Sep 18 2009

Taking Down al Qaeda One Thug At A Time

Contrary to the liberal hand wringing in DC, there are a lot of indications we will finally destroy al Qaeda and the Taliban hold in Northern Pakistan and Southern Afghanistan – basically the lawless areas neither country has ever had control of. Indications are the human aid we are applying to the region to educate the people, provide infrastructure and provide medical care is paying off. Slowly.

But on top of that the key radical leaders in the region are being picked off as their tiny plot of sanctuary is being swept by the Paks to the south and NATO/Afghans to the north. Today the US Drones supporting the Paks bagged a couple of key targets:

Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan, and Peshawar, Pakistan — A missile fired by a U.S. drone killed a top Al Qaeda operations chief and two other militant commanders in the volatile North Waziristan region, Pakistani military and intelligence sources said Thursday.

The killing of Ilyas Kashmiri, who headed Al Qaeda’s paramilitary operations in his native Pakistan, is the latest in a series of successful strikes against Al Qaeda and Taliban militants in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.

In August, a drone strike in South Waziristan killed Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mahsud, the country’s most-wanted militant, who was accused of engineering suicide bombings of civilian and military targets. U.S. drone strikes have killed several other prominent Al Qaeda militants in recent years.

There have been reports on how badly al Qaeda is fairing under the barrage, for example these recollections of al Qaeda from volunteers from Europe:

The meeting was tense. The six recruits, from immigrant communities in France and Belgium, had decided to confront their al-Qaida handler. Before leaving their homes, they had watched al-Qaida videos on the internet and seen massed battalions of mujahideen training on assault courses, exciting ambushes and inspiring speeches by Osama bin Laden.

Now they had spent months in Pakistan’s rugged frontier zones and had done nothing more than basic small arms training, some physical exercise and religious instruction.

They had been deceived, they complained to the Syrian militant looking after them. The videos had lied.

Their handler was unapologetic. The flashy videos were a “trick” that served a dual purpose, he told them, “to intimidate enemies and to attract new recruits – propaganda.”

This was a while back, before the forces of good had surrounded these animals and started cleaning them out of their hidey holes.

Al Qaeda is still dangerous, as the recent raids here in the US have shown. And one does need to applaud our young President for keeping the NSA-FISA changes in place which Bush enacted after 9-11, and which have kept us safe from another attack. I am sure those very resources had a huge part to play in sniffing out this latest plot of mass murder.

But the violence always escalates near the end. It happened in World War II, Iraq and many other places. The rising death toll means, sadly, engagement and progress. The radical Islamists are now seen more as an enemy of Islam than its future, even in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the movement was born. That is a testament to President Bush’s efforts. And as long as President Obama doesn’t lose his nerve or backbone, he too can share in the victory over al Qaeda and the Taliban.

5 responses so far

5 Responses to “Taking Down al Qaeda One Thug At A Time”

  1. kathie says:

    Found at FREEREPUBLIC. GOOD WORK AJ

    Iran: Clashes in Tehran as opposition defies regime warnings (they are back)
    09/18/2009 2:11:01 AM PDT · by TigerLikesRooster · 7 replies · 245+ views
    The Times (UK) ^ | 09/18/09 | Philippe Naughton
    Clashes in Tehran as opposition defies regime warnings Philippe Naughton Clashes broke out on the streets of Tehran today as tens of thousands of Iranians marched in favour of the opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, defying government warnings and a heavy police presence at an annual rally to show solidarity with the Palestinians. The demonstrators carried accessories in green, the signature colour of Mr Mousavi’s election campaign, for what was the first demonstration in two months against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s contested re-election in June. But the protest soon sparked violence as fistfights broke out with Ahmadinejad loyalists.

  2. Frogg1 says:

    Obama has taken some actions that I think are big mistakes (and sme may even put our troops in bigger danger); but, on the whole….Obama’s actions on Afghanistan and Iraq have been strong. In addition, I think I read recently that although he complained about the Patriot Act as Senator…..he wants it renewed as President.

    I hope Obama can stand up against the left wing on this issue. I hope he can convince the American people to continue support these necessary efforts also. So far he seems to be a continuatin of Bush’s policies (and even trying to improve upon them). So far he seems to be listening to our military Commanders. I’ll do what I can to support Obama on the Afghan/Iraq/GWOT/Oversees Contingency Operation front.

  3. Frogg1 says:

    Kathie, if you are interested…..The Guardian is live blogging the Qods Protest in Iran (frequent reports of activities, video, pics, etc)…..it is a massive crowd:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2009/sep/17/iran-protests-quds-day

  4. KauaiBoy says:

    Thanks for the update on this. The only reports we see in the MSM are that support for the war is waning. I can’t believe that for a second but see it as “the media isn’t interested in covering excuse” as it might validate Pres Bush decisions there and elsewhere. This war will require the patience of a lifetime as history has shown in that part of the world and Afghanistan in particular. But the more coverage that gets out, the less “isolated and remote” the tribal areas get. We should have used the geograghy better to our advantage in squeezing Iran (or just reminding them that we have bigger guns on both their western and eastern borders).

  5. Toes192 says:

    You people need to read Michael Yon’s blog… By a mile the best reporter & analyst of Afthanistan… Embedded on his own dime…
    .
    http://www.michaelyon-online.com/