I knew this'd come in handy again...
Posted on 09/28/2006 11:39:57 AM PDT by TexKat
The new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq said that more than 4,000 foreign insurgents have been killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003.
The claim was made in an audiotape posted on the Internet.
The man speaking on the tape identified himself as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir - also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri - the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, although the voice could not be independently identified.
The Arabic word he used indicated he was speaking about foreigners who joined the insurgency in Iraq, and not coalition troops.
It was believed to be the first major statement from insurgents in Iraq about their losses. The group has announced that al-Masri succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who died in a US airstrike north of Baghdad in June.
On the tape, al-Masri also urged Muslims to make the holy month of Ramadan a "month of holy war."
"I congratulate the Muslim nation on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, the month of jihad (holy war). I ask God to make it a month for honor and victory for Muslims," the voice said.
It also asked explosives experts and nuclear scientists to join his group's holy war against the West.
"The field of jihad (holy war) can satisfy your scientific ambitions, and the large American bases (in Iraq) are good places to test your unconventional weapons, whether biological or dirty, as they call them," he added. (AP)
Also the terrorists are continuing to call for WMDs and encouraging scientists to help them in obtaining biological or nuclear dirty bombs.
Re#17. Yep. Welcome to Free Republic too. Oh, here's an intelligence estimate that the MSM hasn't given much play: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1709084/posts
Thanks TexKat.
4,000 -- a good start. I think this figure is understated though.
If I was him I would be quiet about it. Very poor advertising for new recruits...whoops! I forgot they wanna die.
Next thing we know, al-Murthawi will assert that the world is flat; after all, Saudi teachers taught it, as recently as the 1970s.
What did he do in Vietnam, anyway? He uses his service record to shield himself from criticism, but unlike John Kerry, he won't say anything about his romp in the swamp. For all we know, his tour of duty could have been a desk job in Saigon.
Only 4,000? Dang! I thought for sure our boys had gotten more than that.
From a post on a DU site:
"Murtha, a Marine intelligence officer in Vietnam"
I think you are right. That is also why his decorations are called into question.
I am convinced if we would look hard enough, we would find a time and place where he stated it as fact. I see others have answered the VN question. ;*)
That says "pushing towards civil war". Them democrats say we have been in a civil war for the last couple of years.
Well, the bright side is, some people will find it very appealing, and volunteer to blow up themselves, or feed themselves to the guns. The more of them who do, the fewer of them around, and the more they alienate the supposed pool of recruits. Islam is in its death throes; it is key to keep them at it until they've killed off one another and driven those who lack the zeal away from medieval fascism.
I think that 4,000 is an intentional underestimate -- or only counts those who were in his own organization, ignoring the losses by groups which are not under his control.
Thanks.
Gee, why weren't they stateside pestering us strategically? /s
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