Official: Bin Laden no longer in charge of al-Qaida

Salt Lake Tribune ^ | April 4, 2004 | James Gordon Meek

[FairOpinion]

WASHINGTON -- Osama bin Laden is so hounded by U.S. forces that he no longer controls al-Qaida, a top American counterterrorism official said Thursday.

"The sense is no, he's not [in charge] in the way that we think of it," said Ambassador Cofer Black, the State Department's counterterror coordinator.

Bin Laden -- who the CIA believes is hiding in the mountainous border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan -- is unable to meet with his lieutenants to plot new attacks and relies instead on other terror groups to strike, Black told the House International Relations Committee.

"This guy spends most of his time trying to figure out how they're going to come for [him] and is this going to be the day?" said Black, former chief of the CIA's counterterrorism center.

Black said al-Qaida remains a "potent force" that has been put under "catastrophic stress" by the U.S. global war on terror, forcing bin Laden's henchmen to "evolve in ways not entirely by its own choosing."

"They're reaching out, trying to co-opt the missions of other terrorist groups -- particularly local ones and others -- and try and cement their determination . . . to destroy the United States," he told the hearing.

Black cited the attacks in Madrid last month as an example. Spanish officials believe the bombing of four commuter trains that killed 191 people was carried out by a militant Moroccan Islamic group called Salafia Jihadia, which is also believed to have bombed a housing project in Casablanca earlier this year.

Spanish authorities issued a warrant Thursday for a Tunisian, Sarhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet, 35, eyed as the mastermind of the March 11 train bombings.

Black said there are "scores" of such groups, and al-Qaida's reliance on less-disciplined groups not under its control could blow up on the radical movement.

As an example, he cited the bombing of a housing complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November that killed mostly Muslims. That attack caused an angry backlash among Muslims and prompted a determined sweep by Saudi authorities.

"They have made fundamental operational mistakes," Black said. "They're likely to continue to do that."

[FairOpinion]

Another under-reported major Bush success!

[Support Free Republic]

	Help us reach our target! Donate to FR Mail a check to FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794 or you can use PayPal at Jimrob@psnw.com
SUPPORT FREE REPUBLIC

[ldish]

Let's see, how could this be "spun" as a major fallout / success from the great and wonderful "Klinton Error".......am sure commrad "Klark" could offer some insight!

[YoSoy2]

Glad to hear bin Laden has become irrelevant on the war on terror.

There is much more to defeating terrorism than the capture of a single man, ie bin Laden.

[FairOpinion]

And yet another success story in the war on terror, which wouldn't have happened, if we didn't take over Iraq:

Official: al-Qaida Almost Gone From Yemen

Yemen, the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, has dismantled 90 percent of his al-Qaida cells in the country, in part by payoffs to tribes that once sheltered them, Prime Minister Abdul-Kader Bajammal told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Bajammal credited U.S.-Yemeni cooperation with his country's progress in fighting terrorism, but said the country is at odds with the American contention that Sheik Abdulmajid al-Zindani, a prominent cleric, is a terrorist recruiter for al-Qaida.

There was no way to independently confirm Bajammal's claims of success against al-Qaida.

The prime minister also said suspects in the USS Cole bombing that killed 17 American sailors in 2000 off the southern port of Aden will stand trial in the next few weeks. Yemeni security forces recently recaptured the last of 10 Cole bombing suspects who escaped from prison last year.

[FairOpinion]

A great editorial:

Among Democrats, National Security is Optional ("MUST READ")
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1111482/posts

"If Americans truly want to prevent a recurrence of 9-11, it is essential that they recognize the manner in which Democrats and the liberal media are willing to cloud the entire issue for the sake of partisan politics. Any lingering doubts that remained after the Democrat primaries ought to have been completely dispelled by last week's charade of a Congressional hearing. "

[Boundless]

> "The sense is no, he's not [in charge] in the way that
> we think of it," said Ambassador Cofer Black, ...

What is the point of this announcement?

The Democrats are almost certain to use it to either
declare the WoT over, or start a "Save the bin Laden"
campaign.

> ... the State Department's counterterror coordinator.

Oh. State Department. I see. This is just the
usual bureaucratic sabotage of the Administration.

[Viking2002]

This is obviously fantastic news, but I won't be satisfied until that hairy primate's head is shown on television - mounted on a stick.

[FairOpinion]

Don't worry, we'll get Bin Laden and the rest of them "dead or alive". But it's clear, that "we have them on the run", as Bush has been telling us.

Apparently we even got Yemen to crack down on them -- they claim they got rid of 90% of AQ.

We are keeping them on the run.

[ride the whirlwind]

There's a $25 million bounty on his head though.

[Viking2002]

Oh, I know there's a whole herd of puckered keisters out there, and I know that eventually we'll be scraping them off of rocks. But I believe in complete follow-through - show me the bodies. THAT is truly light-your-cigar, put-up-your-feet-and-sip-your-brandy satisfaction. :-) And I plan on doing just that. LOL

[Choose Ye This Day]

It's hard to be in charge of a global terrorist organization when you were vaporized in Tora Bora a couple years back.

(Wishful thinking, perhaps, but I don't think the guy's alive. Why haven't we seen him?)

[samtheman]

Spanish officials believe the bombing of four commuter trains that killed 191 people was carried out by a militant Moroccan Islamic group called Salafia Jihadia

When I first read this sentence, I read "militant Moronic Islamic group". I had to look twice to see the actual wording (early in the AM, first cup of coffee).

Now I'm thinking, my mistake is actually a good idea. That's the way the media should start referring to these people, as in:

A tape released by the militant moronic Islamic group Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack...

I like it (if I do say so myself).

Militant Moronic Islamics.

A whole new category of human existence.

[Dilbert56]

Given this is from the State Department, I'm thinking it's a set up to charge our soldiers with war crimes when Bin Laden is killed. The State Dept. will contend he was no longer a threat and should have been negotiated with.

Don't confuse Foggy (head up my) Bottom with being part of our government or our country. Their top priority seems to be placating our enemies to keep "diplomacy" intact across petty disturbances like wars.

[angkor]

As an example, he cited the bombing of a housing complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November that killed mostly Muslims.

Not to mention JI's Jakarta bombing at the JW Marriott, which claimed 95 Indonesian Muslim casualties.

[Lost Highway]

Bin-Ladin is in charge of pushing up daisies.

[reagan_fanatic]

Official: Bin Laden no longer in charge of al-Qaida

Headline should have read: "Bin Laden, under several tons of rock and debris, no longer in charge of al-Qaida"

[sarasota]

I'm on your side. He's a goner.

[expatpat]

Yeah, I think he's dead, too. AQ needs his name to attract money and new recruits, so it's Weekend at Bernie's deja-vu.