Military Reports It Has Killed A Senior Leader of Al Qaeda In Iraq, But Was He Killed A Year Ago?
Military Reports It Has Killed A Senior Leader of Al Qaeda In Iraq, But Was He Killed A Year Ago?
The U.S. military announced today that it has killed a “senior leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.” Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson “identified the man as Abu Usama al-Tunisi, a Tunisian described as a close associate and likely successor to Abu Ayyub al-Masri, Al-Qaeda in Iraq’s Egyptian leader.”
CNN quickly jumped on the story, reporting that al-Tunisi was “killed Tuesday south of Baghdad.” CNN’s Jamie McIntyre reported:
[The military was] able to zero in on this al Qaeda leader in a series of operations that began in early September, and it’s really a textbook of how the U.S. military is operating. Each operation, they capture somebody who’s a little bit closer to the guy they’re looking for.
CNN said the death was confirmed by a hand-written note from al-Tunisi that was found in the aftermath of an airstrike “in which he says he’s surrounded and desperate for help.” “The main thing here,” McIntyre reported, “is the U.S. military insists this was a dangerous terrorist” and it deals “a serious blow” to the al Qaeda leadership. Watch it:
But terrorism analyst Evan Kohlmann issued a “global terror alert” last year stating that al-Tunisi had died in July 2006. Kohlman’s report quotes a release from a terrorist group:
“The martyrdom of Abu Usama al-Tunisi [from Tunisia], the commander of [Al-Qaida’s] Aeisha Brigade [tasked with air defense missions]… I announce the news to the Islamic nation regarding the martyrdom of one of its heroes and true men.”
While it’s possible that there could have been two different Abu Usama al-Tunisis, it is the responsibility of news organizations to resolve these kinds of questions and double-check the facts before reporting them.
Moreover, there is reason for skepticism. In July, the U.S. command in Baghdad “ballyhooed the killing of a key al Qaeda leader but later admitted that the military had declared him dead a year ago.” Also in July, the military announced the capture of a “top leader of al Qaeda in Iraq” who had been captured weeks ago.
UPDATE: After doubts were raised about the recent death of al-Tunisi, counterterrorism analyst Evan Kohlmann wrote of confirmation that Tunisi did in fact die in a raid recently.
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73 Responses to “Military Reports It Has Killed A Senior Leader of Al Qaeda In Iraq, But Was He Killed A Year Ago?”
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Did he work for Al Qaeda in Oceania?
-GSD
September 28th, 2007 at 12:49 pmAnd why would the military not have boasted about the kill when it happened the first time? Don’t they love to tell us about the terrorist leaders they’ve killed?
Not that it matter much anyway, as a new leader will take his place.
September 28th, 2007 at 12:50 pmEven if it were true (and we’ll never know), it’s another example of killing 1 bad guy and creating 1000 in the process. Maybe it’s my lack of aptitude with idiot math keeping me from seeing how that’s “significant progress toward victory”.
September 28th, 2007 at 12:51 pmWhich is exactly why I get my news from both MSM and the Internet. Thank you TP for serving your purpose.
~Sean
September 28th, 2007 at 12:52 pmYeah, right.
September 28th, 2007 at 12:54 pmIf their lucky, maybe the military will have the opportunity to kill him a third time right before the ‘08 elections.
September 28th, 2007 at 12:55 pmThis was the #2 al Qaeda leader they killed about 20 times so far.
Bushco catapults the propaganda to new heights.
They are a very sick and demented administration.
September 28th, 2007 at 12:55 pmMaybe this phony report was given by a phony soldier.
September 28th, 2007 at 12:56 pmSounds familiar.
How many times did Zarqawi die?
September 28th, 2007 at 12:57 pmThis sounds pretty bogus to me. I think Bush had better rescind this one before it makes him look like a total goon.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:01 pmJust when you thought that he’s maxed out with zero credibility, the bar drops a little lower - geesh!
September 28th, 2007 at 1:02 pmBush Regime likes to make up stories on capturing or killing members of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:04 pmThese evildoers keep replacing their lost jihadists with people who have the same name! They knew we would kill them (both) and look bad reporting it.
Evil geniuses they are.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:09 pmWell, this proves it. The Pentagon is obviously cloning these guys so they can kill them repeatedly. Why? Just in case no one was paying attention the first time around.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:10 pmThey stuff them, sew up the bullet holes, and then take one out into the desert every Friedman and shoot them again.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:12 pm/sarc
Kohlman’s report quotes a release from a terrorist group:
“The martyrdom of Abu Usama al-Tunisi [from Tunisia], the commander of [Al-Qaida’s] Aeisha Brigade [tasked with air defense missions]… I announce the news to the Islamic nation regarding the martyrdom of one of its heroes and true men.â€
Is there, um, any chance that, y’know, the original release from the terrorist group was a deliberate falsehood? Y’know, like they were trying to throw us off this guy’s tracks? It is at least possible it is the terrorist group that was lying instead of the US Army, don’t mean to say anything too out there.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:12 pmWell, this proves it. The Pentagon is obviously cloning these guys so they can kill them repeatedly. Why? Just in case no one was paying attention the first time around.
Comment by TheToonGuy
No, because there are no senior al Qaeda people in Iraq and they know it. So they make up these bogus “kills” to try to prove that there are al Qaeda in Iraq. The people who the US has anointed as “al Qaeda” are really insurgents and foreign fighters who have come to Iraq to join the fight against the occupying army (the good ole USA).
September 28th, 2007 at 1:15 pmHe apparently died while using an electric fan in a closed room. Fan death! We’ve secretly been shipping thosands of fans into the area.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:17 pmhttp://www.fandeath.net/
It is at least possible it is the terrorist group that was lying instead of the US Army, don’t mean to say anything too out there.
Comment by Keltoi
Considering their track record for telling the truth, my bet is on the US is the one who is lying. They have been lying to us from day one and the lies just keep on coming. I don’t believe anything they say any longer. Their “cry wolf” was used up a very long time ago.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:18 pmThis one bites the dust.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:19 pmComment by Keltoi — September 28, 2007 @ 1:12 pm
Entirely possible and should be clarified by the military now that this discrepency has been brought to light. Do you think the military will be so dilligent to not only investigate this but make it available to the public? Or is it our job to now hunt down the information and endlessly debate?
September 28th, 2007 at 1:20 pmIs there, um, any chance that, y’know, the original release from the terrorist group was a deliberate falsehood? Y’know, like they were trying to throw us off this guy’s tracks? It is at least possible it is the terrorist group that was lying instead of the US Army, don’t mean to say anything too out there.
Comment by Keltoi — September 28, 2007 @ 1:12 pm
Anything is possible, but that hasn’t been their habit in the past. The US government, on the other hand, has done it several times. So apply Occam’s Razor.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:22 pmI don’t believe anything they say any longer. Their “cry wolf†was used up a very long time ago.
Comment by bilbobaggins — September 28, 2007 @ 1:18 pm
So, for the record, if you have one statement coming from a Jihadi website and one statement from the military that contradict each other, you are going to believe the Jihadis and not the military?
September 28th, 2007 at 1:22 pmPic at top looks to be computer generated image. I bet the guy does not even exist.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:27 pmSo, for the record, if you have one statement coming from a Jihadi website and one statement from the military that contradict each other, you are going to believe the Jihadis and not the military?
Comment by Keltoi
What’s with this “for the record” bit. Are you Jake the Fake’s alter ego? I, unlike most lemming Republics, do some research before I form my opinions. If the situation you suggest were to come up, I would do some background research and come to my conclusions based on what I found.
Like the State Department and Blackwater saying that they did not willfully fire on the Iraqi civilians. But the Iraqi government and the people who witnessed the incident say that they did willfully fire on the Iraqi civilians. Now, since the State Department has admitted to 56 other incidents with Blackwater (and keep in mind those are the only incidents they have admitted to), and the fact that our government set it up so that Blackwater employees can’t be prosecuted, I will tend to believe the Iraqi government and Iraqi citizens over Blackwater. I am basing this judgment on known facts, not on what my government tells me.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:40 pmAnything is possible, but that hasn’t been their habit in the past.
Comment by gummitch — September 28, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
It hasn’t been the habit of Al-Qaeda to not tell the truth in order to gain an operational advantage???????
September 28th, 2007 at 1:41 pm26 - subsitute GOP for AlQaeda, and you’ll still have a statement that is true.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:44 pmThe reason the propaganda machine does this repeatedly and gets away with it? To many western non-Arab ears, Arabic names all sound exactly alike, and to many western non-Arab eyes, Arab faces all look alike. The extreme example of this is confusing Osama bin Laden with Saddam Hussein, despite the fact that the names sound very different and the two men look very different.
The Bushneys take flagrant advantage of this American ignorance — not only mislead Americans into thinking Iraq had something to do with 9/11, but to promote the case for the warmongering at every opportunity. (And the wingnut talking heads are promoting as much confusion between Osama bin Laden and Barack Obama as possible — same principle.)
Whenever they need to shore up support, they will release the name of some operative killed, announce that it’s the “#2 guy” in the operation (it’s NEVER the number one guy — they have to maintain the threat), and count on the American people to not remember it’s the same guy from the same story a year ago.
Unfortunately for them, Americans are wising up. This dog won’t hunt much longer.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:45 pmKeltoi sez:
False choice. One does not have to believe either.
Also, “for the record”, this administration has a record of “killing” Al-Qaeda leaders multiple times. Given how well this announcement fits the administration’s established pattern, the odds of this being just the latest propaganda stunt are pretty good.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:47 pmBilbo,
Sorry bout the record thing, didn’t know it was a sore point.
But here is what you said:
Considering their track record for telling the truth, my bet is on the US is the one who is lying. They have been lying to us from day one and the lies just keep on coming. I don’t believe anything they say any longer. Their “cry wolf†was used up a very long time ago.
Comment by bilbobaggins — September 28, 2007 @ 1:18 pm
You didn’t say, I am going to go research this. You said that the terrorists get the benefit of your doubt, that your “bet” was it was the US military that was lying and the Jihadis are the truthful ones.
It is fine to doubt the words of your government and the military, I am not suggesting lemminglike acceptance, but my God, it seems like Al Qaeda has more credibility with you than your own countrymen! I assume I am misreading your intent.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:47 pm*yawn*
ANOTHER “senior Al Qaeda leader”…?
OK. Whatever.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:52 pmNow the military is resorting to digging up corpses, shooting them and declaring a ‘great victory’~!
September 28th, 2007 at 1:52 pmSounds a little like Hitler and the Bunker days.
#1 - Did he work for Al Qaeda in Oceania?
-GSD
Nah. He was from Al Qaeda in EASTASIA.
*eyeroll*
September 28th, 2007 at 1:53 pmIt hasn’t been the habit of Al-Qaeda to not tell the truth in order to gain an operational advantage???????
Comment by Keltoi — September 28, 2007 @ 1:41 pm
It hasn’t been their habit to report on leaders dying when they’re still alive. Is that difficult for you to understand? Too many words?
In fact, they’ve tended to the opposite tack: deny that any of the leaders is dead unless the West actually has his body in hand.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:00 pmYou didn’t say, I am going to go research this. You said that the terrorists get the benefit of your doubt, that your “bet†was it was the US military that was lying and the Jihadis are the truthful ones.
It is fine to doubt the words of your government and the military, I am not suggesting lemminglike acceptance, but my God, it seems like Al Qaeda has more credibility with you than your own countrymen! I assume I am misreading your intent.
Comment by Keltoi
My point was, Right Wing Loon Keltoi, that I don’t believe anything that my government says to me any longer and I expect they are lying. It could be that they are both lying. No where did I say that I think the “jihadists” are telling the truth, I simply said I no longer believe anything my government tells me. Also, where did the word “jihadist” come from? It wasn’t in the article and it wasn’t in my post. You can twist and interpret what I said any way you like, it’s what defines you as a Right Wing Loon.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:07 pmWell, we KNOW the Bush admin lies (too many examples to quote here) so the only question is whether or not the bad guys lie too.
Comment by margaret — September 28, 2007 @ 1:55 pm
THE ONLY QUESTION IS WHETHER AL-QAEDA LIES?????????
September 28th, 2007 at 2:09 pmKeltoi sez:
And what advantage would Al-Qaeda gain by prematurely announcing the death of one of their leaders?
Compare that to the advantage that would be gained by our administration fraudulently reporting another top-level Al-Qaeda kill.
Cui bono, Keltoi?
Add to that this administration’s track record of engaging in exactly this sort of behavior, and the answer should be clear…even to you.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:14 pmTHE ONLY QUESTION IS WHETHER AL-QAEDA LIES?????????
Comment by Keltoi — September 28, 2007 @ 2:09 pm
Just out of curiosity, do you have a list?
I don’t get the bulletins from Al Qaeda, so I’m not up to date on their lies.
I know about the killing part, and the religious fanaticism, but what have they been lying about now?
September 28th, 2007 at 2:16 pmDamned zombie terrorists.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:17 pmThat is one photoshopped picture If ever I saw one.
#THE ONLY QUESTION IS WHETHER AL-QAEDA LIES?????????
Comment by Keltoi
Why would they tell the truth and spoil all the propaganda?
September 28th, 2007 at 2:22 pm>>My point was, Right Wing Loon Keltoi,
Bilbo! Have I ever once called you a name? Most unhobbit like of you.
>>No where did I say that I think the “jihadists†are telling the truth, I simply said I no longer believe anything my government tells me.
Well, what your government says and what the terrorist website says are in direct contradiction, only one can be true, the guy either died a year ago or didn’t, you don’t believe your government so is it somehow presumptous to infer you do believe the terrorists?
>>Also, where did the word “jihadist†come from? It wasn’t in the article and it wasn’t in my post.
Jihadi/AQ/terrorist are all interchangeable terms to me. Sometimes Libs take exception to the word “terrorist”, so I try to avoid it.
>>You can twist and interpret what I said any way you like, it’s what defines you as a Right Wing Loon.
Comment by bilbobaggins — September 28, 2007 @ 2:07
“Loon.” You wound me.
Did you see the hair splitting fest I had to go through with Tripmaster this week? I have no interest in “twisting your words”, I thought I repeated your words pretty faithfully. And some folks have come to your defense. It seems totally weird to me, but it sure looks like there are people at TP that think AQ is more to be trusted than Bush. Bizarre.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:23 pmI’m surprised that no one has noted that this double homicide is yet another reason to question how good our so-called “intelligence” is.
If we can’t even identify these folks correctly, and we were so good on Uranium powder cakes in aluminum tubing hidden in secret germ warfare facilities in Iraq, ….. If we publicized fictitious plots against the Capitol Building while Congress was voting on an intelligence bill…….
What makes anyone think that the intelligence is good about Iran ?
I don’t consider myself a tinfoil hat person, yet. But I have heard that the US Intelligence community has set up its on structure, economy, etc. in order to be able to work outside of any sort of oversight.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:24 pmKeltoi, care to answer the questions I posed to you in my earlier post, or have you just gone straight to ducking me again?
September 28th, 2007 at 2:26 pmTo paraphrase Ronald Dumbsfeld”
It’s just the same guys killing the same terrorist ofver and over.”
jb
September 28th, 2007 at 2:31 pmNews just in: U.S. military officials announce they have killed a high-level al-Quaida operative for the 10th time since war began.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:34 pmJust out of curiosity, do you have a list? I don’t get the bulletins from Al Qaeda, so I’m not up to date on their lies. I know about the killing part, and the religious fanaticism, but what have they been lying about now?
Comment by gummitch — September 28, 2007 @ 2:16 pm
I don’t read or speak Arabic, but this site
http://www.memri.org/
purports itself to be English version articles from a variety of Mid-East sources. Worth a look. I go to Al-Jazeera now and then, I go to IRNA (plenty of lying there), I don’t visit AQ websites, it seems pointless to me.
As far as the lies, everything about AQ’s murder and fanaticism is based on lies. “Here kid, take this vest, hide it under your robe, blow up as many people in the market as you can and you will go be with Allah and have 77 virgins, blah, blah, blah…” . This is their primary MO. To debate whether they tell lies seems Kafkaesque to me - especially since there are so many people at TP who KNOW their government lies.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:37 pmThat is one photoshopped picture If ever I saw one.
Comment by Xisithrus — September 28, 2007 @ 2:22 pm
I took it to be an artist’s rendering rather than a photo, like the drawings of suspected rapists and robbers in the newspaper. “Uh, no, his eyes are a little smaller than that and his nose is bigger . . . ”
What struck me about the CNN article is that the confirmation of his death was essentially because someone found a note. DNA anyone?
September 28th, 2007 at 2:39 pmYou gotta give the military and gov a little slack when it comes to identifying dead terrorists. Lots of times we don’t have a body or the body is to badly damaged to make a positive ID. We often confirm these things through second hand sources like internet postings and even talk between insurgents.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:42 pmAs far as the lies, everything about AQ’s murder and fanaticism is based on lies. “Here kid, take this vest, hide it under your robe, blow up as many people in the market as you can and you will go be with Allah and have 77 virgins, blah, blah, blah…†. This is their primary MO. To debate whether they tell lies seems Kafkaesque to me - especially since there are so many people at TP who KNOW their government lies.
Comment by Keltoi — September 28, 2007 @ 2:37 pm
In other words, NO, you don’t have a list.
The “lies” that you refer to are no different than the “lies” spread by Christians that they’re going to be lifted into heaven by the Rapture. Or any number of other religious beliefs held by Christians, Mormons, Buddhists . . . unless you have some specific proof that the people recruiting suicide bombers don’t believe in Paradise, you’ve still not managed to produce any lies. Yet you want everyone to take it on faith, simply because Al Qaeda are fanatical religious conservatives.
The lies told by our government are much easier to document, which is why it’s easy to believe we’re being lied to yet again.
There’s nothing Kafkaesque about it, and we’re still waiting for your list. Since, you know, you were so definite about it.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:44 pmthat cnn photo looks like it was generated by the software that police use nowadays to generate “sketches” of alleged perps from witness descriptions. If the Minneapolis PD had to rely on those, we might have had all the male GOPers in Congress under arrest for soliciting man-sex in the airport bathroom.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:49 pmThere’s nothing Kafkaesque about it, and we’re still waiting for your list. Since, you know, you were so definite about it.
Comment by gummitch — September 28, 2007 @ 2:44 pm
“Everyone stay in your seats and you will not be harmed. This plane is being hijacked. Stay in your seats and no harm will come to you.”
Boom.
It is totally off the charts Kafkaesque to even debate this point. If you want to think AQ has a moral problem with lying to advance their goals, enjoy.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:54 pmA recent example of an Al Qaida lie. Straight from the mouth of the person who bought the lie.
http://www.cnn.com/ 2007/ WORLD/ meast/ 09/ 14/ reformed.jihadist/ index.html
September 28th, 2007 at 2:56 pmSo…you’re going with the “ducking me” option, huh, Keltoi?
Probably a smart call, if a bit craven.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:58 pmI don’t doubt for a second that AQ does nothing but lie, but I’m not so hysterical that I don’t recognize them for what they are: 3rd world asshats hiding in caves jacking it with their AK’s, with very little real power to do anything. I’m proud enough of our military and intelligence professionals that I can trust them to do their job properly, and avoid all but the most unavoidable things that might do us harm. This whole GWoT bullsh*t has been nothing but a back-handed insult to all of them, who had been diligently succeeding in their jobs prior to the ascension of the Cheerleader Prince and his cadre of liars with agendas.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:02 pmSome people, on the other hand, seem to believe that the Cheerleader Prince, in league with some dusty cold war fossil radicals, are somehow better at that job than the thousands of dedicated professionals (who could read and speak Arabic), who were doing that job in 2000 and before. That’s a mighty big leap.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:04 pmThey usually drop these “Qaeda bombs” to ensure that the evening newscast covers this story at the expense of some more important story. And since Friday is the typical news-dump day, something could be coming. Funny how they kill so many Al Qaedas on Fridays.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:06 pmTombaker:
3rd world asshats hiding in caves jacking it with their AK’s, with very little real power to do anything.
In fact, Al-Qaeda has been heavily supported by the CIA in the past and heavily supported by lots of Saudi money. They are the dumbest and most fanatical branch of Islam. Thats why they are called despectively Wahabbites in the Islam world. They deny 1000 years of Islam techings and say it is ok to kill people.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:13 pmJuan, you know that doesn’t mean they have an industrial base, or an army, or the means to accomplish .001% of their lunatic agenda.
Yes - they get money from the Saudis, whose faces the Bushes kiss every chance they get. They’ve probably gotten a big chumk of the money and guns Patraeus lost in Iraq, too - none of it makes them a big’ol threat to anyone outside their immediate geographic sphere of influence. The Crips stand a better chance of taking over the country than they do, and that’s not a chance I’m afraid of to the point of killing innocents, blowing the arms and legs off Americans, and emptying our Treasury for. (and I know where you stand on these things too, so I’m not disagreeing with you)
September 28th, 2007 at 3:25 pmHere’s what fascinates me about this piece… the U.S. governments uncanny ability to find important pieces of paper in the most paper-unfriendly places.
In this instance, after aerial bombardment with high explosives that killed people and brought down structures, our government was able to find a miracle piece of paper: “the death was confirmed by a hand-written note from al-Tunisi that was found in the aftermath of an airstrike “in which he says he’s surrounded and desperate for help.†Miraculously, it was found among the rubble, neither destroyed nor rendered unreadable by the fire or by collapsing debris.
Similarly, the U.S. was able to identify (and thus confirm) a hijacker of Flight 93 by recovering a mostly unscathed visa in the mostly non-existent wreckage of Flight 93, which exploded prior to impact and was reportedly strewn up to 2 and 1/2 miles from the crash site. http://www.prisonplanet.com/ articles/ august2004/ 230804visafound.htm
http://www.911truth.org/ article.php?story=20060309100619120
And yet another miracle. On September 12, 2001, a hijacker’s passport was found on the ground near the world trade center. http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/ context.jsp?item=a091101passportsfound#a091101passportsfound
Amazing! Fire burned so hot and for so long that it caused the first high-rise collapse in recorded history, but a piece of paper from someone on the plane that crashed into the buildings (the source of the fire): our government recovered that.
Damn we’re good. Gosh. Who needs black boxes when something so vulnerable as paper is consistently recoverable?
September 28th, 2007 at 3:34 pmIt is totally off the charts Kafkaesque to even debate this point. If you want to think AQ has a moral problem with lying to advance their goals, enjoy.
Comment by Keltoi — September 28, 2007 @ 2:54 pm
More evidence of your psychic powers. Now you’re able to tell me what I think. Amazing.
You made the original statement and I merely asked for evidence that you knew what you were talking about. So far, you’ve been able to establish that we shouldn’t trust the words of conservative religious fundamentalists.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:40 pmIt is totally off the charts Kafkaesque to even debate this point. If you want to think AQ has a moral problem with lying to advance their goals, enjoy.
Comment by Keltoi — September 28, 2007 @ 2:54 pm
More evidence of your psychic powers. Now you’re able to tell me what I think. Amazing. You made the original statement and I merely asked for evidence that you knew what you were talking about. So far, you’ve been able to establish that we shouldn’t trust the words of conservative religious fundamentalists.
Comment by gummitch — September 28, 2007 @ 3:40 pm
Mitch, I don’t mean to put words in your mouth, there is just enough real controversy to debate that I don’t feel the need to Google “Lies of AQ” and then give you “evidence”. See post #50 if you really need that. It is like the thing with Trip where we had to spend 10 posts on whether Iran is developing nuclear weapons or not, and for that exercise I ceded the word “May” be developing nukes - it is hardly worth it. It is parsing to the point of absurdity.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:57 pmHow disappointing, Keltoi.
I gave you multiple chances to respond to my questions, not wanting you to be able to claim I disingenuously “claimed victory and fled the field”, as you’ve tried to do in the past.
I know that the reason for your failure to respond was not simple absence, since you responded to gummitch several times, while studiously ignoring me.
I even asked if you were intentionally ducking me, in an effort to shame you into responding. Apparently, you are too shameless for this ploy to be successful.
So, when confronted with questions you’d rather not try to answer, it seems like your strategy is to “flee the field”. Pathetic.
Well, it’s after 4:00 pm EDT, which means I need to sign off I think that almost two hours is long enough to wait for a response. I’ll be going away for the weekend, but I’ll be back on Monday, and we can continue this then.
Oh, and by the way, Keltoi, if you don’t have the integrity to address me directly, you coward, at least be man enought to refrain from snidely referring to me in the third person, especially when you are referencing an argument in which you were so soundly beaten.
Have a good weekend, everyone.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:07 pmWell, this looks like an open and shut case:
Saddam’s WMD program was really about cloning technology!
This guy’s been killed twice. Chemical Ali was captured and/or killed at least three times. The only answer is clones.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:15 pmIn this instance, after aerial bombardment with high explosives that killed people and brought down structures, our government was able to find a miracle piece of paper: “the death was confirmed by a hand-written note from al-Tunisi that was found in the aftermath of an airstrike “in which he says he’s surrounded and desperate for help.†Miraculously, it was found among the rubble, neither destroyed nor rendered unreadable by the fire or by collapsing debris.
Comment by Eskwaya — September 28, 2007 @ 3:34 pm
I was wondering about this, too. I have to wonder how this zombie managed to find time to write a memo while under aerial bombardment. And why? Was he hoping for a carrier pidgeon to break through the front lines and get his message to the cavalry? Or was he perhaps hoping the UPS guy would stop by?
And yes, it’s entirely possible that the ISI contained two men from Tunisia who had first-born sons named Usama, but one would think they’d coordinate this and agree to use some other of their fifteen names publicly to prevent the confusion.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:16 pmHere’s a fun site for those with the stomach.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/ archive/ years/ 2007/ 0524072torture1.html
Tell a lie? These boyscouts? Naahhh.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:18 pmTell a lie? These boyscouts? Naahhh.
Comment by Keltoi — September 28, 2007 @ 4:18 pm
And completely beside the point. AQI and their ISI affilliates are shameless self-promoters who issue press releases and glossy magazines boasting about their activities in Iraq. And they do lie. They occasionally inflate stories of their successes, claiming that one of their attacks caused more casualties than it did. Sometimes they claim responsibility for attacks that they didn’t even carry out. These lies are intended to boost their support by looking victorious.
What doesn’t make sense, however, is why they’d lie about their “senior leader” being killed if he wasn’t actually killed. This would not seem to be a morale-booster. What possible strategic purpose would this accomplish?
September 28th, 2007 at 4:25 pmtom baker, agreed.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:38 pmWhat doesn’t make sense, however, is why they’d lie about their “senior leader†being killed if he wasn’t actually killed. This would not seem to be a morale-booster. What possible strategic purpose would this accomplish?
Comment by toasterhead — September 28, 2007 @ 4:25 pm
As I suggested 50 posts ago, if he is dead we quit hunting him. It was suggested as a possibility instead of assuming our military is lying.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:41 pm.
And I stll agree with Fox, OBL died in 2001.
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September 28th, 2007 at 4:44 pm.
Or is OBL really dead?
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September 28th, 2007 at 4:51 pmThey did an excellent job and killed someone.
September 28th, 2007 at 5:04 pmDoesn’t the picture look like one that is always used in textbooks when talking about “a Romanov.”
September 28th, 2007 at 10:43 pm>As I suggested 50 posts ago, if he is dead
>we quit hunting him.
> It was suggested as
>a possibility instead of assuming our military is lying.
Except there is absoltutely NO, and I repeat ZERO evidence of a AQ ever having used a lie OF THIS SORT, FOR THIS PURPOSE, before.
SOnny boy.. everybody lies. Every government, military, para-military, terrorist, freedom fighter group lies. Thats not the point.. the point is asking “what is person lying about” “why are they lying” and “what is the history of this TYPE of lies”..
so can you PLEASE, “for the record”, jake, point us to past instances where AQ has used the TACTIC of trying to throw us off thier leaders trails by lying about their deaths?
Because I guarantee you I can show you instances of the military having killed the same person multiple times.
wake up. there are NO good guys in this world. the myth that america has been uniquely blessed by some divine being is, in the words of your straussian heroes, a “noble lie”.
ask tens of thousands of dead civilians in central america whether the united states fund terrorist groups. american officials have been convicted of lying to congress about it. its a matter of record.
“for the record”, let me ask you a hypotehtical… a brutal middle eastern dictator claims he has posession of no weapons of mass destruction. george bush insists that he does, and that he knows where they are. they are north, south, east and west of tiktrik.
who do you beleive our president, or the brutal middle eastern dictator?
September 29th, 2007 at 9:08 am