Posted on 06/17/2006 11:21:32 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Buoyed by the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, U.S. government officials hope the exposure of his radical network through hundreds of raids across Iraq will help them eliminate key tentacles of the amorphous al-Qaida organization.
These officials say the raids have led to solid insights into al-Qaida in Iraq and provided new clues about how the group trades information with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida central.
They also are learning who is connected to whom and how external support is funneled through Iraq from across the Middle East, including Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran.
Several officials requested anonymity while the investigations were unfolding.
In a press conference in Baghdad, Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said Thursday that 452 U.S. and coalition raids had been conducted since al-Zarqawi was killed June 7. The information is mounting: Military and other investigators are collecting documents, computers, weapons and DNA.
The work comes at a time when al-Qaida in Iraq is in flux as it adjusts to operating without its charismatic leader. U.S., Iraqi and coalition forces are hoping to seize the opportunity to unravel al-Qaida's complicated web.
Officials are also working to understand the group's purported new leader and whether he has the connections and credibility to assume al-Zarqawi's iconic role.
The enthusiasm of President Bush and other senior officials is tempered by the knowledge that al-Zarqawi's death crimps but hardly kills his organization. Authorities also are watching to see if al-Zarqawi's wish-for martyrdom attracts more fighters into the jihadist fold.
The U.S. military has identified an Egyptian, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who is believed to also use the name Abu Hamza al-Mujaher, as al-Zarqawi's successor in Iraq and presumably in operations beyond.
The president's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, has cautioned against jumping to conclusions while the organization is adrift.
If in fact the new leader is al-Masri, authorities are only in the early stages of figuring out what he will mean for al-Qaida.
Al-Masri, whose name means "the Egyptian," is a former member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. He has long-standing ties to al-Qaida's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri. Al-Masri has been fighting in Iraq since at least 2003 and engaged in the battle of Fallujah in 2004.
Al-Zarqawi, a Sunni Muslim, was known for his gruesome attacks Iraq's Shiite population — a tactic that put him at odds with al-Qaida's central leadership. But al-Masri could be more receptive to guidance from Afghan-Pakistani border, given his long-standing ties to al-Zawahri, a fellow Egyptian.
Early estimates do not predict significant change in Iraq. "We think he will probably continue on with the same tactics and techniques that Zarqawi did," Caldwell said.
Al-Masri was the point man for getting foreign fighters into Iraq. It was a critical position that would have allowed him to build relationships with numerous foreign contacts.
It remains to be seen how he will oversee the loose network outside of Iraq that al-Zarqawi established. The 39-year-old was believed to have links to radicals in more than 40 countries on at least five continents.
U.S. officials said the bulk of al-Zarqawi's reach outside of Iraq was centered in his home of Jordan, which was his primary target outside Iraq. Lesser extensions included his operatives in Europe, where he was believed to have just a handful.
At a Senate hearing Tuesday, retired Vice Adm. John Scott Redd, head of the National Counterterrorism Center, could not say for certain how many fighters have been trained by al-Zarqawi and may have returned to their home countries; some estimates suggest they could number in the low hundreds.
Redd said authorities have indications of plots "at least hatching" outside Iraq. "And some of those may have been far enough that we'll see them," he said.
In many ways, those plots typify the new al-Qaida, which has evolved from a centralized group rooted in Afghanistan to an amorphous ideology dispersed worldwide.
During a speech in April, Gen. Michael Hayden, the newly appointed CIA director, said the war in Iraq motivates jihadists, but their failure there would weaken the movement globally.
"The loss of key leaders like bin Laden, Zawahri and Zarqawi — especially if they were lost in rapid succession — could cause the jihadist movement to fracture even more into smaller groups, and would probably lead to strains and disagreements," said Hayden, who at the time was the No. 2 U.S. intelligence official.
Taking out Zarqawi was huge. It's hard to imagine why the Democrats are so dismayed by it.
They have sunk to lows not previously imaginable.
No it isn't. Their thirst for power is threatened by any American success.
************************AN EXCERPT **************************************
1994, also was the year in which Wahhabi clerics were added to the Iraqi government payroll Nir Rosen, Asia Times, 3-26-04
By the late 1990’s, religious Islamic studies were being taught at all levels of Iraq’s education system and Saddam Hussein was donating his blood to write portions of a Quran in one of Iraq’s most expensive mosques Jerrold M. Post and Amatzia Baram, "Saddam is Iraq: Iraq is Saddam", Ch.7, p.43-45
In 1999, it was common knowledge that Saddam Hussein had a standing offer of safe haven in Iraq open to Wahhabist Osama bin Laden. CNN, 2-13-99
CNN’s Mike Boettcher said that Saddam Hussein’s regime had been bringing Wahhabi fighters into Iraq from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere since 2000, CNN, 12-14-03 although
former CIA director James Woolsey said it began much earlier than that. David Neiwert, Salon, 9-21-01
Saad Fagih, a Saudi-dissident, echoed the comments of U.S. officials who told the AP that Saddam Hussein began inviting Saudi extremists into Iraq years before the 2003 invasion. Sscherezade Faramarzi, Associated Press, 6-1-05
In an interview with Mahan Abedin of the Jamestown Foundation, Iraq’s Ambassador the United Nations, Hamid al-Bayati, said “the Baathists invited foreign fighters into Iraq. This is an old and deep-rooted alliance”, when asked about how and when foreign fighters began entering the country. Mahan Abedin, Jamestown Foundation, 6-21-04
Just a quick glance, but -
"The war we have joined is defined by three simple but brutal facts. Our enemy is able to penetrate our borders and strike us in our homes; he can strike us with weapons of mass destruction; and he has made clear his intention is not to change our policies or to force our withdrawal, but to obliterate us and destroy our civilization. "
It just seems really strange that the enemy would be sitting around waiting until either by good intelligence, or dumb luck, we find his plans and people and destroy them.
It appears that at every turn we are degrading the ability of the enemy to undertake major actions, and getting a handle on restricting their minor ones. We can see as they have gone from direct military actions, to ambush, to ambushing their own people.
From reports even the operations in Canada were local - copycats and wannabes.
The enemy wants to obliterate us ? No kidding ? Did you know Kerry was in VietNam ?
Will they ever have the capability to do so ? Nope ...
Thanks for highlighting those items from Mark's excellent site; the research is fantastic. We're lucky to have him freeping with us.
Big events like the death of Zark Pig show what the rats are really like, where they are coming from, and where they would like to take America.
The rats are driven and controlled by dangerous Lunatics, who hate a strong America.
"The enemy wants to obliterate us ? No kidding ? Did you know Kerry was in VietNam ?
Will they ever have the capability to do so ? Nope ..."
Jihad is 'Muslim obligation'Dec 20 2005
A lawyer defending al Qaida-linked suspects standing trial for the 2003 suicide bombings in Istanbul told a court that jihad, or holy war, was an obligation for Muslims and his clients should not be prosecuted.
"If you punish them for this, tomorrow, will you punish them for fasting or for praying?" Osman Karahan -- a lawyer representing 14 of the 72 suspects -- asked during a nearly four-hour speech in which he read religious texts from an encyclopedia of Islam.
The November 2003 blasts targeted two synagogues, the British Consulate and the local headquarters of the London-based HSBC bank, killing 58 people.
http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/
It's all about Iraq, isn't it?
Yep, it's all about Iraq and...
India and the Sudan and Algeria and Afghanistan and New York and Pakistan and Israel and Russia and Chechnya and the Philippines and Indonesia and Nigeria and England and Thailand and Spain and Egypt and Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia and Ingushetia and Dagestan and Turkey and Kabardino-Balkaria and Morocco and Yemen and Lebanon and France and Uzbekistan and Gaza and Tunisia and Kosovo and Bosnia and Mauritania and Kenya and Eritrea and Syria and Somalia and California and Kuwait and Virginia and Ethiopia and Iran and Jordan and United Arab Emirates and Louisiana and Texas and Tanzania and Germany and Pennsylvania and Belgium and Denmark and East Timor and Qatar and Maryland and Tajikistan and the Netherlands and Scotland and Chad and Canada and...
...and pretty much wherever Muslims believe their religion tells them to:
"Fight and slay the Unbelievers wherever ye find them. Seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war."
Qur'an, Sura 9:5
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
ISLAM DOESN'T NEED WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION - ISLAM IS A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION!
Do the world a huge favour...save one muslim from islam every day...muslims are the victims of an evil death cult.
The Real 2006
'Iraq Body Count'
Iraqi civilians killed this year by Islamic Terrorists
3,078
Iraqi civilians killed collaterally by Americans
48*
*Source: IraqBodyCount.net (includes civilians caught in crossfire who may have been killed by the terrorists)
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
Islam=Permission to kill. Infidels, hyprocrites, any other sect; just ask the clerics, they can can always find a relevant 'verse' in the koran or precedent amongst the numerous volumes of ahadith.
Methinks transmission from allah via the archangel Gabriel into mohammads ear might have been corrupted by the character of the receiving instrument, don't you, LOL!
"Islam=Permission to kill. Infidels, hyprocrites, any other sect; just ask the clerics, they can can always find a relevant 'verse' in the koran or precedent amongst the numerous volumes of ahadith."
Depends which clerics you ask, and if you hold enough power over him to have him find whatever it is you are looking for, isn't it ?
Again you seem to have confused the Koran and the Haddith - and you know better Fred.
"A lawyer defending al Qaida-linked suspects standing trial for the 2003 suicide bombings in Istanbul told a court that jihad, or holy war, was an obligation for Muslims and his clients should not be prosecuted."
Gee ... a lawyer defending his clients saying that "God told him to do it" ... Never heard that one before...
BTW - didn't we have a conversation about you providing "quotes" that were either out of context or simply false a long while ago ?
It appears that your sources ( your "imams" ) selectively cut'n'paste the Koran in the way YOU like it - which appears to be the same way Al-Queda does.
Are you afraid to provide the entire quote ?
While inevitable power struggles go on -- is the time to pit alqaeda foot soldiers against their leaders.
Tell Iraqis that the top alqaeda are the one's we're after and the rest of them can build a new nation - and get a pass for their families. It won't be "amnesty" which is what the dems want to call it - ( dems want all the people in alqaeda to think they must fight to the death - a position that will cause many more American deaths than otherwise) In fact, just like with Germany after W.W.II, we want the big boys. Tell those wondering that now al-Zarqawi is dead, they have a choice. They can save themselves and turn in their leaders or just walk away... We are going to win and they need to jump to the winning side. Also, the ability to exercise that choice is time limited. When we win, and that will be soon, if they're still on the wrong side, that's where they'll have to stay... The new Iraqis government will deal with them - and possibly harshly. Then, let's tell the dems to shut the ---- up.
"Again you seem to have confused the Koran and the Haddith - and you know better Fred."
Translation of Sahih Bukhari
Translator: M. Muhsin Khan
I don't think we have to announce it ... as more of them realize that their leaders are being consistantly found and taken out, the idea ..." maybe I'll just go home" will take a deeper root. It's not like these guys are wearing some uniform or carrying an ID card in any case.
The hard-case ones will pick up and head to another place they think will work for them... like the Sudan.
We'll get them, as long as we can keep the Dems from providing them sanctuary.
"Depends which clerics you ask, and if you hold enough power over him to have him find whatever it is you are looking for, isn't it ?"
That's a doozy! Are you trying to tell me that clerics (and I include them all, of any religious persuasion,) represent the will of the people? As if they are their representatives? LOL!
Theocracy isn't Democratic. Clerics exist to ENFORCE!
"Are you trying to tell me that clerics (and I include them all, of any religious persuasion,) represent the will of the people?"
? Do you have some kind of point you're making ?
Do you seriously think that Bin Laden would simply bow to ANY cleric or imam? --- supposing there was one who was foolish enough to say what bin Laden does not want to hear ?
Obviously EVERY cleric derives his spiritual power from the will of the people - if enough people, or enough people of power do not agree with what the cleric says, he will not be in a position of spiritual supremacy for long.
"Are you afraid to provide the entire quote ?"
Which quote?
If you are referring to the article in the UK Newspaper, here's the rest of it:
The Arabic word jihad can mean holy war among extremists in addition to its definition as the Islamic concept of the struggle to do good.
Karahan spoke for three hours at the court in Istanbul.
Story continues
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"If non-Muslims go into Muslim lands, it is every Muslim's obligation to fight them," Karahan said.
A panel of three judges for the fiercely secular Turkish Republic listened to Karahan patiently, without speaking, as the defence lawyer read from four thick file folders.
Twenty-nine of the suspects were brought to the courthouse for the hearing, handcuffed and escorted by paramilitary police. They sat in the middle of the courtroom, surrounded by police.
More than a dozen other lawyers were also present but only Karahan spoke in the morning session.
Later in the day, several defendants acknowledged receiving training at foreign camps for Islamic militants or making plans to carry out acts of extremist violence, but all but one denied a link to the Istanbul bombings or to al Qaida.
-----
I confined my excerpt to the words spoken in defence. That's islam explaining in court...the defendant was ONLY following his religion...
No it isn't. Their thirst for power is threatened by any American success.
BINGO
"I understand (I think) that different sects argue about the validity of certain hadith...but...reject them totally, they do not."
Well, again you are wrong - http://www.submission.org/had-sunna.html
"I'm inlcined to believe an islamic cleric could find ANY precedent he wanted amongst this lot, and that's just a small sample."
Sounds like a very good reason to reject the lot, isn't it ?
But lets go with your mistaken statement ... If some reject one half and the other reject the other half ... which half is truely believed ?
I'm sure there are some that reject the ones that you keep pointing at, so they are not "muslim-enough" in your eyes, and are therefore not considered.
The Billion or so Muslims in the world who are NOT trying to kill you tonight are likewise deemed by Imam Nerks to be non-islamics.
We are winning ... the bad guys are dying and the people who they would consider their followers are rejecting their notions.
Sorry if our victory will be accomplished without the worldwide slaughter or conversion by the sword that you seem to prefer, but that's life.
"Obviously EVERY cleric derives his spiritual power from the will of the people - if enough people, or enough people of power do not agree with what the cleric says, he will not be in a position of spiritual supremacy for long."
CR$P
Volume 9, Book 89, Number 252:
Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar:
Allah's Apostle said, "Surely! Everyone of you is a guardian and is responsible for his charges: The Imam (ruler) of the people is a guardian and is responsible for his subjects; a man is the guardian of his family (household) and is responsible for his subjects; a woman is the guardian of her husband's home and of his children and is responsible for them; and the slave of a man is a guardian of his master's property and is responsible for it. Surely, everyone of you is a guardian and responsible for his charges."
Now tell me, why is there a death penalty for muslims who convert to any other religion?
That's a tall order...
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