Perhaps this is just part of that filthy propaganda campaign the WaPo notes the US has launched against al Qaeda’s number one in-country liason to the Iraqi freedom fighters—and considering the source, it seems likely it is, “right”-leaning media being incapable of doing anything other than Karl Rove’s bidding—but just in case, let me give it quick link and let you all decide. From the Washington Times, “Zarqawi, al Qaeda are heading out, U.S. general says”:
Al Qaeda in Iraq and its presumed leader, Abu Musab Zarqawi, have conceded strategic defeat and are on their way out of the country, a top U.S. military official contended yesterday.
The group’s failure to disrupt national elections and a constitutional referendum last year “was a tactical admission by Zarqawi that their strategy had failed,” said Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, who commands the XVIII Airborne Corps.
“They no longer view Iraq as fertile ground to establish a caliphate and as a place to conduct international terrorism,” he said in an address at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Gen. Vines’ statement came as news broke that coalition and Iraqi forces had killed an associate of Osama bin Laden’s during an early morning raid near Abu Ghraib about two weeks ago.
Rafid Ibrahim Fattah aka Abu Umar al Kurdi served as a liaison between terrorist networks and was linked to Taliban members in Afghanistan, Pakistani-based extremists and other senior al Qaeda leaders, the military said yesterday.
In the past six months, al Kurdi had worked as a terrorist cell leader in Baqouba. Prior to that, he had traveled extensively Pakistan, Iran and Iraq and formed a relationship with al Qaeda senior leaders in 1999 while in Afghanistan.
He also had ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, formed while he was in Iran and Pakistan, and joined the jihad in Afghanistan in 1989, the military said. He was killed March 27.
Gen. Vines said the foreign terrorists had made a strategic mistake when they tried to intimidate and deny Iraqis a way to vote.“I believe Zarqawi discredited himself with the Iraqi people because of his willingness to slaughter Iraqi people,” he said.
Huthayafa Azzam, whose father was seen as a political mentor of bin Laden, told reporters in Jordan in early April that Zarqawi had been replaced as head of the terrorist fight in Iraq in an effort to put an Iraqi at the head of the organization.
Azzam said Zarqawi had “made many political mistakes,” including excessive violence and the bombing last November of a Jordanian hotel, and as a result was being “confined to military action.”
Gen. Vines, who from January 2005 to January 2006 led all coalition forces in Iraq, did not comment on those reports. But he did caution that although the foreign extremists were leaving Iraq “looking for more fertile ground,” they could come back.
Of course, other generals (now retired) are insisting that the war has been mismanaged and is a disaster, and have been calling for the head of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who has been working on restructuring the military into more of a rapid-strike force. He has also called for base closings, the cancellation of certain weapons systems dear to many in the military brass, and has hinted at the movement of overseas bases out of “Old European” countries—suggesting that some of the criticisms leveled against him could be political in nature.
So. I’ll leave it to you all to decide where you’d like to place your chips.
****
McQ has additional thoughts on the class of dissenting generals. See also, In from the Cold (h/t Ray)
It could well be that Al Queda believes that we are on the road to an invasion of Iran and that they have decided to move there to set up operations before we pull the plug. Or maybe Karl Rove simply released them from their contract as their services are no longer needed in Iraq. Bwa ha ha ha!
This is all fine and good, and I certainly don’t want to sell this event, if true, short. But my concern is, what next? Where are they going, and how are we keeping track of them and keeping the pressure on? Not to find the cloud around the silver lining, but we need to make sure they don’t slip away into the night. The only good terrorist is a dead terrorist. We’ve been able to assure ourselves, and them, of that by fighting them in Iraq. How do we keep taking the fight to them?
And, this is a blessing for the Iraqis. I certainly don’t want to sound like I’d rather we keep sacrificing them to the al Qaeda fascists in order to keep us safe. I just want to make sure we follow up on this development the right way.
When I first read this, I thought you were referring to our national elections. If you remember, they did try. Boy, was it lame! OBL and the O.C. goatboy released tapes. And, there was some other crap they tried to pull which I can’t even remember now.
In from the Cold has a rundown on the former Generals and potential reasons they would have to be on the “outs” with Rumsfeld.
Must be all them damned ‘murkins. That, and the rest of the Muslims shooting back at ‘em.
Prediction: actus and Mona will be totally unimpressed.
C’mon Noah, Mona sat next to some dude on a freakin airplane who told her the straight dope.
Why should she listen to a mouthpiece of the fascist Bush administration?
Altho, after she consults with Glenn “Hope my book sells reeaaalll well” Greenwald, I’m sure she’ll just say that Al Q is leaving Iraq b/c they’ve won.
NukemHill…from what I understand its fairly easy to slip out (or in except recently from Syria) of Iraq so I wouldn’t count on us catching them.
A guest worker program?
That is worth a “Heh”.
Considering I have literally had my life bet on how the DoD under Rumsfeld was doing, I’ll stack a few $100 chips on the SecDef, thanks very much.
Say, maybe AQ is simply undergoing a periodic rotation, you know, like we do (example, US Forces from OIF II to OIF III). They could be rotating from OIE I* to OGTFOOH 1**
* Operation Iraqi Enslavement
** Operation Get The F$#& Out Of Here
OK. So the Brits shot Admiral Byng “pour encourager les autres”. How many other generals would make public statements doubting the progress of the liberation if oh, say, 10 “former generals” were lined up against the wall of the Pentagon and shot? 1, 2, any? A good guess would feature the number “0”.
Robert Speirs
Don’t worry about the poor homeless terrorists. The 9th circus court has ruled the homeless can’t be arrested. They can come sleep on the streets, that is until Nov/Dec when they all will now freeze to death. That’s one step in eleminating the homeless but there will be plenty of replacements. Hellary has proposed a $20 billion increase in taxes on the oil companies which will immediately be passed down to us. Along with this previous statement by the Weasel we’re about done for: “Two years ago the top Democrat explained the driving philosophy behind her economic policies, telling a San Francisco fund-raiser that when Democrats finally win back the White House, “We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.”
You had better be scared, really scared of this witch, maybe it should have started with a ‘b’.
Amazing!
And the Al Qaeda press never once called it a “quagmire.”
Oh, and Vines either misspoke or was misquoted. The phrase is ”tacit admission” not “tactical admission.”
I can’t wait to hear our patriotic press celebrate this victory!
Rumsfeld…has hinted at the movement of overseas bases out of “Old European†countriesâ€â€suggesting that some of the criticisms leveled against him could be political in nature.
LOL. Rumsfeld can’t even visit Rammstein AFB or he’ll be arrested and charged with war crimes.
Has it occurred to you that maybe Rumsfeld’s policy decisions are personal in nature?
#1. That’s Ramstein. Rammstein is the band.
#2. That’s AB, not AFB. We don’t have AFB’s overseas, only AB’s.
#3. So there’s a warrant for his arrest? Uh, no.
No. But I think your bloviating might be.
Can you say ”casus belli”, folks?
I’d really rather not do that again. OTOH it should be easier this time. Die Wehmacht[1] is a little less scary.
Regards,
Ric
[1]No, I didn’t misspell it. Look it up.
Bist du mit der Troll verscheiden
Leben auf in schlechten Tagen
NEIN!!
NEIN!!
Heh heh. Alles klar…
You see?! YOU SEE?!
MORE jobs lost because of George W. Bush!
Damn him! DAMN HIM, I SAY!
Vote Democrat for full terrorist employment!
Didn’t the insurgency edge him out of the leadership? this is just the follow up.
Of course, I generally believe what zarqawi says.
Jeff, I don’t often disagree with your use of language….but, “dissenting generals”?
I would reserve the term dissenting for those general officers who are still in the service and dissent from policyor plans – most likely by resigning in protest.
What the fellahs that McQ is talking about are doing is more on the order of carping, criticising, kvetching, and so forth.