"Officials: CIA missile strike kills al-Qaida No. 3," from NBC News, :
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The operational commander of al-Qaida and possibly the No. 3 official in the terrorist organization, Hamza Rabia, was killed early Thursday morning by a CIA missile attack on a safehouse in Pakistan, officials told NBC News.Pakistan's president later confirmed the militant leader's death.
“Yes indeed, 200 percent. I think he was killed the day before yesterday if I’m not wrong,” President Pervez Musharraf told reporters as he arrived in Kuwait on an official visit on Saturday....
The U.S. government confirmed that a missile attack took place, but would not confirm that Rabia was killed....
Rabia has been sought by both U.S. and Pakistani officials for more than two years. Pakistan has offered a $1 million reward for his capture. He is believed to have participated in the planning for two assassination attempts against Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Dec. 14 and Dec. 25, 2003. At that time, Rabia was believed to be the chief deputy to Abu Faraj al-Libbi, al-Qaida's operational chief and the No. 3 man in the organization. In May, Pakistani security forces captured Abu Faraj and turned him over to the United States.
U.S. officials have said that Rabia succeeded Abu Faraj as operations chief. Rabia was brought into al-Qaida by Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's No. 2. Like al-Zawahiri, Rabia is an Egyptian. U.S. officials have described him recently as "top-five al-Qaida" and, as one US official said on Friday, "killing him would be indeed a very big deal."
“Yes indeed, 200 percent. I think he was killed the day before yesterday if I’m not wrong,” President Pervez Musharraf told reporters as he arrived in Kuwait on an official visit on Saturday....
"Aw, shucks" said Musharraf, hands in pockets, eyes on the ground as he kicked a small stone.
George Friedman of Stratfor.com fame has written extensively about CIA involvement in Pakistan as they continue to hunt down, kill or capture the terrorists Musharraf is unwilling or unable to. Under different circumstances, one can imagine the howl that would accompany the launching of a missile strike by the CIA in another's sovereign territory. But of course, Rabia has tried to rub out Musharraf on numerous occasions so all is fair in love and war.
Someone wake me when Israel is afforded the same lattitude to liquidate the terrorists in their back yard.
This is awesome! What's that now, the fourth or fifth al Qaida #3?
I can't wait til we obliterate #3 number 6.
I love the CIA.
Mushie continues playing his double game - throw an occasional Dead Terrorist to the West - whilst
reassuring growing party of Turbanheads that he is on their side. We can console ourselves that Perverse Pervez likes little dogs which must be a
sign 'of Western Civilizing influence.'
He wasn't number 3. Nor was Al-Libbi who they also claimed was number 3. Two things to always remember about reports from Pakistan.
1. Pakistan wants to make sure that it occasionally appears relevant enough to keep American aid flowing without actually having to reform or really go to town on the islamists.
2. Pakistan and the ISI is the main source for HUMANINT for the CIA and the CIA carries their water in the USG intel sharing. This means that the CIA has to make Pakistan look good so that they they appear capable especially since the DCI has been unseated by the NID.
This guy was likely a senior member of Al-Qaeda within Pakistan and a real threat to that régime, however he was not number 3 or even number 5 in the larger organization.
Oh and FYI- number 3 i.e. head of the military committee on the Shura Council has been Saif Al-Adel since March/April 2003 after KSM was captured. Oh and he has been a guest of Iran and the IRGC since early 2002.
another ##$#$#@$# islamofacists terrorist bites the dust!!!
One of the lessons that was supposed to have been learned from the Vietnam War was that you don't force your troops to confront an enemy with one arm tied behind their backs. That is precisely what is going on here, as that lesson has been glaringly eclipsed by the political desire to placate "allies" of dubious worth. The war on terror is being short-circuited, as politicians rush to present claims of victories against terror, at the expense of the veracity of those claims. The bad old days of Vietnam, with inflated enemy bodycounts for PR purposes, are back.
Sanman,
What proof do you have of inflated enemy body counts by the US military?The article says the US would not confirm that Rabia had been killed only that a missled had been fired. What does Pakistan's claiming to have killed AQ's #3 have to do with Vietnam?
Yeehaw! Party at my place! BYOB, I got the hot sauce and pork rinds!
Roxane, these announcements of "Al Qaeda #3 has been killed" are all totally useless and even misleading, just like Vietnam War bodycounts of enemy KIA. There are an endless supply of Al Qaeda #3's, and Al Qaeda #4's and Al Qaeda #5's.
This like trying to drill a hole in water. There's no point trying to do that. You have to drain the swamp. It's a war of ideas, and not just a war on Al Qaeda #3's. Their ideology has to be defeated.
The current "allies" are Trojan Horses, and are trying to skim as much as they can off this war to fatten their own pockets. There has to be more stick and less carrot, to get these allies on the right side. Otherwise, they have a vested interest in prolonging this war out for as long as they can.
Sanman,
Perhaps it is important to defeat the ideology but the reality is that we are at war and people are dying.So killing AQ #3 who was in the process of planning attacks is important to me. Who knows how many lives have been saved because this man is dead.
I also don't think it matters if there are an "endless" supply of AQ #3s because by killing off leadership you degrade the enemies capabilities and his ability to launch attacks.It matters who you replace leaders with and the fifth string players are rarely as good as your A team. The way one person explained this is what the Algerians did in killing off terrorist leadership every few years.The original leaders were early 30s with college educations.After a series of assasinations capabilities were so degraded that eventually the terrorists were lead by a 20 year old high school dropout. Put another way back in 2001 the main AQ players were Osama Bin Laden (BBA) and Ayman Zawahiri (MD).In 2005 AQ best known figure is Zarqawi a high school dropout.