The U.S. command announced on Wednesday the arrest of an al-Qaida leader it said served as the link between the organization’s command in Iraq and Osama bin Laden’s inner circle, enabling it to wield considerable influence over the Iraqi group.
The announcement was made as the White House steps up efforts to link the war in Iraq to the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, with a growing number of Americans opposing the Iraq conflict. Some independent analysts question the extent of al-Qaida’s role in Iraq.
Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani was the highest- ranking Iraqi in the al-Qaida in Iraq leadership when he was captured July 4 in Mosul, U.S. military spokesman Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner said.
Bergner told reporters that al-Mashhadani carried messages from bin Laden, and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri, to the Egyptian-born head of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
“There is a clear connection between al-Qaida in Iraq and al-Qaida senior leadership outside Iraq,” Bergner said.
He said al-Mashhadani had told interrogators that al-Qaida’s global leadership provides “directions, they continue to provide a focus for operations” and “they continue to flow foreign fighters into Iraq, foreign terrorists.”
what a stunt – he was arrested 2 weeks
the politicization of this war by Bush Regime demeans the valiant efforts of men & women who are putting their lives at risk
It is normal to keep the capture of top enemies quiet so any info can be obtained and to use it against the enemy without them knowing of the caoture.
Bob Carlton, I am afraid that last remark was quite naive. To make an arrest of that high level, certain operatives are exposed and need to be removed from threat. Hence, the announcements of arrests such as these are usually delayed.
All war is “politicized”. Von Clauswitz called war the ultimate diplomacy. If wars are not fought to achieve political ends (that is, the declared objectives of the nation) they decend to the level of armed banditry.
A step in the right direction. Never, never, never, never give up. These people want you to become devout fundamentalist Muslims, or they will kill you. And that is not up for discussion. Sorry, Bob. But that is the truth. The so-called “moderate” Muslims, whoever they are, won’t stop them. So we must.
Even good news is presented as something bad, by those suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome, as in Comment #1.
wilfred, time to update your far right columnist talking points
Peggy Noonan, sainted speechwriter of Reagan, officially declared Bush Derangement Syndrome over in Saturday’s WSJ. W stickers everywhere are being scrapped off gas-guzzlers.
somewhere, Charles Krauthammer is returning to private practice in Brookline
Is that what they told you on Daily Kos, or was it DemocraticUnderground?
nope alli b, it was that far left rag, the wall street journal
Bob, by your logic if Kos decided he liked Bush, you’d have to as well. Perhaps you think only what you are told by pundits on your side of the fence, but that is rarely true on either side. Let’s try moving the level of discourse up to, say, 11 year old level, shall we? I grow tired of 3rd grade.
Alli B: “Is that what they told you on Daily Kos, or was it DemocraticUnderground?”
Bob: “nope alli b, it was that far left rag, the wall street journal”
We need to clarify: The information came from the Wall Street Journal. The SPIN is straight out of Kos/DemocraticUnderground.
andrew 717, my frustration with Mr. Bush predates Kos or t1:9 for that matter.
I saw him many times when we lived in the same neighborhood in dallas – I attended many campaign stops when he ran for governor in 1994 – heck, he even knew my wife’s uncle’s name by sight
so glad, tho, that many have expressed concern
I don’t trust any of our news papers and little of TV news. A fellow I met returned from Iraq and lived in a house in a small town outside of Bagdad. He was there 8 months and lived and worked with the Iraq people. During that time schools opened, the power grid improved, police improved, sewer system was up graded. There were two minor car bombings. CNN showed up for the car bombings. This fellow believes the war in Iraq was a mixed bag but not a total loss. Right now we have an excellent economy, low unemployment, low inflation rate, head way is being made in shutting down the North Korean atomic weapons program. Militants in Afganistan are recruiting teenagers, ussually a sign of desperation. Over all I don’t think Bush is doing a bad job. The press just doesn’t pass on the good stuff. Bush isn’t articulate enough to bypass the press the way Reagan did.
It’s a stunt, pure and simple. We arrested “Al-Qaida In Iraq’s Number 2 Man” at least four times.
YEAH! GO U.S.!!!
#14, each time we arrested the #2 or even the #1 man of al Qaida in Iraq, they were of course repleced by one lower on the food chain.
We keep it up and pretty soon, their ability to be effective degrades as the quality of those in charge degrades.
As far as #1 is concerned, your statement is from a purely civilian perspective and has no meaning or value in the field. #2 & #3 answered correctly. You get what info you can from the bad guy while that info is still tactically viable and while you make safe your own assets involved in the capture.
As usual, Bob, you’re off base and completely wrong. Personally, I’m pleased to see others identify your Kosian tendencies as well.
Peggy Noonan’s misguided pronouncement of the end of BDS is as off the mark as the NAACP’s funeral for the “N” word. Laughable, but hardly remarkable, that you would even give it credence.
Oh, and one more thing: it’s still not a Regime, Kos…er, Bob. It’s still the duly elected President of the United States.