Free Republic

Five authors have sued the parent company of Regnery Publishing, a Washington imprint of conservative books, charging that the company deprives its writers of royalties by selling their books at a steep discount to book clubs and other organizations owned by the same parent company. In a suit filed in United States District Court in Washington yesterday, the authors Jerome R. Corsi, Bill Gertz, Lt. Col. Robert (Buzz) Patterson, Joel Mowbray and Richard Miniter state that Eagle Publishing, which owns Regnery, “orchestrates and participates in a fraudulent, deceptively concealed and self-dealing scheme to divert book sales away from retail outlets...

According to exclusive information obtained by Pajamas Media’s Washington editor Richard Miniter, the movement of key CIA station personnel in Baghdad has been all but shut down. Are we witnessing Iran’s counter-strike to the surge? Movements of key CIA station personnel in Baghdad—along with most State department diplomats and teams building police stations and schools—have been frozen for the second day in a row, according to a State department source who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Essentially, the CIA, State department and government contractors are stuck inside the International Zone, also known as “the Green Zone,” in Central Baghdad....

International man of mystery and Hudson Institute fellow Richard Miniter visits the island of Akhtamar in Lake Van, Turkey, to see the newly restored Church of the Holy Cross - one of the holiest sites for Armenian Christians - for himself at the opening ceremonies: Our story starts with a small sandstone 10th-century Armenian church, on an uninhabited rock less than 500 yards wide, in a remote Turkish lake that changes colors like moods and sometimes bubbles like soda. If you had seen the ruins of it, as I did in 2000, you might cry. Its roof was gone. Its...

Spotted by Predator drone aircraft and sprayed with high-calibre bullets by an U.S. Air Force AC-130 gunship, the U.S. military is hunting al Qaeda operatives in the southern toe of Somalia, according to CBS News. Special Forces Command (or SOCOM) has yet to confirm that the terrorists responsible for the August 7, 1998 embassy bombings—which killed 12 American diplomats and some 211 Africans—were slain in today’s strike. If the gunship’s rounds were on target, it is a major setback for al Qaeda in Africa. Following last year’s sweep by the Kenyans and activities in the Coromos Islands (off the coast...

PJM is making public on this website for the first time the report by the Inspector General’s office regarding Sandy Berger and his theft and destruction of classified national security documents — named in the report as, “The ‘W’ Intelligence Files.” This document was obtained for review by Pajamas Media. Berger, as the former National Security Adviser for the Clinton Administration, was granted sole access to these documents in order to vet them prior to their being turned over to the 9/11 Commission and congress. As this file shows, he used this position of trust to take a number of...

Like many of President Bush’s supporters, I have agreed with and continue to accept the idea that most Muslims are peaceful and do not support violent jihad. I know that a very high proportion of America’s Muslims are professional people – lawyers, teachers and doctors, and that if the 1.6 billion Muslims around the world were terrorists, things would be an order of magnitude worse than they are. In this blog, I have many times referred to this in my support of the President’s attempts to keep the war on terrorists from morphing into a religious war. Why is it...

VIRTUAL KILLTHE CHRIS WALLACE-BILL CLINTON INTERVIEW DECONSTRUCTED HEAR: the only idea clinton was promoting during the interview the devastating case made against bill clinton by: Michael Scheuer, former 'hunting bin Laden' CIA Division Chief, and Richard Miniter, author of Losing Bin Laden: How Bill Clinton's Failures Unleashed Global Terror DECONSTRUCTED INTERVIEW (play now) by Mia T, 9.27.06   "Mr. bin Laden used to live in Sudan. He was expelled from Saudi Arabia in '91 and he went to the Sudan. We'd been hearing that the Sudanese wanted America to start dealing with them again. They released him [bin Laden]....

YESTERDAY I asked Chris Wallace if he was surprised. Wallace is the Fox News host who has become the talk of Washington for simply asking Bill Clinton if he thought he did enough to stop Osama bin Laden before the September 11 attacks. The former president had exploded in a rage at Wallace's question, alleging a conspiracy by America's most watched cable news outfit. He leaned deep into Wallace's personal space, jabbing his finger in his face. And it lasted minute after embarrassing minute. Yes, Wallace was surprised by both the intensity and the answer. Clinton's performance, his defenders say,...

A DEADLY KINDNESS AT GITMO, PC RULES LET QAEDAS PLOT ON By RICHARD MINITER September 15, 2006 -- GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA ON the military plane back from America's most fa mous terrorist holding pen, the in-flight film was "V for Vendetta," a screed that tries to justify terrorism. It was a fitting end to a surreal, military-sponsored trip. The Pentagon seemed to be hoping to disarm its critics by showing them how well it cares for captured terrorists. The trip was more alarming than disarming. I spent several hours with Rear Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., who heads the joint...

On Saturday April 29th "America's Truth Forum" will be holding a symposium on; The Underlying Roots Of Terrorism: Terrorism's Threat to World Peace & National Security Prior to that on Friday at 10am est they will hold a debate at the National Press Club between Richard Miniter and Paul Williams. The debate topic is; "Does Osama Have Suitcase Nukes?" Rightalk.com will be LIVE webcasting the debate. Immediately following the debate will be a press conference at which a BOMBSHELL announcement concerning these topics will be announced! That's all that can be said right now but make sure to TUNE IN!...

'MAKE IT A RULE' TO PLACE YOUR ORDER FOR OSAMA WITH CLINTON and CO.(HEAR HILLARY + BILL MAKE THEIR PITCH) by Mia t, 2.13.06 THE (oops!) INADVERTENT ADMISSIONS OF BILL + HILLARY CLINTON (HEAR HILLARY IN SF) ~PART ONE~ THE FAILED, DYSFUNCTIONAL CLINTON PRESIDENCY(DECONSTRUCTING CLINTON'S HOFSTRA SPEECH) -- part1: clinton's "Brinkley" Lie AFTERWORD: ON CLINTON SMALLNESS(BRINKLEY MISSES THE POINT) WHY DID BILL CLINTON IGNORE TERRORISM?Was it simply the constraints of his liberal mindset, or was it something even more threatening to our national security? IT TAKES A CLINTON TO RAZE A COUNTRY BIN LADEN FINGERS CLINTON FOR TERROR SUCCESS (SEE...

  THE (oops!) INADVERTENT ADMISSIONS OF BILL + HILLARY CLINTON part one FROM WHENCE COMES THEIR REPUTATION FOR BRILLIANCE, ANYWAY? AND WAS THEIR FAILURE TO TAKE OUT BIN LADEN WILLFUL?   by Mia T, 02.08.06 "You know... the job which we should have done 1... which should have been our primary focus, to find [you know] bin Laden and eliminate al Qaeda." hillary clintonSaturday, Jan. 28, 2006 Chitchat with Jane Pauley San Francisco, CA "Mr. bin Laden used to live in Sudan. He was expelled from Saudi Arabia in '91 and he went to the Sudan. We'd been hearing...

CBN.com – WASHINGTON - In November, three Algerian men were arrested in Italy and charged with planning major attacks on U.S. targets. The arrests were front page news in Europe, but not in the U.S. America may just have dodged a major bullet. The three Algerian men planned to carry out attacks on ships, stadiums, and railway stations in the U.S. according to Italian authorities; their goal was to exceed the devastation caused by 9/11. The three men described July terror attacks in London and Egypt, which killed over 140 people and injured hundreds more, as "highdays and holidays." They...

“Iraq was not a breeding ground for terrorism. Our invasion has made it one.” --Sen. Ted Kennedy "Iraq was not a terrorist haven before the invasion." --Sen. John Kerry Ever since the start of “Operation Iraqi Freedom”, opponents of President Bush in general and of the invasion of Iraq in particular have bombarded us with these messages: We created the terrorists by going to Afghanistan and Iraq to fight them. There was no connection between Saddam Hussein and Muslim terrorism. The war was started to give fat contracts to Halliburton, Cheney’s former company. To say that we created the terrorists...

Americans Jumping to Their Deaths on 9/11 Although leftist treachery led to an obscene withdrawal from Vietnam at a time when our troops in the field had won every battle, there were no lasting effects from our defeat due to the efforts of Ronald Reagan. With the installation of the Peacemakers and the development of Star Wars, the “wall” came tumbling down. Through the ages Americans have gotten complaisant about the protection from harm our two great oceans and our brave and brilliant military have afforded us. Unfortunately, I don’t think the same good fortune is in our future if...

An interview with Richard Miniter on the War on Terror, the media's role in promoting terrorism, and the role of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. According to Richard Miniter, an American investigative journalist who is an expert on Islamic terrorism, the West is capable of winning the war on terror. In fact, he thinks it is winning. Miniter, who is a weekly guest on Fox News, has traveled extensively all over the globe and was in Brussels last month on his way to Afghanistan. The Brussels Journal interviewed him. Paul Belien: Rich, you have written two bestselling books about terrorism so...

BIN LADEN FINGERS CLINTON FOR TERROR SUCCESS (SEE FOOTAGE)THE THREAT OF TERRORISM IS AS CLOSE AS A CLINTON IS TO THE OVAL OFFICE by Mia T, 7.15.05 BIN LADEN CREDITSCLINTON COWARDICE, DISLOYALITY + BLACK HAWK DOWN DEBACLE,FOR TERROR SUCCESSSEE FOOTAGE OF BIN LADEN INTERVIEW, BLACK HAWK DOWN DEBACLEhillary talks: ON MILITARY TACTICS (viewing movie requires Flash Player 7, available HERE) hillary talks:ON TERROR (viewing movie requires Flash Player 7, available HERE)   INTERVIEW Osama bin Laden (may 1998)   In the first part of this interview which occurred in May 1998, a little over two months before the U.S. embassy...

Listen While You Freep! All programs are replayed for 23 hours and again on weekends so tune in when it’s convenient for YOU! Call In Number - 866-884-TALK (8255) Heating the EDGE of a New Media! 1pm EST - Is the labor union movement losing steam with the leadership battles, membership decline and regulation crackdown? Or is it gaining steam -- even going after judicial nominees? National Right to Work Foundation will join us to discuss. Also, Attorney Jim Bopp will join us to talk about his latest legal victory -- are you confused about who to vote for in...

RIGHTALK.COM Richard Miniter broke a bombshell this week regarding our ambassador to Pakistan, Nancy Powell. Yes, Powell began her State Department career under . . . . . . . . Jimmy Carter. It was recently learned that Powell blew it big time in the hunt for Osama bin Laden by failing to distribute materials offering a 25 million dollar reward for bin Laden and rewards for his associates. Richard and I will discuss Ms. Powell's incredible failure on Wednesday's show in the first segment. Then, music fans are in for a big treat. FReeper uncleshag and I will...

A lone U.S. ambassador compromised America's hunt for Osama bin Laden in Pakistan for more than two years, The New York Sun has learned. Ambassador Nancy Powell, America's representative in Pakistan, refused to allow the distribution in Pakistan of wanted posters, matchbooks, and other items advertising America's $25 million reward for information leading to the capture of Mr. bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders.Instead, thousands of matchbooks, posters, and other material - printed at taxpayer expense and translated into Urdu, Pashto, and other local languages - remained "impounded" on American Embassy grounds from 2002 to 2004, according to Rep....

FReepers, I am pleased to announced that LOSING BIN LADEN author Richard Miniter will be my guest for one segment on the FreeRepublic Hour on Rightalk Radio. Miniter broke a huge story this week about our ambassador to Pakistan, a female Carter appointee, who failed to aggressively publicize the $25 million bounty on Osama bin Laden. How surprising is it that a Carter appointee would do something like that? His website is RICHARDMINITER.COM After Miniter, I am pleased to bring you FReeper "uncleshag." Unc is a legend in the Canteen, and spins the greatest tunes for the folks who spend...

WASHINGTON - A lone U.S. ambassador compromised America's hunt for Osama bin Laden in Pakistan for more than two years, The New York Sun has learned. Ambassador Nancy Powell, America's representative in Pakistan, refused to allow the distribution in Pakistan of wanted posters, matchbooks, and other items advertising America's $25 million reward for information leading to the capture of Mr. bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders. Instead, thousands of matchbooks, posters, and other material - printed at taxpayer expense and translated into Urdu, Pashto, and other local languages - remained "impounded" on American Embassy grounds from 2002 to 2004,...

As I mentioned earlier, late yesterday afternoon my wireless internet at CPAC went dead, so I was unable to post updates, but I did get to do my interview with Richard Miniter, author of "Shadow War." He was on a panel called "Protecting the Homeland Against Enemies, Foreign and Domestic" with Don Feder, of the US-India League, and Former CIA Counterterorrism Specialist Phil Giraldi—which I unfortunately missed. Afterwards he had his book signing... which he was fashionably late for. However, I got myself in line early, had him sign my book, and told him he could come over to Blogger's...

Every day it seems another American soldier is killed in Iraq. These grim statistics have become a favorite of network news anchors and political chat show hosts. Nevermind that they mix deaths from accidents with actual battlefield casualties; or that the average is actually closer to one American death for every two days; or that enemy deaths far outnumber ours. What matters is the overall impression of mounting, pointless deaths. That is why is important to remember why we fight in Iraq -- and who we fight. Indeed, many of those sniping at U.S. troops are al Qaeda terrorists operating...

Per Heartland with John Kasich....on foxnews. Mansoor says that the idea that Osama Bin Laden is in Waziristan was propaganda by the liberal media. He also believes that now that the US election is over..there will be much less pressure on the Pakistani President to try and find Bin laden. "Bin laden has been able to move this ease," said Mansoor. Kasich: This guy's making video's and we can't find the guy? Can you imagine putting a nuclear weapon next to a guy named Bin Laden? Mansoor: The real nexus of terror is that the Iranians have taken a strategic...

This weekend I interviewed Richard Miniter, author of the new book Shadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush Is Winning the War on Terror, out by Regnery Publishing. He also wrote the New York Times bestselling Losing Bin Laden, which is now out in paperback. We discussed his new book as well as other issues pertaining to the war on terror and this election. Are we winning the war on terror? Richard Miniter gives us some valuable insight to help answer that question: MATT MARGOLIS, BLOGS FOR BUSH: We are now just days away from the election. Americans have...

Osama Bin Laden fled Afghanistan following the battle of Tora Bora in December 2001. He briefly retreated into the Pakistan-controlled portion of Kashmir in January 2002. By June 2002, bin Laden had reportedly moved south into Baluchistan, a mountainous, autonomous tribal region in western Pakistan. It was a sensible place for him to hide. The Baluch are a nation without a country; their ancestral homeland straddles Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. It is likely that his confederates have family and friends among the Baluch. A number of high-ranking al Qaeda operatives are ethnic Baluch, including Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the...

Bush isn't protecting our seaports? Shadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush is Winning the War on Terror | 2004 | Richard Miniter Posted on 10/18/2004 6:49:46 AM PDT by TexasTaysor (John Kerry stated in the 3rd debate that our seaports were not being protected, that Bush had failed miserably and he would do it better. Bush is doing it just fine.) Chapter 5 - Terror At Sea “This is the story of that war, one that America and it’s allies have unequivocally won so far. It is the largely untold tale of ingenious terrorist plots, modern-day pirates, and...

Iran's cleric leaders are harboring Osama bin Laden, according to two Iranian intelligence officials cited in a new book. The sources say they have seen the al-Qaida terrorist leader alive and well, although he no longer resembles the picture on FBI wanted posters. Author Richard Miniter writes in "Shadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush Is Winning the War on Terror" that bin Laden "has trimmed his beard to fit the more traditional look of a Shi'ite cleric and he seemed to have put on weight, according to intelligence officials." The sources say bin Laden is constantly on the...

... Washington: As the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks approached, CIA and FBI officials were scrambling to stop a secret al Qaeda plot to assassinate President George W. Bush. The public was never told why in August 2002 the new Department of Homeland Security raised the alert level from "yellow" to "orange"--signaling a high risk of terrorist attack. But the federal government had fresh, disturbing intelligence that suggested a major attack on America was slated for Sept. 11, 2002. ... Yet in the summer of 2002, American intelligence was not scrambling based on historical analysis or an...

Shadow War, a just-released Regnery book by New York Times best-selling author Richard Miniter, claims the mullahs in Iran are harboring Osama Bin Laden. The claim is based on the testimony of two Iranian intelligence officials who say they saw bin Laden alive and well -- in Iran! "According to these two sources, bin Laden no longer resembles the picture that the FBI has put on its wanted posters. He has trimmed his beard to fit the more traditional look of a Shi’ite cleric and he seemed to have put on weight, according to intelligence officials….” Miniter’s sources claim bin...

Shadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush is Winning the War on Terror by Richard Miniter Shadow WarMiniter, Richard The unreported story of the War on Terror is that we can win it, and that the victories are being won now. In Shadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush is Winning the War on Terror, Richard Miniter, author of the bestseller Losing bin Laden, explains why. (Order both Shadow War and Losing bin Laden together and save almost 50%.) Drawing on material he gathered from court records, government reports, and other authoritative documents, and during travels and interviews...

Every day it seems another American soldier is killed in Iraq. These grim statistics have become a favorite of network news anchors and political chat show hosts. Nevermind that they mix deaths from accidents with actual battlefield casualties; or that the average is actually closer to one American death for every two days; or that enemy deaths far outnumber ours. What matters is the overall impression of mounting, pointless deaths. That is why is important to remember why we fight in Iraq -- and who we fight. Indeed, many of those sniping at U.S. troops are al Qaeda terrorists operating...

Every day it seems another American soldier is killed in Iraq. These grim statistics have become a favorite of network news anchors and political chat show hosts. Nevermind that they mix deaths from accidents with actual battlefield casualties; or that the average is actually closer to one American death for every two days; or that enemy deaths far outnumber ours. What matters is the overall impression of mounting, pointless deaths.That is why is important to remember why we fight in Iraq -- and who we fight. Indeed, many of those sniping at U.S. troops are al Qaeda terrorists operating inside...

Call-In Losing Bin Laden C-SPAN, Washington Journal Miniter, Richard, Author

<p>Richard Clarke should apologize for his book.</p> <p>A year ago, I thought Richard A. Clarke, President Clinton's counterterror czar, was a hero. He and his small band of officials fought a long battle to focus the bureaucracy on stopping Osama bin Laden long before 9/11. For my own book, I interviewed Mr. Clarke extensively and found him to be blunt and forthright. He remembered whole conversations from inside the Situation Room.</p>

<p>A year ago, I thought Richard A. Clarke, President Clinton's counterterror czar, was a hero. He and his small band of officials fought a long battle to focus the bureaucracy on stopping Osama bin Laden long before 9/11. For my own book, I interviewed Mr. Clarke extensively and found him to be blunt and forthright. He remembered whole conversations from inside the Situation Room.</p>

From Richard Miniter's Losing Bin Laden , a book 9-11 Commission hack Roemer will never bring to the hearings: The American troops in Somalia were a perfect Islamist target. One window into bin Laden's thinking comes from Ayman Zawahiri, the head of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, and bin Laden's personal doctor (and ideological mentor by many accounts). Zawahiri listed the ideological enemies of his brand of militant Islam in a book called Knights Under the Prophet's Banner. In addition to the United States and Russia, he cited six enemies of Islamism: "the United Nations (** Memo to Kerrry, Ayman doesn't get...

AN AMAZON SEARCH FOR CURRENT books on Osama bin Laden turns up 50 or so choices. But search for books about the terrorist mastermind and Bill Clinton, and you will find precisely one. Losing bin Laden is the first book to explicitly overlay the ephemeral plottings of al-Qaeda with the chimera that was the 42nd president. George Bush may absorb all current heat for failing to score decisively in the global war on terror, but, in the words of author Richard Miniter, Osama bin Laden "is the unfinished business of the Clinton administration." During the Clinton years the number...

On Now. Discussion on the Sudanese offer of OBL to CLinton. Albright denying it in a clip, but Miniter confirms. Posner on now.

In a major development, potentially as significant as the capture of Saddam Hussein, investigative journalist Richard Miniter says there is evidence to indicate Saddam's anthrax program was capable of producing the kind of anthrax that hit America shortly after 9/11. Miniter, author of Losing bin Laden, told Accuracy in Media that during November he interviewed U.S. weapons inspector Dr. David Kay in Baghdad and that he was "absolutely shocked and astonished" at the sophistication of the Iraqi program.

O'REILLY: "Impact" segment tonight, Saddam Hussein could end the weapons of mass destruction controversy in about two minutes if he told us what he did with all his sarin gas, anthrax, and other WMDs. Joining us now from Washington is Richard Miniter, the author of the book "Losing Bin Laden: How Bill Clinton's Failures Unleashed Global Terror." Mr. Miniter met with CIA weapons hunter David Kay last month in Baghdad. Before we get to that, intriguing report out of Britain that Abu Nidal, who was assassinated by Saddam in Baghdad last year, actually trained Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker on...

  AL GORE'S ENDORSEMENT of Howard Dean was anything but polite. A more diplomatic politician would have praised Dean's major rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination--Dick Gephardt, Joe Lieberman, John Kerry, John Edwards, Wesley Clark--as esteemed colleagues and said they were all capable of being president (including one selected by Gore himself as his 2000 running mate). Instead the former vice president dismissed the whole bunch as "great candidates." "Only one" candidate for the 2004 nomination, said Gore, had stepped forward as he had and come out early, loudly, and extravagantly against President Bush's decision to invade Iraq. "Our...

  hillary talks: ON MILITARY TACTICS ("The you know Easy Part") (viewing movie requires Flash Player 6, available HERE) missus clinton's REAL virtual office updatehttp://hillarytalks.blogspot.comhttp://virtualclintonlibrary.blogspot.comhttp://demmemogate.blogspot.comhttp://www.hillarytalks.ushttp://www.hillarytalks.orgfiendsofhillary.blogspot.comfiendsofhillary.usfiendsofhillary.orgfraudsofhillary.com

Rocky Mountain News   To print this page, select File then Print from your browser URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion/article/0,1299,DRMN_38_2386707,00.html Khalil Senosi © AP/1998 A woman is carried from the ruins of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, on Aug. 7, 1998. Al-Qaida bombs exploding outside the U.S. embassies in the Kenyan and Tanzanian capitals that day killed more than 200. Clinton administration's missed chancesOctober 30, 2003In Losing bin Laden: How Bill Clinton's Failures Unleashed Global Terror (Regnery 2003) author Richard Miniter lets readers know immediately where he stands with regard to the Clinton administration's record on Osama bin Laden before bin...

<p>"Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East," President Bush said in a recent major speech, "did nothing to make us safe." His claim implicitly swept into its indictment previous administrations, even his father's, and served as a reminder, if one were needed, of how much has changed since Sept. 11, 2001.</p>

<p>Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East," President Bush said in a recent major speech, "did nothing to make us safe." His claim implicitly swept into its indictment previous administrations, even his father's, and served as a reminder, if one were needed, of how much has changed since Sept. 11, 2001.</p>

Al Gore and Sen. Jim Jeffords are largely to blame for the slow start of the Bush administration’s security team before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Moreover, the president has good cause to be wary of the Clinton holdover who runs the CIA. Richard Miniter, author of the book “Losing bin Laden,” does not make this case in those exact words, but that is the essence of his message on where the fault lies in lack of preparedness for the aircraft-turned-bombs that brought down the World Trade Center towers, rammed into the Pentagon and went down in Pennsylvania. Gore’s refusal...

<p>When al Qaeda attacked the World Trade Center in 1993, Bill Clinton shrugged.</p> <p>Tuesday, September 30, 2003 12:01 a.m.</p> <p>Before daybreak on Feb. 26, 1993, a yellow Ford 350 Econoline van threaded its way through the Holland Tunnel toward lower Manhattan. At the wheel was Mohammed Salameh, an illegal immigrant with eyesight so poor that he had failed his New Jersey driver's license exam four times.</p>

Every day it seems another American soldier is killed in Iraq. These grim statistics have become a favorite of network news anchors and political chat show hosts. Nevermind that they mix deaths from accidents with actual battlefield casualties; or that the average is actually closer to one American death for every two days; or that enemy deaths far outnumber ours. What matters is the overall impression of mounting, pointless deaths. That is why is important to remember why we fight in Iraq -- and who we fight. Indeed, many of those sniping at U.S. troops are al Qaeda terrorists operating...