Oct 30 2006
Major Attack On Al Qaeda (Zawahiri) In Pakistan
Update: Time is all worried that by attacking the terrorists, we and other nations fighting to win this war might irritate the enemy and there could be a backlash:
A Pakistani military air strike on a pro-Taliban religious school in the country’s volatile North West Frontier Province has set off a flurry of protest in Pakistan, and threatens to stoke the fires of local insurgency against the central government. It has also raised questions about the target and authors of the assault.
What kind of war are we fighting when the liberal media wrings its silly little hands every time we take the battle to the terrorists? Is this truly the class of thinking Americans want protecting this country? It is clear they have no backbone to protect this country, so I thought I would just ask the obvious question. This is the same kind of rear-end searching that Clinton did every time he had the opportunity to get Bin Laden and save 3,000 people from horrible death. This is the same kind of waffling that led Bin Laden to conclude he could attack us with impunity. And after 5 years without an attack on the US we are preparing to go back to that deadly approach? Who are we kidding besides ourselves?
Major Update – Bumped To Top: As I suspected, the attack on the Madrassa in Pakistan was no minor event. It seems Zawahiri was the target of the attack:
Ayman al Zawahiri was the target of the missile attack this morning on a religious school in Pakistan, according to Pakistani intelligence sources.
ABC News has learned the raid was launched after U.S. intelligence received tips and examined Predator reconnaissance indicating that al Qaeda’s No. 2 man may have been staying at the school, which is located in the Bajaur region near the village that is thought to be al Qaeda’s winter headquarters.
No word yet on whether or not Zawahiri was killed in the raid, but one Pakistani intelligence source did express doubt that Zawahiri would have been staying in a madrassa which is an obvious target for strikes against militants. That source, however, did express confidence that Pakistani intelligence is closing in on Zawahiri’s location.
I felt the number of dead meant a large gathering and therefore a target of serious interest. You want some news that will blow this election wide open? That would be the killing of Zawahiri. We know Al Qaeda wants to make some news around this time of year because the media will give it maximum play. It would not surprise me at all if our intelligence was monitoring for pending stories and tracking back where something was coming in from. This could be big news today.
Update: It seems this attack was in the same area as the one earlier in the year that also targetted Zawahiri. More here and here and here.
Watch Hot Air for their round up as it builds during the day.
– End Update
The theories that Pakistan was going to go soft on Al Qaeda – since the govermnent signed an agreement with the Taliban that ensured them some peace if they promise to reject outside insurgents – have come up wrong. The Pakistanis continue to find and attack insurgents, as they did in this recent attack on a training facility along the Afghan border:
Pakistani troops backed by missile-firing helicopters killed an estimated 80 militants today after destroying a purported al-Qaida-linked training facility near the Afghan border, the military said.
The pre-dawn attack targeted a religious school – known as a madrassa – in Chingai village near Khar, the main town in the Bajur tribal district, said army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan.
Sultan said initial estimates, based on intelligence sources on the ground, indicate the attack killed about 80 suspected militants from Pakistan and other countries.
The death toll was expected to rise as villagers retrieved body parts that littered the smashed madrassa building, which was levelled by four to five missiles fired from helicopter gunships.
Pakistan’s military has been trying to stamp out pro-al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists operating inside the semi-autonomous tribal-dominated region and against US and Afghan forces across the poorly marked frontier in Afghanistan, where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is believed to be at large.
There has been a lot of activity in the region where people believe Bin Laden and Zawahiri are hold up. And there has been some signs they have gone quiet in a period where they like to get needed world press – right before the US elections. Are we getting closer? Who knows. But the region has been an unreported focus of the war on terror all year, as I have been posting all year.
The Asia Times, in a typical anti-Musharraf piece this morning, is implying that Pakistan did not conduct this strike. Their article implies that Musharraf let NATO destroy the hideout. While praising the previous dictators ‘Islamification’ of the Pak military it bashes Musharraf’s ties with the west. Let’s hope Musharraf can keep up the military pressure before the asian MSM incite a coup.
Zawahiri Target In Major Attack On Al Qaeda In Pakistan…
ABC’s Blotter
Ayman al Zawahiri was the target of a Predator missile attack this morning on a religious school in Pakistan, according to Pakistani intelligence sources.
ABC News has learned the raid was launched after U.S. intelligence receiv…
This is part of the deal / pact Musharaff made with the tribal leaders. That the gov would leave them alone..so long as their regions a) remained peaceful and b) did not give aide or support or etc..to groups like Alqueda or other violent extremists. That was the “truce”. It was an Islamic deal..based on religious tenants of Islam. It required Musharf to first withdraw all his forces and allow the tribal elders to take control of the area without hindrance or presence of Pakistani troops. In return..the tribals would enforce the peace..and NOT allow any known violent extremist safe haven or training or support..etc.
Looks like some tribals weren’t upholding their end of the bargain (surprise). The difference here…is that even with such a forceful response…the streets haven’t errupted with violence ..etc. I believe that is because of this agreement…and how it was made.
It appears to be working for Musharaf allowing him to carry out raids ..even very deadly ones…that need to be done without being threatened with his very life on the streets afterwards..and defiled as a puppet of the US. This was Musharaf’s…put up or shut up deal to those tribal elders..who continually claimed they were being “harrassed” for no reason by Pakistani gov troops acting on America’s behalf. He gave them the rope to hang themselves with.
It was the deal/direction that Musharaf came here to argue for not too long ago. That his gov could not sustain the continual pressure from the Muslim street over operations carried out in Waziristan..etc. He needed a different approach. One that was not inherently of Western mind and appearance. Looks like, at least so far..it’s working. For them (the tribals) to break this agreement appears to be understood by most Muslims as a very serious matter (ie..they got what they deserved).
So far..so good. We’ll have to wait and see how it plays out further
Dc,
That’s exactly how I saw it panning out.
Cheers, AJStrata
Pakistan Decides To Join Fight Against Terrorists! Or Did They?…
**UPDATE BELOW REGARDING ZAWAHIRI NEWS**
It’s kinda strange that Pakistan attacks a Taliban supported terrorist training camp when they have been bending over backwards to support the Taliban over Waziristan. They have signed agreements with the…
The Madrassa Raid…
Go ahead, question the timing, but Zawahiri and the al Qaeda acolytes have been timing their attacks, videos, and operations to coincide with the US electoral schedule as well. The attacks have risen because they think that they can force the US to t…..
Hot Air now has the following update:
“Update: Not only did Faqir Mohammed survive, he did an interview in the immediate aftermath of the attack … with NBC.”
Sounds to me like if we want to kill the terrorists, we should be following the NBC guys around.
Maybe?…
Not getting the hopes up just yet, but I did note the large casualty figures from this report and wondered what that might be all about.
CHINGAI, Pakistan – Pakistani troops backed by missile-firing helicopters on Monday struck a religious sc…