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A significant catch, though the general unwillingness in the West to engage in discussion about the Islamic teachings that underlie the jihad waged by al-Qaeda, other groups, and individuals only helps ensure there will be someone to take al-Iraqi's place in the organization. But hopefully, his capture will yield actionable intelligence, including any documents and data found with him. From Agence France-Presse:
WASHINGTON - A top Al Qaeda commander who led operations in Afghanistan and plotted the assassination of Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf has been taken into US custody, the Pentagon said on Friday.
Abd Al Hadi Al Iraqi, who was taken to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba within the past week, was intercepted as he was trying to reach Iraq to manage Al Qaeda operations and possibly plot attacks against western targets outside Iraq, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
Whitman said al-Iraqi “was one of Al Qaeda’s highest ranking and senior operatives at the time of his detention.”
He was a key Al Qaeda commander in the late 1990s and from 2002 to 2004 was in charge of cross-border attacks against coalition forces, working directly with the Taliban, he said.
“He also in recent years was involved in plots to assassinate perceived opponents of Al Qaeda to include Pakistan President Musharraf as well as other officials,” he said.
Al-Iraqi was held by the CIA before being turned over to US military authorities, said Whitman.
A CIA spokesman said the interrogation methods it used in holding al-Iraqi “were legal, and thoroughly reviewed by our government to ensure they are in accordance with our laws and treaty obligations.”
“The information that CIA’s terrorist interrogation program has produced has prevented attacks and saved innocents lives,” said spokesman Paul Gimigliano.
President George W. Bush in September announced that all high value prisoners being held by the CIA at secret overseas detention centers had been transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
A US intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said al-Iraqi was captured late last year, well after the president’s announcement, as part of a complex international organization.
“There were a lot of people who did a lot of hard work to make this operation a success,” the official said. “It’s not confined to the United States, but plainly US intelligence had a key role.”
The Pentagon and the CIA declined to comment on where al-Iraqi was captured or whether US forces were directly involved.
“At the time of his capture he was trying to return to his native country, Iraq, to manage Al Qaeda’s affairs and possibly focus on operations outside Iraq against western targets,” Whitman said.
“He was intercepted before he got there,” he said.
Whitman said al-Iraqi also met with Al Qaeda members in Iran, but would not say when.
A fact sheet released by the Pentagon said al-Iraqi believed that Al Qaeda members in Iran “should be doing more with the fight, including supporting efforts in Iraq and causing problems within Iran.”
As a senior Al Qaeda planner and operative, al-Iraqi “had fundamental responsibility for Al Qaeda operations in that whole stretch of the world as well as other responsibilities,” the intelligence official said.
“I would think of him in relation to the plot against Musharraf as someone who had a leadership or guiding role,” he said.
He was born in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in 1961 and served in the Iraqi military before going to Afghanistan where he spent 15 years, it said.
Before the September 11, 2001 attacks, he was a member of the Al Qaeda military committee that oversaw terrorist and guerrilla operations and paramilitary training, according to the Pentagon.
He also was a member of a 10-member group of advisors to Osama bin Laden, and was known and trusted by the Al Qaeda leader and his deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the Pentagon said.
It said that at one point he was Zawahiri’s caretaker and that he interacted with top Al-Qaeda planners and decision makers such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, Abu Faraj al-Libi, Hamza Rabi’a and Abd al-Rahman al Mujair.
More recently, he associated with leaders of other extremist groups allied with Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including the Taleban, it said.
He worked “directly with the Taliban to determine responsibility and lines of communication between Taliban and AlQaeda leaders in Afghanistan, specifically with regard to the targeting of US forces,” it said.
Posted by Marisol at April 27, 2007 3:02 PM
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If the Dims get into the WhiteHouse all these dangerous terrorists will be released...
Posted by: Green![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at April 27, 2007 3:21 PM
General Petraeus last evening broke this information in the context of Iraq. He stated that Iraq WAS THEE battleground now with al Qeada in thee utmost vital importance to American security.
Said terrorist in being handed over to DOD at Gitmo means he has already given up information to the CIA.
The General also stressed that the US forces in Iraq were turning up and capturing new al Qaeda sources routinely now in Iraq.
Iraq according to General Petraeus, Fuoad Ajami, Senator Norm Coleman MN, the Minnesota National Guard all are stating the same thing. Iraq is turning around, 200 shops just opened where there was nothing but guns 6 months ago, the Guard was overwhelmed by the positive in Anbar where they are working and Petraeus states the Sunni are deeply involved in Iraq government building for the future and al Qaeda is being negated.
Posted by: Lame Cherry at April 27, 2007 3:39 PM
FROM ABOVE :
A CIA spokesman said the interrogation methods it used in holding al-Iraqi “were legal, and thoroughly reviewed by our government to ensure they are in accordance with our laws and treaty obligations.”
I love a positive attitude!!!!!!!
at April 27, 2007 4:10 PM
If the Dims get into the WhiteHouse all these dangerous terrorists will be released...
Posted by: Green
ditto John McCain.
at April 27, 2007 4:45 PM
Iraq is turning around, 200 shops just opened where there was nothing but guns 6 months ago, the Guard was overwhelmed by the positive in Anbar where they are working and Petraeus states the Sunni are deeply involved in Iraq government building for the future and al Qaeda is being negated.
Posted by: Lame Cherry
Any day now.. any day...
at April 27, 2007 4:46 PM
FROM ABOVE :
A CIA spokesman said the interrogation methods it used in holding al-Iraqi “were legal, and thoroughly reviewed by our government to ensure they are in accordance with our laws and treaty obligations.”
So I guess we've quit using the dreaded and painful "Panties on the head" torture.
That makes me feel safer already.
/sarc
Posted by: walterc at April 27, 2007 4:53 PM
"A CIA spokesman said the interrogation methods it used in holding al-Iraqi “were legal, and thoroughly reviewed by our government to ensure they are in accordance with our laws and treaty obligations.”
I've got a rusy saw if anybody needs it.
Posted by: Ynkedoodl2 at April 27, 2007 5:20 PM
It (clean arrest) won't make any difference anyway.
They and their 5th columnist suckups here will still scream "torture! torture!" (never mind the fact they obviously don't have a clue what REAL torture IS).
Simply arresting them is now somehow "torture!".
Just expect the onslaught of propaganda on this, too.
Taqqiyah, taqqiyah, taqqiyah.
at April 27, 2007 5:20 PM
A CIA spokesman said the interrogation methods it used in holding al-Iraqi “were legal, and thoroughly reviewed by our government to ensure they are in accordance with our laws and treaty obligations.”
Treaty obligations? Not with Al qaeda, and does Al Qaeda have any treaty obligations wrt torture of our men & women? Hell no and since this terrorist probably knows a lot that could save many lives, who really cares if the CIA waterboards the hell out of him?
Posted by: FM at April 27, 2007 5:23 PM
They're talking about that geneva convention, FM
The same thing the enemy has never reciprocated on as a common policy (they only do so for PR, and only when they know they have to, or lode that PR war).
at April 27, 2007 5:57 PM
Unlike our guys, who are simply mutilated and massacred when captured (since the enemy jhadists realize that there is nothing vitally strategic to learn from our prisoners, because our methods are relatively transparent -as we aren't feverishly plotting to blow up a Friday market or train stations full of civilians, but fight out in the open in almost every sense), these big fish terrorists DO know dangerous things that will prevent massive slaughters and need to be tickled hard to talk.
They work outside of -and against- humane Civilization, and thereby forfeit its benefits.
If it takes scaring the info out of them, use whatever tools we have to pry open their maggoty minds and prevent their dismal plans from killing more.
Good work!
Posted by: profitsbeard at April 27, 2007 6:33 PM
Some Buddhists, afer some 1000 years of persecution and mass murder, are atlast getting the message
I had learned from guides on location, and then from further studies once I returned home, that these locations had all been laid to waste in the early Moslem invasions of India, starting in the 900's by Turkic hordes issuing forth from what is now Afghanistan, and continuing for over a thousand years until the Mughal era. A prolonged and calculated assault, an assault designed to wipe an entire belief, an entire religion, off the face of the Earth. The long history of Islam, being spread by the sword and by fire, had left its indelible mark on these wonderful peaceful, harmless, legacy sites of Buddhism.I feel, through my direct experiences of it, that Islam has not changed its ways in the least. In fact it has become more aggressive now than at any time since its period of greatest expansion in the 900s to the 1200s. "Modern" Islam seeks to return humanity to those very same times -- a revival of the dark ages of Islamic slaughter, mayhem, and pillage -- all in the name of Allah.
We Buddhists must realize that we, and our cherished practices, would be swept away entirely and crushed utterly, should Islam ever gain ascendancy in this world in which we live. Islam is the only belief that propagates itself thus -- by the sword.
And it is very patient.
http://www.aina.org/news/20070404114738.htm
Posted by: DP111 at April 27, 2007 6:44 PM
Abd Al Hadi Al Iraqi, who was taken to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba within the past week, was intercepted as he was trying to reach Iraq to manage Al Qaeda operations and possibly plot attacks against western targets outside Iraq, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
Just a thought was it Steele's phone he used? being at the air-port in all??
Yes sleepping with the enemy? How many more are sleepping with the enemy??
Part of the American Tribe
Squirrel Hunter
Spider Killer
GOD BLESS THE USA AND HER FIGHTING FORCES AND ALL WHO FIGHT WITH HER GIVE THEM STRENGTH, WISDOM, SIGHT, AND COURAGE TO DESTROY ALL ISLAMIC TERRORIST AND ALL WHO SUPPORT EXPOSE THEM AMEN
PS
The Dance was great the new shoes and Dress were a hit!!
at April 27, 2007 7:05 PM
Ok, time to get tough. Break out the popsicles(multi flavored) and fruit loops. I want info and I want it now. No more Mr. Niceguy its time for the full treatment, who cares if they need a dentist afterwards!
Posted by: tgusa at April 27, 2007 8:01 PM
Back to the main topic...apparently, that's not all that's been captured...
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070427185225.eephgeaz&show_article=1
As posted in another thread.
Todays headlines at Geostrategy-Direct also show many interceptions of iranians by special forces.
http://www.geostrategy-direct.com
(headlines change every few days so get it while it's hot).
At least we got one al-qaeda operative.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/07/front2454217.342361111.html
...and the beat goes on...
at April 27, 2007 9:01 PM
Dp111 - fascinating link. I wonder how this newfound realization of what Islam is actually about and its historical impact upon Buddhists in particular, will impact modern-day Buddhists, especially those living in the west? Buddhism is so very much associated with pacifism in the modern age, although I don't think that has always been the case. How will modern new-age types twist their minds around this reality, as the fact is that Buddhism only made serious inroads into the west in recent times, exploding especially in the post WWII era when much of the western world where it spread was under the protection of militant America's "Pax America". Will modern practitioners of Buddhism in the west, after a little "meditation", come to be honest enough to recognize that America's military might made the personal practice of their pacifism possible? I am fascinated by the challenges to western Buddhists which might follow in the wake of this realization, and how they ultimately will move towards resolving these tensions between their utopian pacifism, the brutal reality of Islam, which has already destroyed much of the religion they embrace, and American militarism, which they publicly denounce, but which has made the practice and spread of their religion into the west possible.
Posted by: Caroline at April 27, 2007 9:13 PM
We really need to start treating Jihadi's like Jihadi's treat Infidels. Eye for an eye . works for me. we need to match them in our efforts. They are laughing at us and we are empowering them to do it. America is no longer feared and respected. it is openly mocked and her Honor rarely goes defended.
If Westerners aren't willing to fight for the survival of the West then who will?
Stop Immigration of Islamic peoples and adopt a zero tolerance /deportation policy.
Posted by: MoBlows at April 27, 2007 9:14 PM
MoBlows - "Stop Immigration of Islamic peoples and adopt a zero tolerance /deportation policy."
That's not treating Jihadi's like Jihad's treat infidels. That's far more humane than what they do. Which is why we are completely entitled to take the moral high ground while we do it.
Posted by: Caroline at April 27, 2007 9:50 PM
"General Petraeus last evening broke this information in the context of Iraq. He stated that Iraq WAS THEE [sic] battleground now with al Qeada in thee utmost vital importance to American security."
-- from a posting above
1) There is no single place where Al Qaeda has a "vital" battleground. Al Qaeda is wherever Muslim recruits can be found, and they can be found everywhere, in the pool of 1-1.2 billion Muslims. The numbers of these recruits are endlessly replenishable.
2) Al Qaeda is simply the most mediagenic of the thousands of Muslim groups and groupuscules that exist to promote Jihad through terrorism. To keep focussing on, exaggerating the importance of, Al Qaeda, and not recognizing all the other dangerous terrorist groups, and not all the other more effective instruments (besides terror) that are used to spread Islam and swell Muslim power, is to miscomprehend Jihad.
3) The fact that some Sunni Arab tribes in Anbar Province have "turned on" Al Qaeda does not mean, as General Petraeus appears to think it means, that now those Sunni tribes are "allied with us." They aren't. They are simply getting revenge for the Al Qaeda attacks on them. That's it. No change of heart about Infidel Americans. No change of heart about Kurds. No change of heart about the Shi'a, who if not quite "Rafidite dogs" nonetheless should not be permitted to lord it over the Sunni Arabs.
The obvious pollyannish aspect to Petraeus' interpretation -- misinterpreation -- of the Anbar Province split between the relatively tiny (though murderously effective) Al Qaeda group, and the much larger group of Sunnis who will never acquiesce in their loss of power to the Shi'a, and never -- it is out of the question -- be true friends, or friends at all, of the Americans, show the limits of Petraeus'
grasp of the situation. All the "Counter-Insurgency" Manuals in the world are worthless if one fails to understand the speicific doctrines, attitudes, atmospherics of Islam, and from that understanding, recognize that Islam itself will prevent any national reconciliation from occuring, and that Islam itself, or rather the Jihad that is a duty for all Muslims, is the problem, and not merely "terrorism."
Will Petraeus take another few months to figure this out? If so, he will go the way of the rest of them. The generals have not distinguished themselves in standing up to Bush and Cheney in their hallucinatory policy. Possibly some of them, starting now, will stop worrying about their pensions (for god's sake, on the lecture circuit they can make that up in a trice -- just look at Tommy Franks, raking it in so greedily, just like Schwarzkopf before him) and start speaking out. Late in the day, but better late than...you know the rest.
Posted by: Hugh at April 27, 2007 10:01 PM
London:
Arresting terrorists is 'oppression'- what are these filthy infidels thinking? They must be bombed into submission:
http://sheikyermami.com/2007/04/28/london-islamists-demonstrate-against-al-muhajiroun-arrests/
Posted by: sheik yer'mami at April 27, 2007 10:08 PM
So I guess we've quit using the dreaded and painful "Panties on the head" torture.
That makes me feel safer already.
/sarc
Posted by: walterc
Anyone remember David Letterman with a picture showing PFC Lyndie English holding that guy on the leash?
Letterman did a spot-on Ted "Red" Kennedy Bahston ahccent: "I know I'm supposed to be against this Abu Ghraib thing.. but the girl with the guy on the leash thing is haht!"
Wish I could find it on the "tube".
Posted by: Allahfanculo at April 27, 2007 11:14 PM
Hugh sez:
Al Qaeda is wherever Muslim recruits can be found, and they can be found everywhere, in the pool of 1-1.2 billion Muslims. The numbers of these recruits are endlessly replenishable.
And that is the 'crux of the bisquit-', Frank Zappa would say.
Al Qaeda, Al Schmaeda, names are smoke and mirrors:
http://sheikyermami.com/2007/04/26/al-qaeda-al-schmaeda/
It all boils down to Islam, nothing but Islam...
Posted by: sheik yer'mami at April 28, 2007 4:07 AM
DP111
I guess the author of that piece will be accused of being an Islamophobe by the loony Left.
Posted by: Spirit Of 1683 at April 28, 2007 5:26 AM
Somebody tell our boys, if they don't know this already ; the worst torture we, The Infidels, can inflict upon a jihadi is to let loose some hogs in his/her cell. The cell of the jihadi must be stripped of every object that can conceivably be used as a weapon prior to the hogs' release.
(I think I have more feelings for the hogs.)
Posted by: arjun.sevak at April 28, 2007 5:46 AM
Yes, another Jihardi has been captured but how soon does another take his place??
You may as well try to count grains of sand in the desert,my friends.
Those who imagine staying in Iraq will prevent further attacks on the West aren't facing up to REALITY.
at April 28, 2007 5:47 AM
LOL
Posted by: jcom972 at April 28, 2007 7:55 PM
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