Posted on 04/13/2006 10:38:39 PM PDT by jmc1969
Al Qaeda in Iraq and its presumed leader, Abu Musab Zarqawi, have conceded strategic defeat and are on their way out of the country, a top U.S. military official contended yesterday.
The group's failure to disrupt national elections and a constitutional referendum last year "was a tactical admission by Zarqawi that their strategy had failed," said Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, who commands the XVIII Airborne Corps.
"They no longer view Iraq as fertile ground to establish a caliphate and as a place to conduct international terrorism," he said in an address at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Gen. Vines' statement came as news broke that coalition and Iraqi forces had killed an associate of Osama bin Laden's during an early morning raid near Abu Ghraib about two weeks ago.
Rafid Ibrahim Fattah aka Abu Umar al Kurdi served as a liaison between terrorist networks and was linked to Taliban members in Afghanistan, Pakistani-based extremists and other senior al Qaeda leaders, the military said yesterday.
In the past six months, al Kurdi had worked as a terrorist cell leader in Baqouba. Prior to that, he had traveled extensively Pakistan, Iran and Iraq and formed a relationship with al Qaeda senior leaders in 1999 while in Afghanistan.
He also had ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, formed while he was in Iran and Pakistan, and joined the jihad in Afghanistan in 1989, the military said. He was killed March 27.
"The question now is what kind of government is going to be formed and is it going to be credible," he said, acknowledging that Iran had significant influence over Iraq's religious Shi'ite population.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Perhaps they will retreat to France.
Why don't they take Jafaari and Mooky and his thugs with them?
WE ARE WINNING!!!!!!!!!
And so are the Iraqis. When the terrorist scum are driven out of Iraq, the Iraqis can set themselves to the task of deciding on their government and working out their differences.
This is good news, but I need to see more to really believe this is happening. I really do hope this is true.
Quagmire!
Nice. Very, very nice.
OH and you know the Liberals are going nuts...
So when are we going to strike Iran? After all they have WMD capabilities, and its no secret they are a Terrorist State.
blow up lots of innocent people and "holy" things up until they beg us to be their leaders.
I just don't know how it failed.
When I said "we", I was including the Iraqis, Afghans, our coalition partners and everyone helping in the war on terror.
This is a resounding and devastating defeat of Al Qaeda.
"They no longer view Iraq as fertile ground.."
Soon.. the only fertile ground left for the Islamoterrorists will be an unflushed toilet.
Thank you Brave Troops.
Heh.
Actually, what if the plan was more like: blow up lots of innocent people and "holy" things until the Western left, with the aid of their allies in the media, begs the US military to abandon Iraq, and tells innocent Iraqis "those guys who are blowing you up, are your new leaders".
If that was the plan, it's actually not so dumb and there have been times when it's seemed like it's been working.
"So when are we going to strike Iran? "
===
Soon, that's why all these retired generals are coming out of the woodwork, demanding that Rumsfeld resign. They should be ashamed of themselves.
The Dems are trying to turn public opinion against the war, to make it impossible for us to attack Iran. They would rather see Iran nuke us, than vice versa.
Ditto.
Call mine the shorter version, highlighting why it was rotten in the core and didn't work.
Funny thing about people, they just don't like having their loved ones blown up.
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