How it looks from the other side...

[Yonivore]

Austin Bay highlights another captured al Qaeda letter from the West Point collection. This one is dated June 2002; it is a window into the state of affairs as viewed inside al Qaeda six months after the fall of the Taliban. Note especially the statement that the "East Asia, Europe, America, Horn of Africa, Yemen, Gulf and Morocco groups have fallen, and Pakistan has almost been drowned in one push."

STOP RUSHING INTO ACTION AND TAKE TIME OUT TO CONSIDER ALL THE FATAL AND SUCCESSIVE DISASTERS THAT HAVE AFFLICTED US DURING A PERIOD OF NO MORE THAN SIX MONTHS. THOSE OBSERVING OUR AFFAIRS WONDER WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO US.

TODAY WE ARE EXPERIENCING ONE SETBACK AFTER ANOTHER AND HAVE GONE FROM MISFORTUNE TO DISASTER. DURING (TN: THE PAST) SIX MONTHS, IT HAS BECOME APPARENT TO THE OBSERVER THAT THERE IS A NEW HAND THAT IS MANAGING AFFAIRS AND THAT IS DRIVING FORCEFULLY; EVERY TIME IT FALTERS, IT GETS UP AND RUSHES AGAIN, WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING OR AWARENESS.

I SAY TODAY WE MUST COMPLETELY HALT ALL EXTERNAL ACTIONS UNTIL WE SIT DOWN AND CONSIDER THE DISASTER WE CAUSED. *** THE EAST ASIA, EUROPE, AMERICA, HORN OF AFRICA, YEMEN, GULF, AND MOROCCO GROUPS HAVE FALLEN, AND PAKISTAN HAS ALMOST BEEN DROWNED IN ONE PUSH. I, NOT TO MENTION THE OTHER INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE ALSO MOVED AND FALLEN, HAVE OFTEN ADVISED ON THIS MATTER. REGRETTABLY, MY BROTHER, IF YOU LOOK BACK, YOU WILL FIND THAT YOU ARE THE PERSON SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THIS BECAUSE YOU UNDERTOOK THE MISSION, AND DURING SIX MONTHS, WE ONLY LOST WHAT WE BUILT IN YEARS. DOES NOT THAT MERIT THAT WE PAUSE AND SIT DOWN, NOT TO SEEK JUDGMENT, BUT TO ~ REVIEW AND IDENTIFY THE ERRORS THAT HAVE BEEN BEHIND THESE DISASTERS AND NOT TO BLINDLY IGNORE THEM AND CONTINUE WHAT WE ARE DOING AND BECOME A JOKE FOR ALL THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES IN THE WORLD. MY BELOVED BROTHER, STOP ALL FOREIGN ACTIONS, STOP SENDING PEOPLE TO CAPTIVITY, STOP DEVISING NEW OPERATIONS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER ORDERS COME OR DO NOT COME FROM ABU-ABDALLA (TN: BIN-LADEN). OUR ADHERENTS HAVE LOST CONFIDENCE IN US AND IN OUR ABILITY TO MANAGE THE ACTION, AND THEY WONDER, WHAT HAS BEFALLEN US.

It seems obvious to me that we have won huge, but unreported, victories over al Qaeda during the past four years, and that this is a large part of the reason why there have been no successful attacks inside the United States. Someday, no doubt, the story will be told. I suspect that when that happens, a lot of the administration's unrelenting critics will feel rather silly.

[Yonivore]

It has been noted on several occasions the success that the government of Saudi Arabia has had in fighting al Qaeda and killing its leaders in that country. I think that's the context of today's unsuccessful attack on the Saudis' biggest oil processing facility.

What seems noteworthy is how hopeless the attack was. It involved two vehicles loaded with explosives and driven by would-be suicide bombers:

Two cars tried to drive through the gates of the outer fence of the heavily secured, sprawling facility, which has three rows of security fences, Interior Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Mansour al-Turki told The Associated Press.

Guards opened fire on the cars, and both vehicles exploded, al-Turki said. He said two guards were critically wounded.

It's hard to see how the attackers could have expected the cars to get through one layer of security, let alone three. Which suggests that, assuming al Qaeda was behind the attack, they are desperate to show some sign of life in Saudi Arabia, even at the expense of inevitable failure.

Yeah, we're winning the GWOT!

[Yonivore]

Nah.

[xrayzebra]

^^Is that what they taught you at Notre Dame?

[Cant_Be_Faded]

we

Heart

Gitmo

[xrayzebra]

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps...S01/CAT=News01

and remember it was a muslim prof on his way to teach at ND who was barred from entering the US

Hey you want one, I would give you one from UTSA. He really doesn't like
the U.S. too much, with the way his columns reads. But, some must
like him. Express-News keeps publishing his columns, so what do I know.

I would agree with the man except for a few things. We were never at
war with anyone when the WTC, embassies and other events occurred.
We didn't start the turmoil in the Middle East. It was going on before we
ever started with Iraq. Our support for Israel is no reason for their
temper tantrums. After all Israelis are from that region to begin with.
And no one ever, ever mentions that Palestinians lost territory to other
Arab countries, which have not been given back either.