CIA director says secret attacks in Pakistan have hobbled al-Qaeda, page 1

CIA director says secret attacks in Pakistan have hobbled al-Qaeda

www.washingtonpost.com

Aggressive attacks against al-Qaeda in Pakistan's tribal region have driven Osama bin Laden and his top deputies deeper into hiding and disrupted their ability to plan sophisticated operations, CIA Director Leon Panetta said Wednesday.
This Story

So profound is al-Qaeda's disarray that one of its lieutenants, in a recently intercepted message, pleaded with bin Laden to come to the group's rescue and provide some leadership, Panetta said. He credited improved coordination with Pakistan's government and what he called "the most aggressive operation that CIA has been involved in in our history," offering a near-acknowledgment of what is officially a secret war.

"Those operations are seriously disrupting al-Qaeda," Panetta said. "It's pretty clear from all the intelligence we are getting that they are having a very difficult time putting together any kind of command and control, that they are scrambling. And that we really do have them on the run."

(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit on 17-3-2010 by SLAYER69]

I read this story and thought a person could really interpret the release of this information differently for several reason. I'm sure they have their motives. A Signal to somebody letting them know that it's almost go time?

They are talking about the possible capturing of Bin Laden. Personally I think the man is dead. If not dead then he has certainly outlived his usefulness.



www.washingtonpost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 17-3-2010 by SLAYER69]

reply to post by jam321

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Well it seems more and more of "These" types of stories are be released.
Pakistan charges 5 Northern Virginia men in alleged terrorism plot

Authorities in Pakistan filed terrorism charges Wednesday against five Northern Virginia men and, for the first time, outlined an extensive plot that included plans to fight U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and possibly an attack in the United States.
This Story


The men, who lived and grew up in the Alexandria area, were arrested in Pakistan in December. They were each charged with five counts in a special anti-terror court, three of which carry a possible life prison term. Prosecutors say they were in the planning stages of attacks against a Pakistani nuclear plant and an air base and other targets in Afghanistan and "territories of the United States." Defense lawyers said that referred to attacks inside the United States, though the government presented no evidence of such a plot.

reply to post by SLAYER69

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How do they know? This about the 15th time in the past 8 years that al Qaeda has been hobbled, demoralized, stricken or something. These are nothing but PR moves. By definition the group can not be quantified, so how do they know its been "hobbled". Last week its the line that they have expanded to US soil. Today it was also that they have discovered links between Iran and al Qaeda. A month ago it was all about how Yemen was becomming the new breeding ground for them and the month before it was how al Qaeda was largely responsible for the pirates in Somalia. This is nonsense. Al Qaeda is simply some hobgoblin they prop up to one day show the competence of the "war on terror" and the next day how we need to double down on the "war on terror" because of some development in some third world hell hole.

How can you with one breath say its getting better and the next day say its getting worse? You can when you don't know what the hell is going on. Either that or you are being manipulative

reply to post by dolphinfan

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Taken as a whole, it would appear that your post is confirmation that AQ is on the run, and knows not where to alight.

Pakistan... Yemen... Somalia... Iran... you list a veritable rogue's gallery of where they've been reported to be settling in. Facts, however, are otherwise. Al Qaeda means "the Base" in arabic.

THE BASE.

Al Qaeda IS the Base, it isn't "in search of" a base! Study up on Asymmetrical Warfare, and you'll find that activity in the listed areas doesn't imply an attempt to base there. The organization itself is the base, an international base, and won't make the mistake of putting down roots in any one place again very soon, I would think.

Yeah, they've been busy little boys, which is why we've had to chase them all over hell and half of Georgia to run 'em down. You're right, last month it was Yemen, this month Waziristan. Can't seem to get them to stand still and fight like men!

Fact is, we'll have to track them back to each and every rathole they duck into, because of their organizational "structure", or lack thereof, and this will be going on for a good long while yet.

And THAT is only if the generals can pull their heads out of their butts long enough to take a refresher on "asymmetrical warfare", and learn just how it's done. Hint: there won't be any glory or medals to be had if it's done right.

As for he CIA "press release", I'm absolutely certain they've had boots on the ground in Waziristan, as well as other problem areas, for a while now, those boots have been active, and have met with some successes the particulars of which will never get reported. The "we got 'em on the run, boys!" press release, on the other hand, causes me to wonder if there are some funding decisions upcoming... or there could VERY well be another reason for the "press release" entirely, which involves neither funding nor political morale-building.

It could be an indicator that there is some really demoralizing activity in the near offing , for someone.

reply to post by nenothtu

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They are in every country that happens to have some oil/gas/strategic interests, and they are not in the countries that don't.

Thread Update.

A top Al Qaeda trainer and the top Pakistan Al Qaeda leader were killed by two separate drone strikes in Pakistan. Category:

reply to post by SLAYER69

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So, another one(two) bites the dust.

I'm pretty impress with the cooperation of Pakistan as of late. But, I'm still trying to figure out what they got for that cooperation.

Maybe it is just my conspiracy mind rambling. Maybe they really do want to limit the influence of the Taliban and Al-qaeda within their country.

reply to post by nenothtu

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It could be an indicator that there is some really demoralizing activity in the near offing

Or a statement by the CIA is still strong and in the fight after this in January: Al Qaeda Killing 7 CIA Agents

reply to post by jam321

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I'm pretty impress with the cooperation of Pakistan as of late. But, I'm still trying to figure out what they got for that cooperation.
Maybe it is just my conspiracy mind rambling. Maybe they really do want to limit the influence of the Taliban and Al-qaeda within their country.

My assessment is that Al Qaeda's influence overall is considerably diminished at this time. Several reasons:
-Al Qaeda no longer is capable of carrying out operations on an international scale like 9-11 or the rail attack in Spain.
-Todays attacks are acts of desperation like market bombings in northern Pakistan and one man operations like Fort Hood. These type operations require little organized education, foreign travel or operational camps in Yemen, Iraque, Afganistan, etc.
-recent successes by the CIA and others against al Qaeda has decentralized its operation and cut off its head. Al Qaeda no longer calls for major operations but encourages targets of opportunity locally, a far cry from its operations of even a few years ago.

The upshot is that we can expect more of the same lone wolf operations in the future and can prepare for them. The terrorists will be less well trained, more difficult to spot but more amateurish and brazen like the underwear bomber at Detroit.

Someone stated earlier that the era of the terrorist seems to be drawing to close and there are signs that this is true. By my assessment it will be another decade yet as al Qaeda can operate in its present protracted state for a long time and its religious fervor remains high.

Here is an interesting read I just came across.

India: No reconciling with Taliban, only 'reintegration'

US analyst Lisa Curtis of Brookings Institution warned last week, "While reintegration of insurgents into the mainstream democratic process is indeed part of any wise counterinsurgency strategy, it is necessary to distinguish this process from one that would legitimize the Taliban's ruthless ideology. ...Seeking to negotiate with the Taliban leadership (primarily based in Pakistan) before US and NATO forces gain the upper hand on the battlefield in Afghanistan would be a tactical and strategic blunder with potential serious negative consequences for US national security."

reply to post by SLAYER69

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Here is another god read.

Afghanistan confirmed for the first time publicly on Tuesday that it had enacted into law a blanket pardon for war crimes and human rights abuse carried out before 2001.

Human rights groups have expressed dismay that the law appeared to have been enacted quietly, granting blanket immunity to members of all armed factions for acts committed during decades of war before the fall of the Taliban.

President Hamid Karzai had promised not to sign the National Stability and Reconciliation Law, when it was passed by parliament in 2007.

Human rights groups say they learned only this year that the bill had been published in the official gazette, making it law.

www.reliefweb.int...

reply to post by SLAYER69

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I think BL is either dead or living great in somewhere like Dubai.

Makes you wonder though if they just couldn't reconstruct someone to look like him then use him for another purpose.. I am sure they could think up some way to use him as propaganda.

Makes me wonder if SH is really dead. That hanging seemed pretty fishy to me with that camera phone.

Well negotiations are beginning.

Stay tuned.

Karzai Meets Afghan Insurgent Delegation

KABUL, Afghanistan — A delegation from one of the most important insurgent groups fighting Afghan and NATO forces met for the first time with President Hamid Karzai on Monday for preliminary discussions on a possible peace plan with the government.

Spokesmen for Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hezb-i-Islami, and President Karzai confirmed the meeting and said the delegation was also meeting with members of the government and leaders of other political movements.

President Karzai is planning a peace jirga, or assembly, for the end of April and is issuing invitations to a number of insurgent groups as well as to representatives of different factions in Parliament and Afghan civil society.

Not all senior officials in Mr. Karzai’s government have fully endorsed negotiations with such prominent enemies as Mr. Hekmatyar. The first vice president, Marshall Muhammad Qasim Fahim, was cautious in an interview on Monday, saying, “We believe in peace and reconciliation, but step by step.”

He said he had not yet seen the Hezb-i-Islami delegation’s peace proposal, but others who were familiar with it said it included a demand for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops.

reply to post by antinwochick

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Some believe that al qaeda is nothing more than a bastard child of the Mujaheddin who the US and West supported against the Soviets. What they have done since well I'll leave that up for speculation.

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