Al Qaeda Chiefs Are Seen to Regain Power

[ylexot]

Senior leaders of Al Qaeda operating from Pakistan have re-established significant control over their once-battered worldwide terror network and over the past year have set up a band of training camps in the tribal regions near the Afghan border, according to American intelligence and counterterrorism officials.

American officials said there was mounting evidence that Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, had been steadily building an operations hub in the mountainous Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan. Until recently, the Bush administration had described Mr. bin Laden and Mr. Zawahri as detached from their followers and cut off from operational control of Al Qaeda.

The United States has also identified several new Qaeda compounds in North Waziristan, including one that officials said might be training operatives for strikes against targets beyond Afghanistan.

American analysts said recent intelligence showed that the compounds functioned under a loose command structure and were operated by groups of Arab, Pakistani and Afghan militants allied with Al Qaeda. They receive guidance from their commanders and Mr. Zawahri, the analysts said. Mr. bin Laden, who has long played less of an operational role, appears to have little direct involvement.

Officials said the training camps had yet to reach the size and level of sophistication of the Qaeda camps established in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. But groups of 10 to 20 men are being trained at the camps, the officials said, and the Qaeda infrastructure in the region is gradually becoming more mature.

My question is, will Musharraf:
a) Let the US do something about it?
b) Do something about it himself?
c) Do nothing?

 

[Kyle]

No, no and no.

 

[rack'm]

and they haven't BLU-182'd the camps why??

 

[protectmd]

Im sure they will at some point. Mr. Mussharraf enjoys riding around in US toys, like US Navy LCAC's, AAV's, etc... I think if he wants to continue the relationship he has now where US forces train his army he will deal with the problem or allow americans to. Who's to say that a fighter jet with no markings from any country at all won't fly in there and drop a laser guided bomb on it as we speak? The fact that they know whats going on, now its just a matter of time.

 

[Hessian]

I would hope...

that the camps last long enough so that we can moniter, discover their networks,...assemble traceable items & laptops, and then: hammer them and recover the goodies.--Hitting them in their initial stages sends the vermin running. BUT...Hammering them when they have been established: nets intel.

 

[forestal]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him."
- G.W. Bush, 9/13/01

[/font]​

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"I want justice...There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive,'"
- G.W. Bush, 9/17/01, UPI

[/font]​

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"...Secondly, he is not escaping us. This is a guy, who, three months ago, was in control of a county [sic]. Now he's maybe in control of a cave. He's on the run. Listen, a while ago I said to the American people, our objective is more than bin Laden. But one of the things for certain is we're going to get him running and keep him running, and bring him to justice. And that's what's happening. He's on the run, if he's running at all. So we don't know whether he's in cave with the door shut, or a cave with the door open -- we just don't know...."
- Bush, in remarks in a Press Availablity with the Press Travel Pool,
The Prairie Chapel Ranch, Crawford TX, 12/28/01, as reported on
official White House site

[/font]​

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."
- G.W. Bush, 3/13/02

[/font]​

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"I am truly not that concerned about him."
- G.W. Bush, repsonding to a question about bin Laden's whereabouts,
3/13/02 (The New American, 4/8/02)[/font]

 

[Coventry17]

War on Terror? How's that working out?

 

[protectmd]

Those comments maybe true. However you are failing to realize that we have kept him on the run, that he is no longer in control of his organization. Since we started the war on terror, his group has gone into hiding, been on the run, and forced to set up shop in other countries other than Afganistan. I mean if he is no longer the leader of his organization, no longer has control, yes he is a priority, if we catch him, we catch him, if not, then we will continue to try. There is another point to this....

Did you ever think that he maybe dead and nobody knows? See the problem with people like him is if you capture him, they will continue to fight until he's released. If you kill him, he comes a martyr inspiring other young psycho's in the jihad movement. If he is dead it also may detract from the morale of the organization as well, so if he is truely dead, then they will never admit to it. If he is captured, the US would never let anyone know that either... hopefully they are torturing him in ways I can't even imagine.

 

[forestal]

Maybe they are satisfied with killing Americans in Iraq?

Al Qaeda is very patient with their planning....but you're right, Al Qaeda is nothing like it once was, being able to operate with impunity from within the confines of a sovereign nation.


still, I really want to see Bin Laden's head on a stick...We deserve that.

Those comments maybe true. However you are failing to realize that we have kept him on the run, that he is no longer in control of his organization. Since we started the war on terror, his group has gone into hiding, been on the run, and forced to set up shop in other countries other than Afganistan. I mean if he is no longer the leader of his organization, no longer has control, yes he is a priority, if we catch him, we catch him, if not, then we will continue to try. There is another point to this....

Did you ever think that he maybe dead and nobody knows? See the problem with people like him is if you capture him, they will continue to fight until he's released. If you kill him, he comes a martyr inspiring other young psycho's in the jihad movement. If he is dead it also may detract from the morale of the organization as well, so if he is truely dead, then they will never admit to it. If he is captured, the US would never let anyone know that either... hopefully they are torturing him in ways I can't even imagine.