Insurgent leader captured by U.S. said to be linked to al-Qaida

Associated Press ^ | 01/23/04 | Robert Burns

[witnesstothefall]

WASHINGTON -- U.S. forces in Iraq captured a leader of the insurgency who is believed to be a close associate of Abu Musab Zarqawi, described by some as a key link between the al-Qaida terrorist network and toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, a senior American official said Friday.

U.S. troops captured Husam al-Yemeni last Thursday, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He is described by U.S. officials as the leader of an insurgency cell in Fallujah, west of Baghdad.

The official said al-Yemeni is the highest-level member of Ansar al-Islam captured so far. The group comprises mainly ethnic Kurds from northern Iraq with alleged ties to al-Qaida.

Zarqawi is a high-priority target for U.S. forces in Iraq. He is a Jordanian operative the CIA describes as a close associate of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Zarqawi is suspected of coordinating anti-U.S. operations in Iraq, although his whereabouts are unknown.

The official who disclosed al-Yemeni's capture on Friday said he could provide no more details, including the location where the prisoner was caught inside Iraq.

[Dog]

fyi..

[RandallFlagg]

But, but, but, but, but, but, but, but.....

I thought it was all about oil and had nothing to do with terrorism?!?!

/(dripping)sarcasm

[Dog]

Wrong memo...we are looking for oil on MARS....:-)

[RandallFlagg]

AAHHH!!!

[Peach]

I've read his name in a book about terrorism, but can't remember which book...

[Peach]

FNC reporting this now. Captured in Falludah, the hotbed of terrorist activity in Iraq.

Forces in the process of breaking up the cell operating there.

This guy is the next rung down the ladder from OBL and his second in command.

This guy was singled out by Powell at the UN last year.

[Dog]

Fox is breaking a story right now .....we got another on today.....don't ask me how to spell the name.

[Dog]

We got another one..

[Dog Gone]

Wiping out the cells in Fallujah is critical. These buttheads have been shooting down our choppers.

Whether it will lead to more captures remains to be seen, but we've seen a domino effect in the past.

[Peach]

Great. I think FNC just said this is the guy Powell singled out at the UN last year!

[diamondjoe]

You're thinking of Zarqawi. We didn't catch him--we caught his second in command. Still a good catch, though!

[visualops]

Put 'em in a cell and sick this little guy on 'em



Even if we gotta get them one at a time, we'll get them.

[Dog]

Did he say ....

Hasan Goul?

[Peach]

Thanks; I misunderstood FNC. They were showing Powell at the UN...

[Peach]

I don't know, Dog.

[Shermy]

I r a n

[Dog]

He seems have given us someone today..

[eureka!]

Re#7 Wow. Godspeed to our brave troops.

BTW, you have one of my favorite taglines. Never forget, actually, educate others so they never forget...

[Dog]

??

[evad]

we are looking for oil on MARS....:-)

True.

Duz Marz have an al qaida?

[Peach]

Thanks (re the tagline). I think I misunderstood FNC re this is the terrorist mentioned by Powell at the UN. Sorry.

All:

Reading Losing Bin Laden and the ties Iraq had to terrorism in general and OBL specifically are unmistakable:

On January 17, 1993, we were bombing Iraq because of their refusal to abide by yet another UN resolution. We nearly killed Hussein when we bombed a hotel where he was hosting a conference for Islamic fundamentalists. During the Clinton years, counterterrorism officials began to note the strategic alliance between AQ/OBL/Iraq/Hussein.

A quote in Knight Ridder 1999 by Vincent Cannistraro, who ran the CIA's counter-intelligence operatons:
"It's clear the Iraqis would like to have OBL in Iraq. The Irawis have all the technologies, the tradecraft that OLB lacks and they have Abu Nidal, the notorious Palestinian bomb expert".

Did you know that during the Clinton years, the US State Department routinely listed Iraq as one of the WORLD's LARGEST FUNDERS OF TERRORISM?

Saddam openly funded jihadi groups linked to OBL. Melan Krekar, the leader of the Iraqi Kurdish Group, which is explicity modeled after the Taliban, admitted that he met OBL and other senior al Qaeda figures in Afghanistan.

After 9/11, hundreds of AQ fighters holed up on the strongholds of the Iraqi Kurdish gruop in northern Iraq.

In 1997, (note that date before all this became a political football) - OBL fighters attended training camps in Iraq. The Director of the CIA, George Tenet, told the Senate Intelligence Committee: "Iraq has in the past provided training in document forgery and bomb making to al Qaeda. It also provided training in poisons and gasses to two al Qaeda associates; one of these al Qaeda associated characterized the relationship as successful (with Iraq). Mr. Chairman, this information is based on a solid foundation of intelligence. It comes to us from credible and reliable sources. Much of it is corrobarated by multiple sources."

[saquin]

Forces in the process of breaking up the cell operating there. (Fallujah)

I hope these operations to take down cells aren't disrupted by the troop replacements. I know there will be a "learning curve" for the troops coming in, and the troops who have been there all along will be passing on the info, but I still worry that there will be a let-up right at the time when we seem to really be breaking the backs of a lot of these insurgent cells.

[Shermy]

Zarqawi, the Poison Expert, is based in Iran.

As our many AQ leaders.

Something the Iranians don't deny, and media doesn't follow up. They like the mysterious mountains of Pakistan.

AQ earning it's rent for the Mullahs...keeping the Americans occupied, suppressing development of Iraqi oil.

[Dog]

I understand now..

[visualops]

They've planned for that and I'm pretty sure Rumsfeld or some other said there was x amount of overlap to familiarize the "newcomers".

[FirstPrinciple]

I think Saddam hired Al Queda after our attack. There is no evidence to link Saddam with Al Queda prior to that. This is according to the CIA.

[eureka!]

Saw that. OK, no biggie. Just a real bad guy. And a-Q, to boot. In Iraq. I'll take it. ;^)

[Dog]

CNN is reporting the a senior Al Qaeda operative named Hasan Ghul was picked up by "friendly forces" while trying to enter Iraq today.

Admin Moderator can you tweak the headline.

[Dog]

Can you tweak the headline about the capture of a AQ senior operative captured entering Iraq today.

[Dog]

Hasan Ghul is known as "The Gatekeeper".

He is in the top tier of AQ..

[Dog Gone]

What do we know about Ghul?

[Dog]

He is Pakistani.....he moves money and men.

This is a big get.

[witnesstothefall]

You are wrong about that. The CIA has evidence of extensive contacts between AQ and Sadaam's Iraq, but not enough to make conclusions of any operational cooperation. Be careful with your pronouncments.

[Shermy]

Iran shedding? Tip off the Kurdish friendlies???

[witnesstothefall]

That sounds like a different perp than al-Yemeni.

[Dog]

They said he was caught entering the country.....I wonder who set this guy up.... Iraq has a big border.

[Dog]

Different guy...a second capture just broke on Fox and CNN.

[FirstPrinciple]

What kind of contacts? Reminds me of some mob movie where the prosecutor asked a mafia guy if he has ever seen the crime boss in trial. He said, "Yeah, that is my dad." Of course, all these shady characters in the Middle East "know" each other. If contact with AQ was a crime, then, my God, we should be nuking Pakistan, because they were the eyes and ears of AQ to the rest of the world.

[witnesstothefall]

You've been watching too much TV. This isn't the Godfather.

The memo that leaked out of the Senate Select Committee on Intel showed extensive contact, but no smoking gun, as though we're ever liable to find one of those.

[Henchman]

OIL? MARS? ...OK, as long as your protect the permafrost from the drills.

[BigSkyFreeper]

Didn't you hear? Halliburton hacked into the data stream of the Rover to download terrain information! ;)

They finished downloading their big file this morning, the Rover is communicating with NASA, and all is well.

[gogipper]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From above post ----Did you know that during the Clinton years, the US State Department routinely listed Iraq as one of the WORLD's LARGEST FUNDERS OF TERRORISM?

Saddam openly funded jihadi groups linked to OBL. Melan Krekar, the leader of the Iraqi Kurdish Group, which is explicity modeled after the Taliban, admitted that he met OBL and other senior al Qaeda figures in Afghanistan.

After 9/11, hundreds of AQ fighters holed up on the strongholds of the Iraqi Kurdish gruop in northern Iraq.

In 1997, (note that date before all this became a political football) - OBL fighters attended training camps in Iraq. The Director of the CIA, George Tenet, told the Senate Intelligence Committee: "Iraq has in the past provided training in document forgery and bomb making to al Qaeda. It also provided training in poisons and .....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are we splitting hairs here? When funding and training are conclusively cited, what really is the difference if there is 'operational' cooperation "smoking gun". If you think of all these terrorist 'entities' like "murder, inc." you are not going to find a legalistic differentiation between support and operational direction are you?

[endthematrix]

What kind of contacts? LOL! CIA reports show nearly 100 examples of cooperation

[ex-Texan]

In the meantime, more and more leaders of al Qaeda have been captured. There is a new report, published as "a rumor," that the U.S. has captured Osama bin Laden. A detailed report is Posted Here. Officially, the U.S. has denied that rumor but this story is growing legs.

Many detils that support the "OBL is captured" story are just being reported. Why would the U.S. not admit that OBL is in custody?

"Geopolitical factors in the region, relations between the US and Iran, and other factors are at stake here. As news of his capture could well accelerate terrorist events in the US and against our troops, it would only make sense for denials to be issued until we (the US) had time to tie up many loose ends in the political and military arena."