Posted on 11/20/2005 4:28:32 PM PST by Anti-Bubba182
There are rumors circulating in the Middle East concerning the possible death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The rumors originated with the Elaph Arabic-language Web site, were picked up by the Jerusalem Post and now are alive in several venues.
What is known is that the United States attacked a location in Mosul in which eight individuals were reported killed and burned beyond recognition.[snip...
That al-Zarqawi would be in Mosul, far to the north of Baghdad, is plausible -- an almost constant series of U.S.-led offensives against insurgents in Anbar province have made places like Ar Ramadi, Al Fallujah, and Al Hadithah dangerous for high-value targets like the jihadist network leader. In addition, a fierce and desperate firefight would be characteristic of efforts by his entourage to defend al-Zarqawi. As it became apparent that capture was imminent, it is plausible that al-Zarqawi would choose suicide as an alternative.[snip]...
....[snip] ...[snip]. The last thing the United States is going to do at this point is claim al-Zarqawi's head, only to have to withdraw the claim when a tape by him surfaces. U.S. President George W. Bush can't afford that. Therefore we would not expect confirmation for a while.
The intelligence therefore is this: There are unconfirmed rumors from multiple sources in the Middle East that al-Zarqawi was killed in a raid by U.S. forces in Mosul. This report cannot be verified but it is not, in our view, quite as fantastic as some of the other rumors that have surfaced about his death and those of other jihadists in recent years. Given the timing, it is an intriguing report and we will be watching for other evidence.
(Excerpt) Read more at stratfor.com ...
Our governments official position is that it is highly unlikely that he was killed.
Any thoughts?
Ya know, this will only hurt you and your cause in the next (American) election. Please pass this great info along...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1525818/posts.
Highly unlikely..doubts...
> Our government's official position is that it is
> highly unlikely that he was killed.
Yep. Just hit.
US doubts al-Zarqawi died in gunfight
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1525818/posts
MEG how long would it take to get results?
If we were 100% positive we would not announce it until whatever intel that exists could be followed up on.
I hope this is the White House's position until they know for certain it is him. What a great Thanksgiving Day gift it would be for our troops and the Iraqi people.
Spose the Iraqis like turkey and sweet potato pie?
I'd also heard on FNC that his family/tribe had formally disowned him for the bombings in Jordan. I hope that the report of his death is true and that he is truely being tormented by Satan in He##!
That is all the White House Spokesman said, but the article also said.
""Efforts are under way to determine whether Zarqawi was among those killed," the US official, in Washington said, speaking on condition of anonymity."
The way the incident went down is consistant with actions to protect a high value player from being captured and to destroy as much evidence as possible. I don't think Trent Duffy can be as certain as he sounds.
Weeks?
We will know in the next couple days I suspect if he has been killed.
I know....but I can't take this waiting.
Duffy is certain that reports that Z is dead are wrong because we don't KNOW yet.
There really isn't anywhere safe for him to be - Mosul is a city of millions, and is no more or less safe for him than Baghdad or Ramadi. It's safe to assume he's hiding in a Sunni area, but he could be anywhere within them. There are advantages and disadvantages to any place he chooses to operate in.
Large cities are easy to hide in, but neighbors could rat you out. Still, in the right neighborhood you could all but disappear.
Distant farmhouses are safe because they're remote, but anything you do will attract attention that leaves you no where to run.
Remember, AMZ isn't a figurehead like Bin Laden - he's still in the game. He can't just duck out and hide in a cave. He's got to be accessible to his lieutenants on a regular basis. Mosul is as likely a place as any for him to be running operations out of. All he needs are a few safehouses to conduct meetings at. A safehouse on the outskirts of a large city would be ideal. We are putting a lot of pressure on Mosul, but that's no different than the pressure we're dropping on places from Baghdad to Al Qaim.
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