Under U.S. Pressure, Al Qaeda in Iraq Shifts Tactics

Wall Street Journal ^ | January 20, 2008 | Gina Chon

[america4vr]

With the U.S. military routing al Qaeda in Iraq out of the country’s urban population centers and into rural areas, the terrorist group has been forced to change its tactics and is using the northern city of Mosul as a major operations hub.

Al Qaeda in Iraq had been known for spectacular attacks that produced dozens, if not hundreds, of deaths and generated a lot of publicity, which was useful for the group’s propaganda strategy, U.S. military and intelligence officials said on Sunday.

But with al Qaeda in Iraq largely cleared out of Baghdad, the western Anbar province and other areas, the group’s attacks have been more targeted toward infrastructure and the Concerned Local Citizens, groups of mainly Sunni security volunteers that now are on the American side of the fight. A senior intelligence official also noted the differences between current al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri and his predecessor, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in June 2006. Zarqawi was known to be totally ruthless and endorsed attacks that killed indiscriminately, while Masri has been relatively less brutal, the senior intelligence official said.

[america4vr]

Failure is an orphan, Success has a thousand fathers as the saying goes. Lots of folks are looking to assume paternity these days.

[Tut]

Al Qaeda in Iraq probably wants to hang on till at least the day Bush leaves office hoping a Democrat gets in and declares failure the first day and packs the troops up and go home. The Al Qaeda would be free to do what ever they wanted and that would give them a BUNCH of mojo.

[america4vr]

Interesting. So you’re saying that the US success is illusionary because Al Qaeda has made a deliberate decision to pull back and wait to see how the election turns out?

[Thud]

Let the Kurds ethnically cleanse Mosul of Sunni Arabs and there will cease to be an Al Qaeda problem in Mosul.

[Tut]

I am saying the Al Queda are all very aware of our politics and the views of the Democrats.

All the speeches and promises the democrat presidentual candidates have made is their desire to declare failure and pull the troops out of Iraq and go home. Hillary Clinton said that is exactly what she will do the very first day on the job.

They will be waiting and pulling for the Democrat win next November.

[jveritas]

Zarqawi was known to be totally ruthless and endorsed attacks that killed indiscriminately, while Masri has been relatively less brutal, the senior intelligence official said.

It is not because Al Masri is less brutal, it is because Al Qaeda has been utterly defeated and their capabilities to launch massive carnage has been greatly reduced. They will do it if they can, and they may succeed in doing it from time to time but it is much less frequent than before because they have been crushed by our US military.

[Son House]

Clinton said that is exactly what she will do the very first day on the job

Now that Biden’s out, Clinton can go back to Candy Land.