reed – a smaller force, confined to bases distant from the battlefield, from where they will launch occasional search and destroy missions and train the Iraqi military – are precisely the tactics employed for most of this war and which have, by anyone’s account, failed miserably. Now, that, Mr. President, is staying the course, and it is a course that inevitably leads to our defeat and the catastrophic consequences for Iraq, the region and the security of the United States our defeat would entail.

Yes, we have heard quite a lot about the folly of “staying the course,” though the real outcome should this amendment prevail and be signed into law, would be to deny our generals and the Americans they have the honor to command the ability to try, in this late hour, to address the calamity these tried and failed tactics produced, and salvage from the wreckage of our previous failures a measure of stability for Iraq and the Middle East, and a more secure future for the American people.

I have also listened to my colleagues on the other side repeatedly remind us that the American people have spoken in the last election. They have demanded we withdraw from Iraq, and it is our responsibility to do, as quickly as possible, what they have bid us to do. But is that our primary responsibility? Really, Mr. President, is that how we construe our role: to follow without question popular opinion even if we believe it to be in error, and likely to endanger the security of the country we have sworn to defend? Surely, we must be responsive to the people who have elected us to office, and who, if it is their wish, will remove us when they become unsatisfied with our failure to heed their demands. I understand that, of course. And I understand why so many Americans have become sick and tired of this war, given the many, many mistakes made by civilian and military leaders in its prosecution. I, too, have been made sick at heart by these mistakes and the terrible price we have paid for them. But I cannot react to these mistakes by embracing a course of action that I know will be an even greater mistake, a mistake of colossal historical proportions, which will -- and I am as sure of this as I am of anything – seriously endanger the people I represent and the country I have served all my adult life. I have many responsibilities to the people of Arizona, and to all Americans. I take them all seriously, Mr. President, or try to. But I have one responsibility that outweighs all the others – and that is to do everything in my power, to use whatever meager talents I posses, and every resource God has granted me to protect the security of this great and good nation from all enemies foreign and domestic. And that I intend to do, Mr. President, even if I must stand athwart popular opinion. I will explain my reasons to the American people. I will attempt to convince as many of my countrymen as I can that we must show even greater patience, though our patience is nearly exhausted, and that as long as there is a prospect for not losing this war, then we must not choose to lose it. That is how I construe my responsibility to my constituency and my country. That is how I construed it yesterday. It is how I construe it today. And it is how I will construe it tomorrow. I do not know how I could choose any other course.

I cannot be certain that I possess the skills to be persuasive. I cannot be certain that even if I could convince Americans to give General Petraeus the time he needs to determine whether we can prevail, that we will prevail in Iraq. All I am certain of is that our defeat there would be catastrophic, not just for Iraq, but for us, and that I cannot be complicit in it, but must do whatever I can, whether I am effective or not, to help us try to avert it. That, Mr. President, is all I can possibly offer my country at this time. It is not much compared to the sacrifices made by Americans who have volunteered to shoulder a rifle and fight this war for us. I know that, and am humbled by it, as we all are. But though my duty is neither dangerous nor onerous, it compels me nonetheless to say to my colleagues and to all Americans who disagree with me: that as long as we have a chance to succeed we must try to succeed.

I am privileged, as we all are, to be subject to the judgment of the American people and history. But, my friends, they are not always the same judgment. The verdict of the people will arrive long before history’s. I am unlikely to ever know how history has judged us in this hour. The public’s judgment of me I will know soon enough. I will accept it, as I must. But whether it is favorable or unforgiving, I will stand where I stand, and take comfort from my confidence that I took my responsibilities to my country seriously, and despite the mistakes I have made as a public servant and the flaws I have as an advocate, I tried as best I could to help the country we all love remain as safe as she could be in an hour of serious peril.
If the Democrats want an end to the war, then let them use the one power the Constitution gives them to do so: defund the war. They don't want to take responsibility for the catastrophe that will follow in its wake, however, so they continue to conduct publicity stunts like this slumber party and offer unconstitutional legislation that Bush is certain to veto. Harry Reid can't even figure out how to surrender properly.

Exactly! "I will stand where I stand."

[boutons_]

"Why are we just now hearing about this guy's capture?"

Like the NIE report, the capture was scheduled to coincide with the Senate Iraq war debate/vote.

dubya can't manage the reality, but he can stage-manage the Exec. It's all smoke and mirrors.

[George Gervin's Afro]

So, who do you believe George? Where is the intelligent analysis of why things aren't as is being reported?

Seriously. Upon whom do you base your opinion of the state of things in Iraq?

By the way, both Yon and Wretchard are fairly apolitical in their views.


I liesten to talk radio, watch CNN, Fox news, I read the washington post and washington times. etc.... I don't limit my sources..

[Yonivore]

Why are we just now hearing about this guy's capture? It happened 2 weeks ago; good news usually doesn't take that long to travel.
You're serious?

Interrogation and acting on actionable intelligence, gained from this slime ball, probably was better done while his status remained unknown to the majority of Iraq.

Perhaps this (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1867393/posts) was a result of his interrogation.


BAGHDAD — The top target for al Qaeda in Iraq south of Baghdad was killed July 14 in Arab Jabour by precision-guided munitions, the Excalibur.

Shortly after 12 p.m., 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, received a call that Abu Jurah and 14 anti-Iraqi forces were meeting at a house in Arab Jabour.

Abu Jurah was an AQI cell leader and was responsible for improvised explosive devices, vehicle-borne IED and indirect fire attacks on Coalition Forces in Arab Jabour.

At approximately 1:12 p.m., the house was positively identified allowing 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery Regiment to fire two Excalibur rounds destroying the meeting house.

An unmanned aerial vehicle observed persons leaving the house, loading injured individuals into a sedan and fleeing the scene.

An AH-64 Apache helicopter engaged the sedan destroying it.

Three people were observed running from the meeting house to a nearby house.

A U.S. Air Force F16 Fighting Falcon dropped two 500-pound GPS-guided bombs on the second house.
I suspect communication between al Qaeda outfits, in Iraq, and beyond, isn't quite what it used to be so, there's a high probability we had this dirt bag for some time before it was known by his cohorts he was even missing. Probably not two weeks but, some amount of time.

[Yonivore]

I liesten to talk radio, watch CNN, Fox news, I read the washington post and washington times. etc.... I don't limit my sources..
News sources? When's the last time you read or heard an in depth analysis of the war from any of your sources?

[Oh, Gee!!]

You're serious?

Interrogation and acting on actionable intelligence, gained from this slime ball, probably was better done while his status remained unknown to the majority of Iraq.

Perhaps this (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1867393/posts) was a result of his interrogation.


I suspect communication between al Qaeda outfits, in Iraq, and beyond, isn't quite what it used to be so, there's a high probability we had this dirt bag for some time before it was known by his cohorts he was even missing. Probably not two weeks but, some amount of time.


so in other words, you don't know or are just guessing.

[Yonivore]

so in other words, you don't know or are just guessing.
You're right, I don't know.

So, what's your guess as to why they held him for two weeks before they released the information?

[Oh, Gee!!]

You're right, I don't know.

So, what's your guess as to why they held him for two weeks before they released the information?

torture

[Mr. Peabody]

torture

Don't you mean "interrogation"?

[Yonivore]

torture
And? Torture (however you want to define it), because our military is full of sadistic bastards or, because it is a proven method for extracting actionable intelligence?

Or, did your brain just stop after assuming he was being tortured for two weeks?

Further, why would annoucing his capture two weeks ago preclude him from being tortured anyway? It's not like they would have told us where he was being held and under what conditions.

Sorry, I like my presumption better. I think it makes more sense.

[xrayzebra]

Maybe because they are preaching to the choir? Sort of like xray who believes everything hush limbaugh spews

Believe. Hmmm. No because he gives his opinion. I have
mine. But he does use the words of those of whom he
speaks. It is a little hard for Reid/Pelosi/Kennedy/et al
to deny what they themselves uttered. Or do you
consider those words Rush lies.

It is really a little hard to watch the MSM and read it when
you know exactly what was said by the dimm-o-crap
leaders and what is reported or not reported by the MSM.
It doesn't take long to lose your respect for those MSM.

[xrayzebra]

torture

You are making an assumption. But I find no problem
in a little water boarding. He more than likely needed
a bath anyhow.

Better him than any of ours. I would like to see those
we kill buried with a pig. Let's really rile them up.
And that way they can have a big old ham to go with
their virgins.

[Oh, Gee!!]

And? Torture (however you want to define it), because our military is full of sadistic bastards or, because it is a proven method for extracting actionable intelligence?

Or, did your brain just stop after assuming he was being tortured for two weeks?

Further, why would annoucing his capture two weeks ago preclude him from being tortured anyway? It's not like they would have told us where he was being held and under what conditions.

Sorry, I like my presumption better. I think it makes more sense.

get off of your high horse, dude. I was making a joke.

[Yonivore]

get off of your high horse, dude. I was making a joke.
Because you had no answer.

So, all joking aside, why would they wait two weeks to reveal his capture?

[Oh, Gee!!]

Because you had no answer.

So, all joking aside, why would they wait two weeks to reveal his capture?


I don't know, which is why I was asking.

[Yonivore]

I don't know, which is why I was asking.
I apologize, I mistook your snark on my post as meaning you had a more plausible explanation.

[Yonivore]

In the meantime, over at YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOg0vxEH3mQ), there a video of yet another former member of a terrorist organizations admitting the existence of an al Qaeda threat.

For a guy who’s four months shy of 90 and has had a long night at the office, he really doesn’t do all that badly. Truth be told, he’s no more incoherent than I am after ten beers. Via BTN (http://www.beyondthenews.com/), which recommends paying attention to the expression on Bob Casey’s (the presiding senator’s) face just before and after the Kleagle speaks.

Between Byrdie and Strom Thurmond, it may be time to start thinking about mandatory retirement ages. Like, say, 85 or so.

The entertainment begins in earnest about two minutes in...enjoy!

As Dennis Miller said of this former member of a terrorist organization, "If you saw your grandpa going on like this, the moment he left the room you'd turn to your family and say, 'Hey! What the fuck are we going to do about grandpa? Is anyone keeping an eye on him? Do we know he's not eating his feces?'"

(As an aside, when will we be able to embed YouTube [and other source] videos here, like can be done in other forums? And, if we already can, would someone explain to me how it's done here. Thanks.)

[Nbadan]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A senior operative for al Qaeda in Iraq who was caught this month has told his U.S. military interrogators a prominent al Qaeda-led group is just a front and its leader fictitious, a military spokesman said on Wednesday.

Brigadier-General Kevin Bergner told a news conference that Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq, which was purportedly set up last year, did not exist.

The Islamic State of Iraq was established to try to put an Iraqi face on what is a foreign-driven network, Bergner said. The name Baghdadi means the person hails from the Iraqi capital.

....

"In his words, the Islamic State of Iraq is a front organization that masks the foreign influence and leadership within al Qaeda in Iraq in an attempt to put an Iraqi face on the leadership of al Qaeda in Iraq," Bergner said.

...

"To make al-Baghdadi appear credible, al-Masri swore allegiance to al-Baghdadi and pledged to obey him, which is essentially pledging allegiance to himself since he knew Baghdadi was fictitious and a creation of his own," he said.

Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL1820065720070718?pageNumber=1)

[Yonivore]

What's your point Nbadan?

[Nbadan]

Nothing is real in war...

Cake - WarPigs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyJMufGx7fo&mode=related&search=)
Cake - Comfort Eagle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVFcv8RWrg&mode=related&search=)

[Yonivore]

Nothing is real in war...

Cake - WarPigs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyJMufGx7fo&mode=related&search=)
Well, I think General Petraeus is real and the Multination Forces he's leading are real and al Qaeda is real.

Beyond that, what's your point?

So, al Qaeda used an old PLO ploy and started making up names by which to call themselves. It doesn't really change things other than to show what a bunch of idiot dupes the Mainstream Media and Democrats are.

[Nbadan]

"Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, also known as Abu Shahid, was captured in Mosul on July 4..."

Yeah, try googling Al-Mashhadani to find out what evil deeds this dude has been up too...

[Yonivore]

Yeah, try googling Al-Mashhadani to find out what evil deeds this dude has been up too...
Why don't you just fill us in. I know you're trying to make a point here and I really wish you'd get to it, Dan.