Iraq Foils Plot to Put {421 al-Qaida} Terrorists at Posts {around Green Zone}

Yahoo/AP ^ | 03/14/06 | BASSEM MROUE

[Btrp113Cav]

good point, unfortunately our intelligence agencies are very inept and incompetent... but I would like to think someone other than you thought of it as well...

[lentulusgracchus]

Al Qaeda grows weaker every day, per the casualty stats.

Maybe not, if they're actually redeploying out-of-area to seek other, softer targets. If so, then our presence in Iraq is devalued dramatically for our purposes of seeking more-favorable confrontations with the jihadis.

Bush has finally admitted that part of our rationale was that our presence in Iraq would act as a magnet for the most-susceptible and most-voluntary of Al Q'aeda's manpower resources, and lure them into not hard-on-soft attacks like the WTC, but hard-on-armorplated confrontations that they would for the most part lose, and in so doing die like flies. They've obliged, so far.

Maybe they've decided to abandon the attrition battle and go back to embassies and schoolyards and apartment-blocks.

Just an alternative explanation for the falloff in casualties. Which is good per se.

[lentulusgracchus]

Good point. If the Al Q'aeda were still cooperating with the Ba'athist holdouts, having a government full of only partly-reconstructed former Ba'athists would be a scary proposition for security generally.

[FreedomNeocon]

Good point. If the Al Q'aeda were still cooperating with the Ba'athist holdouts, having a government full of only partly-reconstructed former Ba'athists would be a scary proposition for security generally.

Yeah, well it depends on the 'value' you place on "the Iraqi people trusting and having faith in the Iraqi army".

If that is a MAIN concern, you don't want hundreds or thousands of rogue teams, squads or commanders, wearing Iraqi army uniforms, as they carbomb a mosque.

[HardStarboard]

>>>>,i>A declining U.S. casualty rate is a sign of Al Qaeda weakness,.... <<<

Partially: however it is also a result of turning over more of the patrolling responsibility to the Iraqi forces and having them participate heavily in most operations with just a small cadre of US advisers.

Reading between the lines, they have at least 421 fighters willing to take part in a huge martyrdom operation. I don't think Zarqawi is done yet!

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

"U.S. casualties have fallen by 60% since the October Iraqi referendum."

Thank God.

"This was their "Big Bang" in Iraq...and it fizzled."

Thank God again.

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

"I hope they'll soon be seen "hanging around" Baghdad."

Since Saddam's trial is not over yet, they may get to hang with him.