Iraq Foils Plot to Put {421 al-Qaida} Terrorists at Posts {around Green Zone}

Yahoo/AP ^ | 03/14/06 | BASSEM MROUE

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi interior minister said Tuesday that authorities had foiled an al-Qaida plot that would have put hundreds of its men at critical guard posts around Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, home to the U.S. and other foreign embassies as well as the Iraqi government.

A senior Defense Ministry official said the 421 al-Qaida fighters were actually recruited to storm the U.S. and British embassies and take hostages. Several ranking Defense Ministry officials have been jailed in the plot, the official said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

Interior Minister Bayan Jabr, in an interview with The Associated Press, said the 421 al-Qaida recruits were one bureaucrat's signature away from acceptance into an Iraqi army battalion whose job is to control the gates and main squares in the Green Zone. The plot was discovered three weeks ago.

"You can imagine what could happen to a minister or an ambassador while passing through these gates when those terrorists are there," Jabr said in the interview conducted at his office inside the Green Zone — a 2-square-mile hunk of prime real estate on the west bank of the Tigris River. The area is a maze of concrete blast walls, concertina wire and checkpoints.

The Defense Ministry official said the plot was uncovered by the military intelligence and the General Intelligence department that works under the government.

The Green Zone has been attacked in the past with mortar rounds and rockets. A number of car bombs driven by suicide attackers have been detonated in the past two years at the entrances, killing scores of people.

On Oct. 14, 2004, two al-Qaida members carried out a suicide attack inside the zone, hitting a market and a cafe. Six people were killed, including four Americans, and 20 people were

[ASA Vet]

MI Ping

And once again good intel saves the day.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

What's the Airport problem?

[Sthitch]

In some ways a Tet might be welcome. The resounding defeat suffered by the Viet Cong during the Tet Offensive destroyed their ability to effectively operate. After Tet most of the fighting was being conducted by the North Vietnamese. A battle that would result in the elimination of several hundred AQ fighters would likely have welcome results.

[Chena]

If this news is true, I am furious that this isn't being reported in the MSM! Stay safe and be ever so vigilant, Allegra. Hopefully we'll hear more about this before day's end.

[Chena]

Important post. Thank you. BTTT

[Tulsa Ramjet]

"May have just dodged a "Tet"."

Year of the Dung beetle.

[Physicist]

What has become of the 421 Al Qaeda fighters?

[Allegra]

American government contractors can't leave Iraq right now unless it's an emergency. An explosive device was found in someone's luggage at Baghdad Airport the other day that was obviously planted there. It was a cigarette pack loaded with explosives but no detonator.

They're investigating this and in the meantime, none of us are allowed to leave unless we go through Kuwait by military air (I used to have to do that in my early days. It sucked.)

So we're all saying "Get the freakin' AIRPORT OPEN!"

[Allegra]

In some ways a Tet might be welcome.

I suppose that depends on one's perspective.

It wouldn't be very welcome to us.

[ASA Vet]

The resounding defeat suffered by the Viet Cong during the Tet Offensive

The CommieRAT propaganda branch (aka MSM) will portray this as a lose somehow, just as they did Tet.

[MikeA]

Tet was the analogy that came to my mind too. This would have been worse in terms of infiltrating American safe zones than Tet was since it was mainly the US embassy that was breached in terms of American symbols in Vietnam.

I am convinced it is only the prayers of good Americans for our troops and this war effort that prevented a disaster from occuring here.

[bnelson44]

This is vendetta killings. We should expect it. IMHO, they are a long time coming.

[Allegra]

What has become of the 421 Al Qaeda fighters?

I hope they'll soon be seen "hanging around" Baghdad.

[reformedliberal]

The American people never knew, at the time, that we had been victorious during the Tet Offensive. It was the turning point in US opinion that lost the VN war at home, thanks to the media.

Watched Rumsfeld and Pace at a presser this afternoon and every question was about the casualties of the past few days and *civil war*. The media is anxious for some huge attack and one in the Green Zone that implicated the Iraqi government and security forces would have been just the ticket for them.

IMO, this is not being publicized here because it wasn't successful and shows that Iraqi Intelligence is doing a good job.

[blam]

Great. Significant discovery.

[reformedliberal]

The American people never knew, at the time, that we had been victorious during the Tet Offensive. It was the turning point in US opinion that lost the VN war at home, thanks to the media.

Watched Rumsfeld and Pace at a presser this afternoon and every question was about the casualties of the past few days and *civil war*. The media is anxious for some huge attack and one in the Green Zone that implicated the Iraqi government and security forces would have been just the ticket for them.

IMO, this is not being publicized here because it wasn't successful and shows that Iraqi Intelligence is doing a good job.

[reformedliberal]

ACK! The dreaded double post! How did that happen?

[bnelson44]

Big question I have is what are they doing to keep this from happening again?

[Allegra]

If this news is true, I am furious that this isn't being reported in the MSM! Stay safe and be ever so vigilant, Allegra. Hopefully we'll hear more about this before day's end.

Thank you.

Your day's end will be my morning. I imagine we'll get the scoop then. We sure haven't heard anything yet. It's around 10:30 p.m. now and everyone's scattered off in different places. But my security radio hasn't even squawked an "ALCON" message.

Strange.

[demkicker]

This was discovered using some damn good sophisticated intelligence. I'm surprised the press isn't pissed off that some terrorists are being monitored without their knowledge. After all, terrorists have privacy rights too!