Posted on 10/01/2006 5:29:50 AM PDT by TexKat
BAGHDAD (AFP) - The Iraqi government has showed first-ever video images of Al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, and said his capture was imminent.
"I can say we are very close to Abu Ayyub al-Masri and we say to him your days are numbered," said Iraqi National Security Advisor Muwaffaq al-Rubaie Sunday.
The insurgent training video, screened at a media conference broadcast live on state television, showed the bespectacled successor of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi describing how to make a bomb.
Rubaie cited Iraqi security operations around the country for his optimism the Al-Qaeda chief will imminently be snared.
He singled out the tribes of western province of Anbar for their efforts against Al-Qaeda.
ROTFLMAO!!!
Ohh, I see t-shirt slogan possibilities for that one!
I hope vacation was perfect. And Iraq a little better than when you left it.
I have the Texans on my football card this week. Just a cockeyed optimist, I guess!
Stay well!
The IZ is a fortress and appears to be pretty secure. But there's always that chance. I know what you mean about Balad...we had the same concerns when we were at Taji and occasionally bad people did get on the base there. Fortunately, they were always caught before they could do anything.
One yahoo was caught talking on his cell phone during a mortar attack on the chow hall at Taji (those were frequent but they always missed.) One mortar had just come in and they caught this idiot saying "aim the next one HIGHER" in Arabic on his cell phone. He was promptly arrested.
So, there's always that chance, and they've pulled stuff at the checkpoints but haven't managed to get into the IZ yet.
Fingers remain crossed! ;-)
Tell me about it. LOL When I arrived back yesterday, I said "Good grief...didn't I just leave here like two days ago?"
It was GREAT, though. ;-)
Oh, Ya!
These kind of advanced warnings are ALWAYS helpful in catching the bad guy..../sarc.
You must be. LOL
I went to two games when I was home and they just looked ABYSMAL.
Oh, well...first pick in the draft again this year? ;-)
All the T's need do is unleash Sam Gado.
I doubt it can tip him off to anything, and I think it is good PR for the world stage -- Iraqi government good guys versus al Qaeda bad guys.
Nothing like looking on the bright side! :-)
"So, there's always that chance, and they've pulled stuff at the checkpoints but haven't managed to get into the IZ yet."
One of my pals was outside the local national labor gate when a dude pulled up and started pulling a bunch of AKs from his back seat. The guards smacked him down hard and fast, my pal said he was so stunned by the brazenness of it that he just stood there like a dummy.
Those local national kids (the teen laborers) made me a bit nervous, I always wondered how much the jihadis would pay them for pacing distances.
All the more so after a mortar round was placed directly on the wall of our HQ building 100 feet from my office, and people were working there (4:30AM). Fortunately no one was hurt.
Lets see how this plays out. It's an intriguing move for the Iraqi government to make this sort of pre-capture statement. Several reasons come quickly to mind, but they'd only be valid reasons if the Iraqi government follows through and delivers him.
I can say this much, though: their announcement above will spook major financial donors from sending any money into Iraq for him in the near future. That would be like buying a Vegas condo in a building scheduled for demolition tomorrow.
"In a very short time, we will bring you the good news of Abu Ayyub al-Masri either killed or handcuffed to be brought before the Iraqi justice system," al-Rubaie said, then added, addressing al-Masri, "Your days are numbered and you will face your fate very soon." http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,216918,00.html
I wonder what the strategy is behind announcing this and giving up the element of surprise
Two possibilities: (1) trigger some paranoid purges, which will make it easier to get to him, or (2) convince his allies that the time to switch sides and cut a deal is now.
TEXANS WIN!!!!!!!
Very happy to see your posts here earlier(not here but ME live). I guess you saw while you were home that the press has declared defeat over there already. Of course you already knew that. What did your friends think of the situation, are they buying it? Anyway glad to see you are safely back in-country and pray you stay that way-safely.
Hopefully this news hasnt gotten over to the DU(h). That's where the enemy goes for its talking points and would hate for him to learn he's about to be captured and then somehow get away just in time.
I would think he could have read the handwriting on the wall. He should have know it was only a matter of time.
I would think he will try to make his capture as dramatic as possible.
If they DO capture the SOB, (and I'm not going to hold my breath) I hope they just shoot him on the spot. We don't need another ridiculous Saddam-type trial.
(suggestion for Iraqis:)
Come to think of it, just drag Saddam out and shoot him too. Y'all can practice rule-of-law mumbo jumbo after you're better established. Right now you need swift justice.
Probably already happened. Announced this way to catch a few scurrying underlings.
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