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I know it's beyond the 'acceptable' and no problem if mods cut it. I just couldn't.February 03, 2009
Obama's Winning!
Obama is winning the hearts and minds of the once-hostile natives. Here is NPR:
CIA-directed airstrikes against al-Qaida leaders and facilities in Pakistan over the past six to nine months have been so successful, according to senior U.S. officials, that it is now possible to foresee a "complete al-Qaida defeat" in the mountainous region along the border with Afghanistan.Why am I reading this now, when the key events and decisions took place over the last several months? Gee, a toughie...
The officials say the terrorist network's leadership cadre has been "decimated," with up to a dozen senior and midlevel operatives killed as a result of the strikes and the remaining leaders reeling from the repeated attacks.
We do get an unexpected mention of George Bush, as well as a caveat:
The CIA has been using drone aircraft to carry out attacks on suspected al-Qaida and Taliban targets in Pakistan for several years, but such attacks were significantly expanded last summer under orders from President George W. Bush. They also became more lethal, with the CIA for the first time using Reaper drones, an enhanced version of the Predator model used previously. The Reaper is capable of carrying two Hellfire missiles, as well as precision-guided bombs.
'Too Early To Declare Victory'The truly paranoid will wonder about the motivation of the "senior US officials" offering this info. Maybe they are Obama-boosters trying to talk up the prospects of success in Afghanistan. Maybe it is tied to this report saying the Pentagon wants to switch the goal in Afghanistan from naion-building to defeating Al Qaeda. Or maybe this is the Old Switcheroo, with sources laying the groundwork for an extended commitment to Iraq predicated on the notion that Afghanistan is going swimmingly.
The officials interviewed by NPR asked not to be identified because of sensitivities surrounding the CIA campaign. They also insist it is too early to declare victory in the struggle against al-Qaida in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, and they caution that a number of the factors that explain the recent successes could yet be reversed.
Time will tell! But at least with Bush out of the way we can start seeing good news about the wars in unexpected places.
FOR THE PEDANTS: Back in the day when men were men, "decimating" a unit meant killing every tenth man. By that usage "decimating" Al Qaeda would hardly represent a, hmm, quantum leap to victory. Hardly.
UPDATE: Newsweek will have a similar story soon:
Daily Times MonitorIt's a press offensive by someone.
LAHORE: Strikes by unmanned US Predators on targets in Pakistans Tribal Areas have stunned local Al Qaeda commanders, according to a report in the coming issue of Newsweek.
Al Qaedas hideouts in Pakistans tribal areas arent quite as safe as they used to be, it says, citing the example of a recent strike in North Waziristan that killed Al Qaeda commander Musataf Al Misri.
We are stunned by such precision, a local sub-commander told the magazine.
Hes seen the results of many airstrikes over the past year or two, but this one really impressed him, Newsweek said. The missile didnt just hit the right house; it scored a direct hit on the very room where Mustafa Al Misri and several other Qaeda operatives were holed up.
The unnamed sub-commander said the hit was so accurate that its as if someone had tossed a GPS device against the wall.
According to the article, Pakistans intelligence services have started to help the Americans track and kill fugitive terrorists, after years in which they were suspected of shielding Osama Bin Ladens lieutenantsor, at least, not pursuing them very vigorously.
Quoting the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, the magazine says 11 of the top 20 high-value Al Qaeda operatives have been killed in US drone strikes in six months.
I know it's beyond the 'acceptable' and no problem if mods cut it. I just couldn't.
I know it's beyond the 'acceptable' and no problem if mods cut it. I just couldn't.
What's your opinion on the article Annie?
See Manu's post above yours.My point.
What's your opinion on the article Annie?
See Manu's post above yours.
He does deserve credit, that much is for sure. I just wish he had done this years ago.
What's your opinion on the article Annie?
See Manu's post above yours.
He does deserve credit, that much is for sure. I just wish he had done this years ago.
He does deserve credit, that much is for sure. I just wish he had done this years ago.
He does deserve credit, that much is for sure. I just wish he had done this years ago.
he did....war takes time......especially when half the politcians and the entire media are working against you.....
And this begins the excuses to why no 'Afghanistan' surge and getting Bin Laden. I must confess, the earlier posts took me by surprise, now I know why.
Whiplash.
CIA-directed airstrikes against al-Qaida leaders and facilities in Pakistan over the past six to nine months have been so successful, according to senior U.S. officials, that it is now possible to foresee a "complete al-Qaida defeat" in the mountainous region along the border with Afghanistan.
CIA-directed airstrikes against al-Qaida leaders and facilities in Pakistan over the past six to nine months have been so successful, according to senior U.S. officials, that it is now possible to foresee a "complete al-Qaida defeat" in the mountainous region along the border with Afghanistan.
Bush supporters were outraged when obama said over a year ago we should be striking al qaeda in pakistan.
The search function on this board works quite well, if you'd like to take a gander.
Good thing Obama's ideas were good one. And republican message board posters were wrong for the one billionth time, don't you agree?
And this begins the excuses to why no 'Afghanistan' surge and getting Bin Laden. I must confess, the earlier posts took me by surprise, now I know why.
Whiplash.
I'm willing to give credit where it's due. However, don't sit there and try to tell me that Bush did a good job as Commander in Chief with both Afghanistan and Iraq. Because he certainly didn't.
He failed in many aspects. Our troops didn't even body armor for a good amount of time, that is fucking sickening. Hell, some troop families had to go to pawn shops and pay for it out of their own pocket.
We had no exit strategy for either country because Bush doesn't believe in such things.
We never had the troops level needed to fully occupy either country; even now.
I could go on, and on.
My point is, just about anyone could of won the war in Afghanistan and maybe even Iraq eventually if you spent another time there.
Read the book: How to Make War
You'll learn that no country really can go toe to toe with the U.S except when it comes to nuclear weapons but even then we'd win.
However, it's the mark of a great President who not gets the war done quickly but effectively.
Obama's Winning? Oh brother. Watching Obama and his adoring press is better than any comedy show on TV today. Obama is the new Jimmy Carter. He'll go down in history as the first AA President, but that'll be about it.
He does deserve credit, that much is for sure. I just wish he had done this years ago.
he did....war takes time......especially when half the politcians and the entire media are working against you.....
We went into Afghanistan too late to get Osama Bin Laden, we went into Iraq with no plan, practically no resources, and left our soldiers in both places in high danger.
Bush made things worse in both places by taking certain actions. He may of considered himself a war President but the guy couldn't win a game of Risk if he had Europe and Asia.
If and when we do end up winning in Afghanistan, it will be due to a resources war that will we pay the price for in both troops and resources. Not because of strategy or anything else like say in World War II.
Yep, good strategy kept casualties to a minimum in WWII and Viet Nam.
And republican message board posters were wrong for the one billionth time, don't you agree?
No, I don't, and I object to the overstatement, too.
Can't be that they were totally wrong much more than a couple hundred million times, at most.
