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[WSJ] Top al Qaeda Operative Is Killed in U.S. Drone Attack

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by Pimphand24, Mar 17, 2010.

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  1. Pimphand24

    Pimphand24 Member

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    Very surprised no other news outlets seemed to have picked up on this. Perhaps it is because the Obama Administration does not thump its chest on every success against terrorism.

    Free content on the Wall Street Journal. There is also a free video excerpt by WSJ reporters, a good watch, better than the short article.



    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...469251050.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEADNewsCollection

    [WSJ] Top al Qaeda Operative Is Killed in U.S. Drone Attack

    By JONATHAN WEISMAN and SIOBHAN GORMAN
    WASHINGTON—A drone strike last week in Pakistan apparently killed a top al Qaeda trainer who helped supervise December's suicide bombing at a Central Intelligence Agency post in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said.


    A drone strike in Pakistan apparently kills a top al Qaeda trainer who helped supervise December's suicide bombing at a Central Intelligence Agency post in Afghanistan. WSJ's Jonathan Weisman joins The News Hub from Washington with more details.
    .The strike on a suspected bomb-making facility in Miram Shah killed as many as 15 people, including Sadam Hussein Al Hussami, also known as Ghazwan Al-Yemeni, according to people familiar with the strike. The Obama administration does not comment on such attacks.

    "He's a significant operator," said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer, now at the Brookings Institution. "And it's another sign that the pressure is substantial" on the top echelons of al Qaeda.

    U.S. officials are touting Mr. Hussami's death as a significant blow to the terrorist network that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. At a time of escalating strikes from unmanned drones, the missile hit last week was unusual. The strike landed in or near a population center, Miram Shah, and its aftermath has been kept quiet by U.S. and Pakistani officials.

    Mr. Riedel said the "martyrdom" was trumpeted on jihadist Web sites.

    Officials familiar with the strike say Mr. Hussami was involved in training Taliban and foreign al Qaeda recruits for strikes on troops in Afghanistan and targets outside the region. He was also on a small council that helped plan the strike on a forward operating base in the Afghan city of Khost that killed eight CIA staff.

    The Khost bombing was carried out by a suspected double agent, Jordanian physician Humam Khalil Mohammed, who convinced Jordanian and U.S. intelligence officials he would lead them to the top echelon of al Qaeda, including the operation's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The bomber showed intelligence officials a picture of himself with Mr. Zawahiri to prove his value.

    Mr. Riedel said Mr. Zawahiri has not been heard from for at least two months, while Osama bin Laden, the top al Qaeda leader has surfaced three times this year. That suggests the Khost bombing and ensuing drone strikes are pressuring Mr. Zawahiri to stay underground, Mr. Riedel said.
     
    #1 Pimphand24, Mar 17, 2010
  2. Pimphand24

    Pimphand24 Member

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    The video is far better than the article. I just saw that Fox News and CNN are just starting to catch up on this.

    <object id="wsj_fp" width="512" height="363"><param name="movie" value="http://online.wsj.com/media/swf/VideoPlayerMain.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><param name="flashvars" value="videoGUID={0A41D34D-A888-4B49-A63D-F6617968D9F3}&playerid=1000&plyMediaEnabled=1&configURL=http://wsj.vo.llnwd.net/o28/players/&autoStart=false" base="http://online.wsj.com/media/swf/"name="flashPlayer"></param><embed src="http://online.wsj.com/media/swf/VideoPlayerMain.swf" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"flashVars="videoGUID={0A41D34D-A888-4B49-A63D-F6617968D9F3}&playerid=1000&plyMediaEnabled=1&configURL=http://wsj.vo.llnwd.net/o28/players/&autoStart=false" base="http://online.wsj.com/media/swf/" name="flashPlayer" width="512" height="363" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object>
     
    #2 Pimphand24, Mar 17, 2010
  3. B-Bob

    B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"
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    I hope you don't expect many posts. This forum is only interested in live terrorists so we can debate torturing them versus feeding them cocaine-dusted gummy bears on fountains of premium champagne.
     
    #3 B-Bob, Mar 17, 2010
  4. rimbaud

    rimbaud Member
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    Not true. The terrorists are not the story here, it is the drones! They are killers and if they can fly to Pakistan why can't they fly to SanFran and start taking out physicists?

    Think about it. Write a letter to your congressperson.

    I, for one, am against evil killer drones and if you are not then you are stupid and you have a strawman and like ad hominem attacks in consortium with a cadre of backslapping fools that like to troll and flame and be douchetastic.
     
    #4 rimbaud, Mar 17, 2010
    1 person likes this.
  5. A_3PO

    A_3PO Member

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    Keep on keepin' on. I'm glad Obama doesn't blow his horn each and every time this happens.
     
    #5 A_3PO, Mar 17, 2010
  6. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Atomic Playboy
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    [​IMG]
     
    #6 KingCheetah, Mar 17, 2010
  7. mc mark

    mc mark Member

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    ^^^ I know; sensory overload

    champagne....
     
    #7 mc mark, Mar 17, 2010
  8. B-Bob

    B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"
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    rimbaud, ask not for whom the drone trolls.
     
    #8 B-Bob, Mar 17, 2010
  9. Supermac34

    Supermac34 President, Von Wafer Fan Club

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    My cousin is in the Air Force. He commented to me the other day that the use of drones, and the dramatic and effecient success of the drones is slowly changing the entire make up and future of the US Air Force.

    In the middle east, the only thing that the terrorists REALLY fear are the drones. The attacks are so sudden and surprising, with almost no area unable to be reached it has really scared the fighters over there.

    The operations of constantly watching villages and towns day to day by the same operatives sitting outside Las Vegas almost allows the US operators to "know" the people living in those areas. Their ability to pick up on even very small changes in day to day life has led to an amazing amount of disruption of enemy movement.

    Basically an Air Force operator can pick out individuals in a town, know their day to day lives, know what their job is, know where they go and who they know by watching them months at a time. When someone unknown shows up in vehicles they don't recognize, red flags go up and ground intelligence can move in. Targets are selected, and can be eliminated at any time.

    Its actually kind of scary if you think about it.
     
    #9 Supermac34, Mar 18, 2010
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  10. da_juice

    da_juice Member

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    You mean... the war on terror doesn't have to involve the killing of innocent civillains?
     
    #10 da_juice, Mar 18, 2010
  11. Mathloom

    Mathloom Shameless Optimist

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    Has it ever occurred to anyone that a leading Al Qaeda person is killed SO often that either:

    1) They should be finished by now or

    2) There are so many of these, being replaced in their post so often/easily, that the title of "leading Al Qaeda Operative" is inserted to merely justify the attack in the eyes of the average reader?

    I'm sick of hearing that people in very high posts are killed so often but the organisation keeps getting stronger.

    Either you simply can't beat them or someone is lying.
     
    #11 Mathloom, Mar 19, 2010
  12. Dairy Ashford

    Dairy Ashford Member

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    He might not hold a press conference, but I assume the DoD is releasing this with clearance from the White House. No reason not to, either.
     
    #12 Dairy Ashford, Mar 19, 2010
  13. Pimphand24

    Pimphand24 Member

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    This was a guy who killed over 5 high profile CIA agents. He was a big fish.
     
    #13 Pimphand24, Mar 19, 2010
  14. RedRedemption

    RedRedemption Member

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    In any war, conflict, or battle. No matter how conservative your military is, there always will be civilian casualties. It's inevitable.
     
    #14 RedRedemption, Mar 19, 2010
  15. A_3PO

    A_3PO Member

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    Who claims Al Qaeda is growing stronger? Even before Panetta's recent remarks, I got that impression from nobody.
     
    #15 A_3PO, Mar 19, 2010
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