Al-Qaeda In Iraq Reported Crippled

Source: Washington Post

Al-Qaeda In Iraq Reported Crippled
Many Officials, However, Fear Its Resilience

By Thomas E. Ricks and Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writers

Monday, October 15, 2007; Page A01

The U.S. military believes it has dealt devastating and perhaps irreversible blows to al-Qaeda in Iraq in recent months, leading some generals to advocate a declaration of victory over the group, which the Bush administration has long described as the most lethal U.S. adversary in Iraq.

But as the White House and its military commanders plan the next phase of the war, other officials have cautioned against taking what they see as a premature step that could create strategic and political difficulties for the United States. Such a declaration could fuel criticism that the Iraq conflict has become a civil war in which U.S. combat forces should not be involved. At the same time, the intelligence community, and some in the military itself, worry about underestimating an enemy that has shown great resilience in the past.

"I think it would be premature at this point," a senior intelligence official said of a victory declaration over AQI, as the group is known. Despite recent U.S. gains, he said, AQI retains "the ability for surprise and for catastrophic attacks." Earlier periods of optimism, such as immediately following the June 2006 death of AQI founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a U.S. air raid, not only proved unfounded but were followed by expanded operations by the militant organization.

There is widespread agreement that AQI has suffered major blows over the past three months. Among the indicators cited is a sharp drop in suicide bombings, the group's signature attack, from more than 60 in January to around 30 a month since July. Captures and interrogations of AQI leaders over the summer had what a senior military intelligence official called a "cascade effect," leading to other killings and captures. The flow of foreign fighters through Syria into Iraq has also diminished, although officials are unsure of the reason and are concerned that the broader al-Qaeda network may be diverting new recruits to Afghanistan and elsewhere.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/14/AR2007101401245.html

Just FYI. Thank you for posting this, very interesting.

No reason to hang around if the terrorists are defeated...

The Post is an enabler.

Let's see... So we defeated our enemy. A great thing! Yes? Not to Bush.

Heaven forbid the Iraqi's stopped fighting each other, then we'd have no reason to stay.

None whatsoever.

Accept for the oil,, US bases,,, the influence in the ME,,,

And our troops can now come home?

I think we have "gotten" him about 5 times now.

Just because THEY say it?

Not a chance.

Cause I know that the things that they blame the Al Queda organization with are escalating. Gonna be tough for him to get treatment with all the doctors that fled the country. Do his parents know yet? Oh wait, they died when Blackwater pushed their car into a building on the way to the market.

but i doubt how true it is...

i have a bad feeling every time we see reports like this that these groups feel the need to "make their presence known" and kill a bunch of innocent people/soldiers.

we need out now.

I don't know why some would not want to hear good news.

that didn't FUCKING EXIST until the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq???

"officials are unsure of the reason and are concerned that the broader al-Qaeda network may be diverting new recruits to Afghanistan and elsewhere"

Yep, they learned all they could taking out USAmerican troops in Iraq, time to plan the next action...


Iraq/Afghanistan, the best thing that ever happened for Osama and the crew.

:bounce: :bounce:

/sarcasm :eyes:

going to do now?

*crickets from MSM propoganda corps*

or other sunni tribes

General Sanchez criticizes the mess Bush has made in Iraq and says we can't win. Now all of a sudden another General claims we broke the back of Al Quida.

If it's true, lets bring the troops home.

72 virgins and a viagra pill placed in your "vest pocket" ;)

that's all that you need to know about this report.

it's no wonder the freedom fighters are finding it hard to ralley a Tet offensive

/sarc

The Sunni's of Anbar have to decide when its over when the crippled AQ is kicked out and the US crutch cast off

First off I have a hard time believing much that comes out of the Military these days. I would want independent verification before I start to buy into that fact.

Next, the idea of declaring victory in any area when the rest of the country is in shambles and the Turks are getting ready to invade would to my ears sound kind of silly.

Thirdly, Qaeda typically responds to these types of pronouncements by launching major suicide attacks just to prove them wrong, even if they are nearly defunct. That we just don't need. If they are beating them back, then I would prefer them to just keep it to themselves.