Iraqi general calls al-Qaida 'open book'

UPI ^ | 11 Jan 08 | Unknown

[elhombrelibre]

BAGHDAD, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Al-Qaida in Iraq has been successfully penetrated and is virtually an "open book," the Iraqi Interior Ministry announced Friday.

"We have succeeded in establishing a capable intelligence apparatus to penetrate the al-Qaida organization in Iraq and all armed groups targeting Iraqi national security," said Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf, director of operations at the Interior Ministry.

Khalaf added that sectarian sedition in Iraq has virtually ended, KUNA reported Friday.

"Al-Qaida is now an open book for us, now that we have succeeded in penetrating it," Khalaf said.

He did not reveal the extent of al-Qaida's reach in Iraq but said that trained Iraqi security forces are operating covertly within the terrorist organization, which he said will be dismantled soon.

Khalaf's remarks come after Iraqi security forces announced the recent killing of Abu Qataadah al-Saudi, one of the most prominent leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq, in a military operation in south-west Samarra.

[elhombrelibre]

Good news starting to leak out of Iraq ping.

[elhombrelibre]

Related thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1952595/posts

[sphinx]

trained Iraqi security forces are operating covertly within the terrorist organization

How long can it be before their names are on the front page of the New York Times?

[elhombrelibre]

This is why they must never be known. NYT would feel an obligation to its highbrow liberal readers to identify these gallant men.// sarcasm off// They’d happily expose the men and women who have infiltrated al Qaeda in Iraq.

[DB]

Sounds dangerously overconfident to me.

[moonman]

my thought exactly

[madconserv]

I disagree with you. I think his statement is close to reality. Here's one reason why: Countrywide Offensive in Iraq Aims at Stamping Out al Qaeda By Fred W. Baker III American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2008 – Forces in Iraq have ramped up efforts this week to stamp out remaining al Qaeda hot spots there, pummeling areas with air strikes and bombs and surging troops in previously uncontrolled territories. Coalition forces attacked suspected hideouts in the north, including in Diyala province, and air strikes yesterday concentrated on the southern outskirts of Baghdad in the Arab Jabour region. “We are not leaving holes or safe havens for the enemy,” Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson, chief of staff for Multinational Corps Iraq, said in a conference call with military analysts. So far, military officials reported, forces have captured or killed more than 30 insurgents and uncovered numerous weapons caches. The bombings yesterday targeted deeply buried bombs, Anderson said. Anderson said the assault, dubbed Operation Phantom Phoenix, targets areas where al Qaeda operatives fled after being forced out of the more secure regions in the country. Some have migrated to regroup in areas that have few or no coalition forces, he said. The general said that, as the local citizens feel more secure, more tips are coming in pointing out where to find insurgents and their weapons. Some weapons found include Iranian markings, Anderson said, but there are fewer of those than before. Most of the finds uncover weapons of all types. So far, troops have uncovered car bombs, house bombs and suicide vests, among other weapons and munitions. “You do find everything from old stuff to new stuff,” Anderson said. “There are data plates, markings, writing, that links it to Iran very clearly. The further north you go, the less Iranian-linked it is. The further south you go, the more Iranian-linked it is.” Anderson also said coalition forces are finding fewer foreign fighters in the al Qaeda ranks. The group is recruiting more locally, he said. http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48640

[SolidWood]

Think about it from a different perspective. He is raising fear and mistrust among Al-Qaeda by this. Now they don’t know whom they can trust among their “brethren”.

[Allegra]

Sounds dangerously overconfident to me.

I don't think it does. Since the Awakening Councils with the CLCs started catching on and growing, great strides have been made against al Qaeda.

They're defeated and they know it. They just won't admit it.

[elhombrelibre]

Not overconfident for those who know.

[angkor]

I’m hoping that when the dust has settled in Iraq that we’ll get a better view of what “The Surge” has really been all about. Because IMO (In My Obsevation) a huge amount of it has been a sharp uptick on the covert side, most certainly from Joint Special Operations Command (aka Task Force 121, Task Force 145 and maybe Task Force 77 and more recently TF 88).

It would be interesting to see something from Mark Bowden (Blackhawk Down), but he may have worn out his welcome with his coverage of Task Force 77 back in last April’s Atlantic Monthly. Michael Yon would also be a good journo for thatkind of stry, but he seems too embedded with the conventional troops. Anyway I hope that somewhere there’s a reporter with a good relationship with CENTCOM and especially JSOC (actually I think Yon deserves the access due to all of his unrewarded previous work).

Bottom line is that (a) Iraqis are certainly part of the JSOC Task Force XX operations, and (b) JSOC seems to be doing a bangup job of nabbing and killing large numbers of AQ operatives over the last 6 months. Lots of stories have run (and been posted on FR) discussing raids on high value targets, typically resulting in the demise of many bad guys and the capture of an equal number.

How do I arrive at this speculation? Just go back 9 months to a year and look at the increasing percentage of CENTCOM press releases discussing the victories of “Coalition forces” but with no unit numbers, names, or personnel descriptions of any kind whatsoever. Occasionally there’ll be a reference to “Iraqi forces” being involved (with the good guys).

Draw your own conclusions, but that looks like JSOC work to me.

[SShultz460]

Man of the Year 2007

[elhombrelibre]

I know from talking with our SF guys that the Iraqi Special Forces were getting to be very good in their opinion. I asked one of our SF guys who was training them to shoot what he thought of their marksmanship, and he was very impressed. I believe you’re 100% correct though that there has been a combined, joint service, multinational covert and unconventional operation of great intensity directed against al Qaeda in Iraq whose story would be fascinating if anyone could or would tell it.

[Dog]

Like I said in a freepmail to you...its what they don’t say in the press releases....that is the key.

[elhombrelibre]

He’s the architect of the winning strategy.

[elhombrelibre]

” 34 al Qaeda killed in day's fighting during Phantom Phoenix “

[elhombrelibre]

Clearly, this Iraqi quoted in the article is correct. Consider these sentences from Bill Roggio's Long War Journal.

"Two senior al Qaeda in Iraq operatives were killed along with 32 foot soldiers during fighting in Arab Jabour, Miqdadiyah, and the Samarra region. Another 34 al Qaeda fighters were reported captured."

[SShultz460]

Roark

[elhombrelibre]

Huh?