Posted on 08/04/2013 6:20:24 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Remember when, two years ago, unnamed US counterterrorism and intelligence officials claimed that there are only two top al Qaeda leaders left in Pakistan? We do. Now, it seems that US Secretary of State John Kerry actually believes this, and told a Pakistani news channel that the US drone strikes could end "very, very soon" as "we have eliminated most of the threat." From The New York Times:
Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that the United States had made significant headway in its drone campaign and that he hoped the strikes in Pakistan could end shortly.
"I believe that we're on a good track," Mr. Kerry said in an interview on Pakistani television. "I think the program will end as we have eliminated most of the threat and continue to eliminate it."
Asked if the United States had a "timeline" for ending the drone strikes in Pakistan, Mr. Kerry said: "Well, I do. And I think the president has a very real timeline, and we hope it's going to be very, very soon." But he did not specify what the timeline was, and a State Department statement issued later said, "Today, the secretary referenced the changes that we expect to take place in that program over the course of time, but there is no exact timeline to provide."
We here at The Long War Journal have argued numerous times that while US drones have killed some of al Qaeda's top leaders, the US has nowhere near "eliminated most of the threat" that the group presents. The drones have focused only on the very tip of al Qaeda's spear -- the leaders and operatives based in North and South Waziristan. The problem is that al Qaeda has an extensive network in Pakistan: just look at where Osama bin Laden was killed (Abbottabad), or where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, Ramzi Bin al Shibh, Abu Faraj al Libi, Younis al Mauritani, and Umar Patek were captured (Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Karachi, Mardan, Quetta, and Abbottabad, respectively.)
Additionally, over the last 12 years al Qaeda has tapped into the plethora of Pakistani and Central Asian jihadist groups to replace leaders killed in drone strikes. We've documented numerous times the incestuous relationships between al Qaeda and groups such as the Taliban and the Haqqani Network, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Turkistan Islamic Party, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, and Harkat-ul-Muhajideen. Often it is difficult to distinguish where one begins and the other ends.
Just like the claims by US officials for three years straight that there are only 50 to 100 al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan, the claim that al Qaeda is all but defeated in Pakistan is preposterous. Serious Pakistan watchers should recognize that Kerry's statement is both unserious and unhelpful.
Then why is Warren Weinstein, my friend, still being held hostage, Horse Face?
Then why isn’t Pakistan a quarantined radiation zone?
Islam is the predominant religion in Pakistan. So horse face’s statement is patent nonsense.
May we outlast.... Obama. KERRY and the rest of those dopes.
so few terrorists so many embassy closings.
the math just doesnt work!
Secretary Kerry, why the long face?
See the sidebar at the Home page for LWJ.
He’s nuts, and completely unqualified.
This guy Kerry is so full of bull shyt
The why does Pakistan’s ISI and numerous terrorist groups supported by it still exist?
the Allowed Lie of Islam......
hes taken to it like a fish to water.
WIAT..now hes never been particularly keen on telling the truth has he?
John Kerry..The WInter Bonehead
I forgot. Sorry.
Who told him this? He/She should be fired. They just want to make Kerry look like the fool he is.
So says the “Christmas in Cambodia” warrior..
Kerry is going to develop an allergy to leather for the amount of times his shoe is stuck in his mouth.
I do believe this is what Juan Williams based his argument on when Bill Christopher said Obama was wrong about defeating Al Qaeda...Juan is such an apologist - after Hillary and Obama’s insulting foreign policies in the Mid-East have caused Al-Qaeda rising as never before...Kerry and Rice cannot be believed.
It’s that Vietnamese piece of rice in his brain.
Gee, really John?? Thank God the media is doggedly demanding specifics...(oh, wait.)
Has anyone detected a pull-string in the back of Kerry's suit?
How many millions does FOX News pay Juan Williams to be a mouthpiece and Hillary for 0bama?
Kerry, ...just for when the world needs another idiot besides Biden.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.