Al-Qaeda virtually beaten in Iraq, says CIA

[QueEx]

<font size="5"><center>Al-Qaeda virtually beaten in Iraq, says CIA</font size></center>

The Times (London)
May 31, 2008

The CIA has declared that al-Qaeda is virtually defeated in Iraq and that the country is seeing its lowest level of violence for four years.

Nineteen US military personnel have died in Iraq this month, according to the Pentagon, making May the least deadly month for US troops since the beginning of the war.

The deadliest month for US troops was May 2007, when 126 died as the insurgency in Baghdad raged.

The main reason for the drop in violence, which has also seen a big decline in Iraqi civilian deaths, is a ceasefire by the Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose forces have been directly confronted by US and Iraqi troops for over a month.

Rear Admiral Patrick Driscoll, a US spokesman, said violent incidents in Iraq were down 70 per cent since President Bush ordered a “surge” of 35,000 extra troops into the country last year.

In April, 75 Iraqi civilians, soldiers and police were killed, the lowest level since November 2004.

The relative calm produced by the Shia ceasefire has coincided with what the CIA is now calling the “near strategic defeat” of al-Qaeda in Iraq, and a growing rejection of the group's murderous ideology across the Middle East.

Michael Hayden, the CIA director, speaking to the Washington Post, said the terrorist group was essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and had suffered “significant setbacks globally as a lot of the Islamic world pushes back on their form of Islam”.

Mr Hayden gave warning that al-Qaeda still posed a serious threat. Such caution appeared justified after two suicide bombers struck in northern Iraq on Thursday, killing a total of 20 people in separate attacks.

The attacks happened near Mosul, which the US military says is the last urban bastion of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article4036172.ece

 

[QueEx]

<font size="3">
And this interesting point from the Wall Street Journal:</font size>

"General Hayden was careful to say the threat continues, and he warned specifically about those in Congress and the media who "[focus] less on the threat and more on the tactics the nation has chosen to deal with the threat." This refers to the political campaign to restrict wiretapping and aggressive interrogation, both of which the CIA director says have been crucial to gathering intelligence that has blocked further terrorist spectaculars that would have burnished al Qaeda's prestige.

One irony here is that Barack Obama is promising a rapid withdrawal from Iraq on grounds that we can't defeat al Qaeda unless we focus on Afghanistan. He opposed the Iraq surge on similar grounds. Yet it is the surge, and the destruction of al Qaeda in Iraq, that has helped to demoralize al Qaeda around the world. Nothing would more embolden Zawahiri now than a U.S. retreat from Iraq, which al Qaeda would see as the U.S. version of the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan.

It is far too soon to declare victory over al Qaeda. Still, Mr. Hayden's upbeat assessment is encouraging, and it suggests that President Bush's strategy of taking the battle to the terrorists is making America safer."​

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121218707586633975.html?mod=opinion_main_review_and_outlooks

 

[kenbgco68]

We've heard this one before. Remember Cheney saying "Al Queda is in its last throes"... a couple of years ago?

Obama didn't say the troops are leaving the same week he gets in. He always said "We'll be as careful getting out as we were getting in." I don't trust shit anything Bush and his people say.

 

[ilikebigbooty]

same people that said there was wmd in iraq????

 

[QueEx]

We've heard this one before. Remember Cheney saying "Al Queda is in its last throes"... a couple of years ago?

Obama didn't say the troops are leaving the same week he gets in. He always said "We'll be as careful getting out as we were getting in." I don't trust shit anything Bush and his people say.

The timing of the CIA statement is curious. I want to think that it wouldn't be into election influencing -- but I am also aware of who appointed its director and that person is supporting John McCain.

On the other hand, Obama seems to suffer from issuing a very broad "Good Sounding" position only to have to narrow it later in the face of an attack by one of his opponents (democrats earlier and McCain now).

I could be mistaken (I don't think so), but Obama did initially issue a broad statement of immediate, if not near immediate, withdrawal. He has since modified that view in the face of attacks by Hillary and John McCain.

When Obama first came out with withdrawal, Iraq was in such a mess that immediate withdrawal sounded good to a lot of people. He failed, however, to hedge (consider that things might change). Just my opinion but I think Obama's positions from the start need to consider how things may change so that it is consistent with the changing facts later, so that he won't continue to look like he's retreating (modifying his statements) in the face others who appear to have a superior handle on foreign affairs).

QueEx

 

[Greed]

Iraq city falls fully into hands of al-Qaida group

Iraq city falls fully into hands of al-Qaida group
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA | Associated Press
11 hrs ago

BAGHDAD (AP) — The city center of Iraq's Fallujah has fallen completely into the hands of fighters from the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State in Iraq and Levant, police said Saturday, yet another victory for the hardline group that has made waves across the region in recent days.

ISIL is also one of the strongest rebel units in Syria, where it has imposed a strict version of Islamic law in territories it holds and kidnapped and killed anyone it deems critical of its rule. Also on Saturday, it claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing in a Shiite-dominated neighborhood in Lebanon.

Hadi Razeij, head of the Anbar province police force, said police had left the city center entirely and had positioned themselves on the edge of town.

"The walls of the city are in the hands of the police force, but the people of Fallujah are the prisoners of ISIL," he said, speaking on Arabic language satellite broadcaster al-Arabiya.

Fallujah, along with the capital of Anbar province, Ramadi, was a stronghold of Sunni insurgents during the U.S.-led war. Al-Qaida militants largely took both cities over last week and have been fending off incursions by government forces there since.

In a speech in Baghdad, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said government forces would press on to clear the province of militants.

"There will be no retreat until we eliminate this gang and rid the people of Anbar of their evil acts," he said. "The people of Anbar asked the government for help, they called us to come to rescue them from terrorists."

Dozens of families were fleeing Fallujah, sheltering in schools in nearby towns, provincial official Dari al-Rishawi told The Associated Press. It appeared there was a shortage of fuel inside the city and that and food prices had doubled because supplies could no longer enter.

Hundreds of ISIL fighters were in the city, he added, mostly armed with heavy mounted machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. On Saturday, Sunni tribesmen seeking to push out ISIL had yet to enter the city.

The U.S. State Department expressed its concern in a statement, saying it would continue to work with Iraqi authorities and tribes allied against ISIL "to defeat our common enemy."

"We are also in contact with tribal leaders from Anbar province who are showing great courage as they fight to eject these terrorist groups from their cities," Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf said.

Government troops, backed by Sunni tribesmen who oppose al-Qaida, have encircled Fallujah for several days, and have entered parts of Ramadi. On Friday, troops bombarded militant positions outside Fallujah with artillery, a military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to release information.

Anbar province, a vast desert area on the borders with Syria and Jordan with an almost entirely Sunni population was the heartland of the Sunni insurgency that rose up against American troops and the Iraqi government after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The insurgency was fueled by anger over the dislodgment of their community from power during Saddam's rule and the rise of Shiites. It was then that al-Qaida established its branch in the country.

Fallujah became notorious among Americans when insurgents in 2004 killed four American security contractors and hung their burned bodies from a bridge. It, Ramadi and other cities remained battlegrounds for the following years, as sectarian bloodshed mounted, with Shiite militias killing Sunnis.

In the end however local tribes managed to defeat the insurgents and the area had been calm for several years.

http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-city-falls-fully-hands-al-qaida-group-194519514.html

 

[SPECTRE1]

Re: Iraq city falls fully into hands of al-Qaida group

Iraq city falls fully into hands of al-Qaida group
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA | Associated Press
11 hrs ago

BAGHDAD (AP) — The city center of Iraq's Fallujah has fallen completely into the hands of fighters from the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State in Iraq and Levant, police said Saturday, yet another victory for the hardline group that has made waves across the region in recent days.

ISIL is also one of the strongest rebel units in Syria, where it has imposed a strict version of Islamic law in territories it holds and kidnapped and killed anyone it deems critical of its rule. Also on Saturday, it claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing in a Shiite-dominated neighborhood in Lebanon.

Hadi Razeij, head of the Anbar province police force, said police had left the city center entirely and had positioned themselves on the edge of town.

"The walls of the city are in the hands of the police force, but the people of Fallujah are the prisoners of ISIL," he said, speaking on Arabic language satellite broadcaster al-Arabiya.

Fallujah, along with the capital of Anbar province, Ramadi, was a stronghold of Sunni insurgents during the U.S.-led war. Al-Qaida militants largely took both cities over last week and have been fending off incursions by government forces there since.

In a speech in Baghdad, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said government forces would press on to clear the province of militants.

"There will be no retreat until we eliminate this gang and rid the people of Anbar of their evil acts," he said. "The people of Anbar asked the government for help, they called us to come to rescue them from terrorists."

Dozens of families were fleeing Fallujah, sheltering in schools in nearby towns, provincial official Dari al-Rishawi told The Associated Press. It appeared there was a shortage of fuel inside the city and that and food prices had doubled because supplies could no longer enter.

Hundreds of ISIL fighters were in the city, he added, mostly armed with heavy mounted machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. On Saturday, Sunni tribesmen seeking to push out ISIL had yet to enter the city.

The U.S. State Department expressed its concern in a statement, saying it would continue to work with Iraqi authorities and tribes allied against ISIL "to defeat our common enemy."

"We are also in contact with tribal leaders from Anbar province who are showing great courage as they fight to eject these terrorist groups from their cities," Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf said.

Government troops, backed by Sunni tribesmen who oppose al-Qaida, have encircled Fallujah for several days, and have entered parts of Ramadi. On Friday, troops bombarded militant positions outside Fallujah with artillery, a military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to release information.

Anbar province, a vast desert area on the borders with Syria and Jordan with an almost entirely Sunni population was the heartland of the Sunni insurgency that rose up against American troops and the Iraqi government after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The insurgency was fueled by anger over the dislodgment of their community from power during Saddam's rule and the rise of Shiites. It was then that al-Qaida established its branch in the country.

Fallujah became notorious among Americans when insurgents in 2004 killed four American security contractors and hung their burned bodies from a bridge. It, Ramadi and other cities remained battlegrounds for the following years, as sectarian bloodshed mounted, with Shiite militias killing Sunnis.

In the end however local tribes managed to defeat the insurgents and the area had been calm for several years.

http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-city-falls-fully-hands-al-qaida-group-194519514.html

Fallen into the hands? I don't know the truth behind some of these stories, I think the people of Iraq want to liberate themselves from the puppet government of the U.S.

They want their oil nationalized and they don't want to elect candidates pre-selected and funded by the U.S.

 

[thoughtone]

source: Washington Post

Kerry says U.S. will help Iraq against al-Qaeda but won’t send troops back in

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, right, listens as Secretary of State John Kerry makes a statement to the press at King Khalid International Airport, on January 5, 2014, in Riyadh.

BEIRUT — Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Sunday that the United States is ready to help Iraq in any way possible as that country began a major offensive to wrest control of two cities from al-Qaeda-linked militants. But he made it clear that no American troops would be sent in.

Kerry described the militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, as “the most dangerous players” in the region. But as Iraqi forces launched airstrikes and clashed with the militants in western Anbar province<!--empty--> on Sunday, Kerry said it was Iraq’s battle to fight.

ISIS, formerly known as al-Qaeda in Iraq but renamed to reflect the group’s growing ambitions, has been extending its influence across Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. It is suffering a backlash in Syria, where it lost ground to rival rebel fighters on Sunday. But the Sunni militants’ gains in Iraq present a critical test for the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

They also leave the Obama administration worried about the renewed force of a militant movement once declared all but vanquished in Iraq.

A string of bombings in the Iraqi capital killed at least 20 people Sunday; although no one asserted responsibility, the attacks appeared linked to the fighting in Anbar. In that strategic province, meanwhile, the militants linked to al-Qaeda fought to retain their grip on the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, which they seized last week .

The Iraqi army had encircled Fallujah on Sunday, poised for an assault. Thousands of residents fled, fearing an onslaught similar to the U.S. military’s 2004 battle for the city, then held by Sunni insurgents. It was the most deadly confrontation of the Iraq war for U.S. forces and some of their bloodiest fighting since the Vietnam War.

Meanwhile, in Ramadi, airstrikes killed 60 ISIS militants late Saturday, Iraq’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Ali Ghaidan Majid, told the National Iraqi News Agency.

According to officials who spoke to the Reuters news agency, fighting on Sunday killed at least 22 soldiers and 12 civilians in Ramadi and left an unknown number of militants dead. Video footage released by the Iraqi Defense Ministry showed late-night strikes on what it said were ISIS vehicles and hideouts.

“This is a fight that belongs to the Iraqis,” Kerry said toward the end of a visit to Jerusalem. “We are not, obviously, contemplating returning. We are not contemplating putting boots on the ground. This is their fight, but we’re going to help them in their fight.”

Kerry didn’t give details of what assistance the United States might provide but said it would do “everything that is possible.” After Maliki appealed in November for more U.S. support in fighting extremists, Washington sent 75 Hellfire missiles and promised to dispatch drones.

Fear and criticism

A local journalist in Fallujah said Sunday that the Iraqi army was shelling militant positions but that civilian areas in the city also had been hit.

“It is back to the same as it was in 2004,” said the journalist, referring to the major U.S. assaults. “Before 2004, there was only one cemetery in Fallujah. Afterwards, there were four cemeteries,” said the journalist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for security reasons. “Now the people fear there will be eight cemeteries.”

Although Fallujah remained under the militants’ control Sunday, their grip on Ramadi appeared to be weakening.

An Iraqi military commander said it would take two to three days to expel militants from the two cities. Lt. Gen. Rasheed Fleih, who leads the Anbar Military Command, told state television that pro-government Sunni tribes are leading the operations while the army is offering aerial cover and logistics on the ground, the Associated Press reported.

The fall of Fallujah to the al-Qaeda-linked group prompted renewed criticism from U.S. lawmakers of the Obama administration, which had planned to leave several thousand American troops in Iraq after the 2011 pullout for training and counterterrorism operations. But the deal fell apart when Iraq’s parliament refused to guarantee the remaining U.S. military personnel immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts.

“The thousands of brave Americans who fought, shed their blood and lost their friends to bring peace to Fallujah and Iraq are now left to wonder whether these sacrifices were in vain,” Republican Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) said in a statement Saturday.

The Syria connection

ISIS’s tightened grip on Anbar gives it a swath of land straddling the Syrian border. “This is a fight that is bigger than just Iraq,” Kerry said Sunday. “The rise of these terrorists in the region, and particularly in Syria and through the fighting in Syria, is part of what is unleashing this instability in the rest of the region.”

But in Syria, the group is under pressure. In recent days, other rebel groups have joined forces to confront ISIS fighters, who include numerous non-
Syrians and have antagonized residents with their brutality.

On Sunday, Syrian rebels were locked in a third day of clashes with ISIS militants, during which the al-Qaeda-linked fighters have been expelled from a slew of towns and villages in the opposition-held north. ISIS pulled out of positions in the Syrian town of Adana, one of its strongholds, activists said. Meanwhile, near the Turkish border, fighting spread to the north-central province of Raqqah, an ISIS stronghold.

“ISIS appears to have sustained serious territorial losses,” said Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. “But much of this, for now, is likely a result of pragmatic withdrawals rather than outright military defeat.”

However, Lister warned, whatever takes place in the coming weeks, ISIS will probably remain in Syria in some form.

“Should it be entirely isolated by all other key fighting groups in Syria, its actions will likely become even more harsh than before,” he said.

The latest fighting occurred just weeks before scheduled Syrian peace negotiations. On Sunday, Kerry for the first time opened the door to Iranian participation in the talks.

Softening the U.S. hard line against any role for Iran if it refuses to endorse the ground rules for the Jan. 22 conference, Kerry suggested that Iran might be able to participate from the sidelines. Iran backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has provided him with weapons and other military help.

“Could they contribute from the sidelines? Are there ways for them conceivably to weigh in?” Kerry asked rhetorically about the Iranians, who oppose the conference’s goal of establishing a transitional government in Syria.

Kerry suggested that Iran’s diplomatic office in Geneva might be able to serve as an unofficial participant.

The U.N. envoy organizing the conference, Lakhdar Brahimi, wants Iran included in the talks, and U.N. officials have suggested that Iran could play an unofficial role.

Although U.S. relations with Iran have improved since the successful early negotiations over the country’s nuclear program last year, the United States remains suspicious of Iran’s foreign-&shy;policy goals in Syria and elsewhere
</ARTICLE>

 

[SPECTRE1]

This is what leads to a terrorist attack in the U.S., announcing that you will take on Al-Qaeda. One of their cells in the U.S. will get a call to wear a vest on a bus or plane after hearing this.

What they should have done is say that they will increase the defense capability of Iraq to deal with threats to the country. This did not need to be announced publicly.


I suspect this was done intentionally to show an on going threat with terrorism to clean up their image about the NSA scandal.