Ya don't say?

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/war-on-terrorism-going-badly-us-admits/2007/05/01/1177788144224.html#

War on terrorism going badly, US admits

Tom Allard National Security Editor
May 2, 2007

THE US State Department yesterday urged that "non-military" strategies be used to fight terrorism as it admitted that more than 20,000 people died in terrorist attacks last year, up 40 per cent on 2005.

The big rise in deaths, injuries and terrorist incidents was almost entirely due to deteriorating security in Iraq and Afghanistan where the US is engaged in a conventional military response to the threat of Islamic extremism.

Incidents of terrorism in Iraq almost doubled to 6630 in 2006, resulting in more than 38,000 deaths, injuries or kidnappings. In Afghanistan the number rose from 491 to 749, accounting for almost 3000 deaths, injuries or abductions.

The dismal figures, which related only o terrorist acts targeting civilians - those on US or allied forces were not included - masked a modest decline of 3 per cent in terrorist attacks outside the two war zones but highlighted that the war on terrorism, 5½ years after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US was proceeding poorly.

The State Department said progress since 2001 was "mixed".

"The terrorists, there's no question, are intelligent people, and they learn from each other," said Frank Urbancic, the US acting co-ordinator for counterterrorism.

"The people in Afghanistan are watching the people in Iraq, the people in Iraq are watching the people elsewhere, and there's a snowball effect. And they work through the internet, they communicate," Mr Urbancic said.

The State Department's National Counterterrorism Centre said in releasing the annual report that al-Qaeda and its allies were transforming themselves and terrorism.

Al-Qaeda rarely attempted "expeditionary" plots like September 11, instead training outsiders who entered a country to execute their plan, the report said.

Using guerilla tactics and a highly sophisticated internet-based propaganda arm, al-Qaeda was exploiting local sympathisers and grievances among Muslims to mount a unified "global insurgency" against the West and its interests. It required different responses from authorities, specifically "counterinsurgency methods" , the report said.

This involved deploying "all elements of national power" to protect and secure vulnerable populations; politically marginalising insurgents; and winning the support of communities "at risk" of producing terrorist recruits. Political initiatives, aid and development were crucial, as well as redressing a woeful record in the West of countering extremist propaganda.

"The military component of national power plays only a supporting role in this effort; the primary focus is on non-military influence," the report said.

It acknowledged the Iraq war had been a "rallying cry for radicalisation and extremist activity" and had destablised the region, and identified Iran and Syria as the main state sponsors of terrorism, with North Korea, Cuba and Sudan also mentioned. Libya has been removed from the list nd North Korea is likely to follow. The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians "remains a source of terrorist motivation".

The report praised Australia for its counterterrorism efforts, both domestically and in the region.

It pointed to positive developments in Indonesia and the Philippines but noted that Jakarta's counter-terrorism efforts were being hampered by "systemic corruption" and "weak" laws.

Breaking news contradicts popular thought, this is what we wanted from day one.


Tribes claim leader of al Qaeda in Iraq killed




Story Highlights

• Rifts have emerged between Sunni militants, al Qaeda in Iraq this year
• Unconfirmed reports: Al Qaeda in Iraq leader slain in clashes north of capital
• Reports of Abu Ayyub al-Masri's death come from local tribes, official says
• Attacks on minibuses leave at least 14 people dead south of Baghdad


BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Unconfirmed reports that al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri has been killed come from local tribes and not Iraq's intelligence services or military, an Iraqi government spokesman said Tuesday.
Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesman for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said the government won't be able to confirm al-Masri's death until it makes an identification of the body.
"Iraqi security forces do not have the body," al-Dabbagh said on Iraqi state TV. "Iraqi security forces and Multi-National Forces are trying to retrieve the body for visual identification and DNA tests." (Watch how mostly Sunni tribes reportedly were fighting against al Qaeda in Iraq)
The reports of al-Masri's death emerged after a confrontation Tuesday between Sunni tribes and al Qaeda in Iraq at a bridge in an area under Sunni tribal control, al-Dabbagh said.
Al-Masri -- also known as Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Muhajer -- succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq after he was killed in a U.S. airstrike in June.
If Sunni militants had information that led to al-Masri's death, it may be a sign of a rift among Sunni militants in Iraq, said CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen.
Militant groups in the nation "have been trying to put a more Iraqi face" on their movement and have been trying to "exclude the foreign militants from a public role," Bergen said.
Al-Masri is Egyptian.
There has been talk among indigenous Iraqi insurgents that such attacks -- which claim civilian lives -- are counter-productive.
Bergen also said that he would not expect the death of al-Masri to have any impact on the insurgent movement -- noting that bloody attacks claimed by groups linked to al Qaeda in Iraq had continued despite the killing of al-Zarqawi.
Hints of a rift

Hints of rifts among Iraqi militant groups emerged last month when two claims of responsibility for the April 12 Iraqi parliament cafeteria attack had been posted by the Islamic State of Iraq.
Earlier Tuesday, an Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman said "very strong intelligence" indicated al-Masri was killed in fighting between rival militant groups north of Baghdad.
"We received intelligence reports of al-Masri getting killed in clashes between al Qaeda in Iraq and other militant groups at dawn today" in al-Niba'ie in Taji, north of Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf said.
A Pentagon statement said U.S. forces haven't been able to confirm the reports and that they are working with Iraqi officials to determine whether they're true.
John Roberts, acting spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, said he had no information but added he "would not be disappointed" if the reports of al-Masri's death were true.
In February, Iraq's Interior Ministry claimed Iraqi security forces wounded al-Masri in another clash north of Baghdad, but the U.S. military cast doubt on that report. The ministry never backed away from its claim.
Recently, the insurgent umbrella group Islamic State of Iraq posted a list of Cabinet members and named al-Masri as its "war minister."
The group, which includes al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents, claimed responsibility for a number of violent acts last month, including the suicide attack at the Iraqi parliament, the killings of nine U.S. soldiers in Diyala province and the execution of 20 security force officers.
On Saturday, the group distributed leaflets in Samarra to police, warning that they have three days to "repent" or be killed.
The insurgent group also told police to use loudspeakers at mosques and marketplaces to announce their rejection of the "apostate state" and their joining of the "Islamic State."

More breaking news. He is not dead. What gives?

This war produces the most absurd news if nothing else.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18410713/

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95 R129
04 Infiniti G35.5 BS
10 X204

Who would sign up to the forum under another name to post that BS reply? Hatterasguy.. check the IP on who posted under KooKooKachoo

I think he should get your IP.

IP Freely.

Check your newspaper's date. The time warp set you back a couple months.

"THE US State Department yesterday urged that "non-military" strategies be used to fight terrorism ..."

I hope that means strategies outside the scope and constraints of rules, laws and morals.
Fight jihad with jihad.

anyway, non-military strategies will always suffer the problem and set backs of lack of native speaker mediaries and overcoming the subsoil of indemic corruption (from all parties).

ah the good old days.

Alexander the great where are you??

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1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
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1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD

Except for Ira, terrorist attacks were down. Up in Iraq. Looks like the plan to make Iraq the focus for the fight on terror is working. Too bad they can't track body counts of the bad guys.

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MB-less

Your title is bogus, The State Department does not say the war on terror is going badly, it merely states the numbers on a country basis. That conclusion was added by some left wing asswipe.

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MB-less

i think the asswipe comment is out of line.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

The last time I had a 'left wing' was at KFC, but it didn't have an a$$wipe attached to it ...

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Ya see that -- some folks *still* want to believe things are going well. Hey, what can I say -- Santa, Unicorn, Pegasus, what the heck -- maybe the Easter Bunny... they're all real too, RIGHT? I mean after all... I saw them on TV, so it must be true. Woo Hoo.

I read it in a wingnut rag, it must be true.

Damn, and I thought starting a new country in a volatile environment was going to be easy. Guess I was wrong.

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- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600