Zawarhi Vows Revenge For Libi Killing

There has been a video posting on the Web by Al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri vowed revenge for the killing of a top group commander in a suspected U.S. attack in Pakistan, speaking in a video posted on the Internet on Wednesday. No chief of ours had died of a natural death, nor has our blood been spilled without a response," Zawahri said in the video posted on an Islamist Web site, referring to the killing of Abu Laith al-Libi.

Libi, considered as one of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants in Afghanistan, was killed in a suspected U.S. missile strike that killed up to 13 foreign militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan border area in late January. "If one of our chiefs passes, another arises in his place," Zawahri said, without making a specific threat. Zawahri, wearing a black turban, spoke as he sat next to an assault rifle in front of shelves full of Islamic books.

"So seek help O Americans and agents of Americans ... from those seeking a way out ... They will be of no help to you," he said, referring to Muslim clerics who have criticized jihadist militants. Al Qaeda condemns as sell-outs Muslim clerics, including renowned scholars, who have said its jihadist ideology is un-Islamic. The video was produced by al Qaeda's media arm As-Sahab and carried English subtitles. Libi's prominence in al Qaeda was highlighted last year by his appearance in a video with Zawahri. He was the first spokesman to announce bin Laden had survived the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.

U.S. media have said the Libyan-born militant was believed to be behind a suicide bombing in February 2007 that killed 23 people outside the main U.S. Bagram base in Afghanistan during a visit by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. In October the U.S. military in Afghanistan named Libi among several "mid-level" al Qaeda and Taliban leaders and offered a $200,000 bounty for him, U.S. media reported. Some Western anti-terrorism analysts said past killings of leading al Qaeda figures had shown there were usually others ready to fill the gap in the organization's ranks. But other said Libi's killing was a significant U.S. success.

So it would appear that al-Qaeda doesn't like us killing them. Wouldn't it be interesting if they actually incorporated being killed in their future plans, and Oh! maybe turn their energies toward assisting their people, instead of more death and destruction, and maybe then we would "play nice" as well. Okay, that is probably not true, but they really haven't tried that tactic yet, have they!!

al-Qaeda Backlash?

Did the assassins of Adbul-Sattar Abu Risha, turn the tide against al-Qaeda operatives in Iraq?

Some 1,500 mourners called for revenge Friday as they buried the leader of the Sunni revolt against al-Qaeda, who was assassinated by a bomb after meeting with President Bush earlier this month. An al-Qaeda front in Iraq claimed responsibility for the blast that killed Adbul-Sattar Abu Risha, 37, and three companions. A statement posted on the Internet by the Islamic State of Iraq called Abu Risha "one of the dogs of Bush" and described Thursday's killing as a "heroic operation that took over a month to prepare."

This could be the proverbial "straw that broke the camels back", as al-Qaeda has caused thousands of deaths since the beginning of the insurgency and they may have over-stepped their bounds by killing this sheik.

I am not sure how this will work out for the people in this region of Iraq, but the foundation of revenge attacks against al-Qaeda have been sown and only time will tell whether that is good or bad for Iraqi's and for our troops, who are stuck in the middle of this violence!



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al-Qaeda Plots To Hit West

There is an interesting story indicating that al-Qaeda has an active plot to hit the West. The United States knows about it but doesn’t have enough tactical detail to issue a precise warning or raise the threat level, says Vice Admiral (ret.) John Scott Redd, who heads the government’s National Counterterrorism Center. In an interview at his headquarters near Washington, D.C., Redd told Newsweek’s Mark Hosenball and Jeffrey Bartholet that the country is better prepared than ever to counter such threats. But he also believes another successful terror attack on the U.S. homeland is inevitable.

Please take a few moments to read the entire story as it is quite interesting and parellels what many of us believe, and have said or written about in recent weeks. It is not so we can be convinced it is alright to attack another country, (Iran?), but so we can remain vigilant everyday!

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Report Says CIA Missed Chances To Stop al-Qaeda

In a story released today about the report concerning the CIA's handling of al-Qaeda and Osama bin-Laden before 9/11, and the utter chaos that existed within the agency during the period between 1993 and 2001. There will be ample opportunity to throw blame in a number of corners, from the head of the agency, George Tenet, to low level staffer's who let crucial information go through their collective fingers and not being passed on to anyone of importance.

The CIA's top leaders failed to use their available capabilities, never developed a comprehensive plan to stop al-Qaeda and missed crucial opportunities to thwart two hijackers in the run-up to Sept. 11, 2001, the agency's own watchdog concluded in a very harsh report released Tuesday. Completed in June 2005 and kept classified until now, the 19-page executive summary finds extensive fault with the actions of senior CIA leaders and others beneath them. "The agency and its officers did not discharge their responsibilities in a satisfactory manner," the CIA inspector general found.

I hope that this information will be used to better the agency and what they need to do now, instead of just rehashing old squabbles about whose fault it was finally. The Republican's keep pointing at President Clinton, and the Democrats point at President Bush's lack of serious focus on al-Qaeda or bin-Laden in the run-up to 9/11. The truth is that it a little of everybody's fault. President Clinton was apprehesive about what level of force to use to get bin-Laden, as he was already accused of "wag the dog" politics when he sent troops to Kosovo during that conflict, as well as the time he fired missiles into Afghanistan to "get" bin-Laden. Also, it has been shown that when the Bush Administration first got into the White House, terrorism and bin-Laden were low on their list of priorities. So we have a compilation of "whose fault is it anyway", and it gets us no where, if we do not learn from it, and correct the errors, before they hit us again.

No matter who we ultimately blame for 9/11, we can be sure that sooner or later they will keep their word and "Hit us Again", and they will try and make it bigger and badder than 9/11. That my friends is the one certainty in all of this. "They are Coming Back to hit us again"!!

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bin-Laden Alive?

I just saw a story about a new al-Qaeda videotape posted Sunday on a militant Web site featured a short, undated clip of a weary-looking Osama bin Laden praising martyrdom.
So I guess the A$$#*(e is still alive. how sad for the world. Anyway I have a link to the full story below!
The bin Laden clip, which lasted less than a minute, was part of a 40-minute video featuring purported al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan paying tribute to fellow militants who have been killed in the country.

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The American al-Qaeda

I recommend a viewing of the homegrown turncoat who went on a seven minute rant on vedeotape about how he and his al-Qaeda buddies were going to cause us much death and destruction if we do not give in to their demands.
If it wasn't so sad it would be funny. How can this young man a product of the United States end up hating us so much that he throws in with a bunch of cowardly thug terrorists. In the videotape he was wearing a white robe and turban as he spouted on about how if we did not leave their country we could see more horrors then September 11th, Afghanistan, Iraq and Virginia Tech and that al-Qaede would not negotiate on their demands.
I was reading that Mr. Gadahn, has been charged in a United States treason indictment with aiding al-Qaeda. In the videotape he spoke in English and the video carried Arabic subtitles. The video appeared on a Web site often used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of al-Qaeda’s media wing, as-Sahab.
Some of you might remember that Mr.Gadahn, appeared in an al-Qaeda video last September in which he called on Americans to convert to Islam, demanded that Bush remove all United States military forces and spies from Islamic countries, free all Muslims from United States prisons and end support for Israel. He said a withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq alone would not satisfy al-Qaeda.
Mr. Gadahn is a Caifornia native and he is the frst American to be charged with treason in more than 50 years and could face the death penalty if he is ever caught and convicted. He was also charged with providing material support to terrorists.
Now I guess we are supposed to see the videotape and his fair warning about what will happen if we do give into their demands.There is no way we are going to give into to these demands, so I guess we need to be more vigilant, because maybe he knows of an impending attack. Hopefully at some point United States military will get their hands around his terrorist neck and wring it.
Anyway I hope you get a chance to view it for yourself it is on many sites and see the American face of al-Qaeda. I guess we can only be thankful that they have not a very good job of recruiting in this country if there are so few turncoats. May Mr. Gadahn be allowed to meet Allah in the very near future.

Americans Rescue 42 Iraqi's From al-Qaeda

In a very hopeful sign, the people in Diyala a province in the north of Iraq that has been very violent have tipped off American troops to the presence of an al-Qaeda hide-out.
It is being reported that American troops raided the al-Qaeda hide-out and freed some 42 Iraq's who had been imprisoned inside. Some of the freed Iraq's had been tortured and suffered broken bones as a senior military official related the story to the press.
There has been a very intense security crackdown that included the deployment of some 3,000 American troops into the Diyala province. There has been a lot of heavy fighting in this area for the last couple of weeks as reported by news outlets and the wire services.
It is also being reported that some of these captives had been held for as long as 4 months. The youngest was a fourteen year old boy who when found was blindfolded and suspended from the ceiling with rope.
The 42 freed Iraqi's were the largest group of captives ever found in a single al-Qaeda prison and as mentioned at the beginning, this site was found , because the local populace tipped off our American troops to its' presence.
So on a Memorial Day weekend which has seen the deaths of at least 8 more Americans, we can see what some of the faces of the innocents look like. These people are who our troops are fighting and dying to save. This in addition to making sure that the fight with the terrorists stays contained in Iraq and does not follow us home if we cut and run as the Democrats and some Republicans would like us to do.
Anyway just a nice way to cap this somber weekend!! Good Day All!!