Iraq the Model on Zarqawi's Demise
I interviewed Omar at Iraq the Model for Pajamas Media and asked: 'what does this mean to the Iraqi government and the more general situation?'. You can listen to the podcast here.
posted by wretchardthecat at 6/08/2006 03:33:00 AM
50 Comments:
Aljazeera is reporting it but felt compelled to add a binary article:
"Supporters of First Lieutenant Ehren Watada, 28, say he is the first commissioned US army officer to publicly refuse to go to Iraq."
We must have balance. In your interview was mentioned that this came from tips from local people. I hope they get them out of there fast and do not lose the momentum of this singular event. There are reports that the recently released film of Zarqawi fumbling with his AK 47 contained hints as to his location and this was supplimented by Jordanian intelligence information. To date, there has not been a significant public outrage over the merciless slaughter by this now smudge, Zarqawi. What a lovely thought of a new public resolve in Iraq.
Good work US pilots and all the others involved in hunting down this animal and eradicating him! Thanks - you have saved the lives of many people.
Supposedly he was meeting with some of his underlings. I would presume that he does not meet with Average Joe Terrorist, and that we got all of those that were there, too, since the pictures of that building showed it to be all but leveled.
It is odd, though, that I have heard no mention of just how many other bodies were found. Could we have been lucky enough for this to have been a decapitation stike in the large sense?
Of course, it could have been just another "wedding party"....
I thought I heard Rumsfeld say there was a woman and child killed in the strike also.
Wonder who got the 25 mil?
Wretchard,
Did you watch the Rumsfeld press conference? What was that question about the operation in the Ukraine that Rumsfeld wouldn't go into? Do you know anything about that? Can you tap into any sources? Sounds interesting.
One Mil Blog I just read said 17 raids were launched immediately after the hit. Hopefully there will be some intel salvaged from the hit - you never know, a cell phone or hard drive maybe survived, but its doubtful.
Zarqawi's death and the al queda advance in somalia show why bin laden left out iraq and mentioned somalia in his last broadcast.
zarqawi's fumbling subsequent broadcast shows that he didn't much care to be left for dead. but in his hastiness to say "I'm alive & fighting." he may have given away his position.
What do you mean 'may have' Charles. He did give away his position! Jordanian intelligence saw the background of the video and said, 'Hey, I know where that is!'
1. Word has that he was given up by locals. Good news: you can run but you cannot hide.
2. They say that the 7 dead included 2 women who were part of the intelligence gathering network.
3. The pictures I saw showed no evidence of fire. Now, explosions do not occur in fireballs like they do in the movies, but I would guess that the recovery of things like papers, computers, etc. is quite possible.
4. If we really did launch 17 raids as a result of what we found in the Z-lair, that is simply great news! Note that the death of Z was not announced until around 0300 EDT - about 12 hours after President Bush was told. If they launched that many raids that fast, that is may be even better news than the death of Number One.
Eggplant: When we caught Saddam, it was in December and "Santa Claus is coming to town" played in my head all day. Now, "Ding Dong the Wicked Witch is dead" is playing in there. Thanks a lot! I liked the Christmas music better.
Need suggestions for mental music for OBL's takedown.
You guys think there's any chance that Madeline Albright was correct when she said we have OBL and these guys on ice, and when we're done with them we put them in a room under a couple of Mk. 82's?
LGF has a post noting that Reuters has already explained how this is just going to make the bad guys mad at us....
"Satisfaction"
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For the left:
They can't get no.
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WAS TORTURE USED TO FIND Z's LOCATION???
-Limbaugh
rwe,
Rush's Annonymous Source says detainees and the lame AK Video provided clues.
Does it make a Muslim Warrior pause to ask if jihad is such a good idea why are so many holy warriors getting iced? Zarqawi clearly thought he had the protection of Allah but appears to have miscalculated. As far as the nonsense that this will inspire waves upon waves of new angry holy warriors, I rather doubt it. If anything, it should cause some fiful moments and stiff necks from looking up at the sky, and not for what is going up.
I've alway found that "bippity boppity boo" is a good song to have guaranteed circling around your mind. Doubtless when bin Laden bites the dust, it will be a "boo!" moment.
RWE --
Metallica, Unforgiven.
RWE --
Metallica, Unforgiven.
I haven’t gotten any confirmation of this yet but the advanced targeting pod (ATP) most likely used by the USAF F16 was probably Lockheed-Martins SNIPER XR (eXtended Range). This thing can put eyes on the target from a 20+ mile slant range while streaming video down to a FAC. Lovely.
The picture of Zarq-mans’ contorted face looks strangely reminiscent of the many heads that he personally liberated from this life. May they have a special pantheon in hell to showcase its’ ghastly form.
Mouse: CNN video shows a moving white spot on bottom right quadrant: Know what that is?
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US Air Force Supper Bowl - Final
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E-MAILS TO CNN
President Bush will revel in what he considers a great accomplishment and use
this as a means to try to bolster his declining image. I believe that someone
will step up to replace al-Zarqawi and this will continue on if this replacement
falls. My biggest fear is that the insurgency will escalate and there will be
retribution killings for the death of al-Zarqawi.
>Mark Basile, Ashland, Oregon
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I'm not concerned with who they (our military) kills or captures. I'm more
concerned with the lives we have lost and still continue to lose for nothing.
I sure hope that they find those weapons of mass destruction soon!
>Marie Green, Phoenix, Arizona
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By broadcasting pictures of his corpse, we are sinking to the level of those who
dragged and beat US contractors in April 2004.
Such images strengthen resolve to
fight the other side. Like most, I don't have the answers for Iraq, but this is
clearly not going to slow down the violence.
>Damien, Baltimore, Maryland
CAPTION NEEDED
Doug,
Saw the white spot. I think it is part of the moving optics.
As far as sinking to the level of those who killed, burned, mutilated, hung, and displayed contractors on a bridge in Faluhja, I don’t think so. First of all those contractors were not super stars of the Jihad that no one would believe dead. We have similar death masks for Mao, Lenin, Poncho Villa and John Dillenger. Secondly, his body hasn’t been nor will it likely be desecrated. Hope Damien can discern the difference.
PS. “Rest in Pieces” is starting to sound good.
The bomb that took out Zarqawi had an interesting dust pattern that seemed to run along the avenues of trees and directly upwards, almost like there was some, but not a lot of overpressure near the ground that equalized itself upward, taking the dust with it. Can anybody make sense of that dust pattern?
I can't discern the detail in the Z-man targeting video but my first take was they center-punched a brick building and the pressure blast made its way out the windows and doors on all four sides. Just speculation on my part. Remember the cellulose bomb casing on Clear and Present Danger? Yowza.
This is a great day. The MSM reaction is sadly predictable, minimizing it as nothing really. Of course before he was dead, Zarq was all powerful. Yes, it is the new/current marxism by the MSM...always support the "weak" regardless of their moral bankruptcy and always work against the "strong" , again, regardless of their actions, moral standing, popularity, etc because they are probaly lying anyway. The US Military is strong, the United States is strong, Israel is strong. Comparitively, AlQ, the Paleos and Zarq are weak. Poor little things...
The MSM are NOT on our side.
VDH Reminds us of the Barbarity of the Embalmed Photos of the Brothers not so Grim, the Inhumane Dental Exam Photo of their beloved father, and now THIS!
I'm going to see if I can scrub the shame off with lava rocks and soap.
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Wretchard:
They flattened several surrounding Cinder Block Houses.
Did they channel the blast up, and through the streets?
Just heard one of the Fox News retired Cols say that a Delta Force team nearby target designated the house with a laser for the F-16's to hit it. Just like in the Tom Clancy novel.
I have not been able to find the dust pattern photo but I understand that the house was heavily fortified and that may have helped to focus the blast somewhat.
Sorry, but I do not know the Team America music. Probably just as well...
Or Metallica. And that is definitely just as well.
But the Star Wars music for the award scene I know - I used that music for a going away video when our Col got transferred to The Cape.
Well, there is always Darryl Worley.....
News report says that two different kinds of bombs were used, a regular laser guided GBU-12 and a new type:
"The second was a GBU-38, a relatively lightweight bomb guided to its target by satellite signal. F-16s based at Balad, just north of the area where Zarqawi's safe house was attacked, have been operating with the GBU-38 for less than two years. Its smaller explosive power is designed to limit unintended damage."
Sounds like one to crack it open and one to flatten it. The GPS gudied bomb would not have been affecetd by dust thrown up by the laser gudied bomb. Or maybe it was use of two guided by different methods, to act as a backups.
wretchard,
Congrats on getting the technology together for conducting the interview. It sounded good! What method did you end up using to do it?
rwe,
That seems to correspond to CNN Video (cnn web Homepage)
Second bomb was hardly visible from my perspective.
...and it did look like the house itself directed the blast.
"Well, there is always Darryl Worley....."
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Hasn't that been determined to be unacceptably patriotic?
I'll ask CAIR.
CBS Interview:
Death of a Terrorist
Apparently the house was surrounded by Spec Forces, so any survivors would probably not have gotten away.
Bennet claims Marines play Metallica's "No Remorse" in preparation for taking out insurgies.
Has a sound clip of it, along with Zarqawi's Owies.
Nor have I.
NORKs, yes, but only prepared!
(Nukes for the NORKs, those were the days.)
I think the death of zarqawi marks the end of the middle section of the battle in Iraq just as the death of saddam's sons marked the end of the initial battles.
It may be another two years before they get bin laden & al zawahiri.
A bit belated, but I think a better title than "Z-Man RIP" would have been:
Zarqawi Kerpowie!
charles,
Osama and Doctor Z are many things, but neither are actively involved in the Battle of Iraq.
They are reportedly in Central Asia. Pakistan and/ or Afghanistan.
They will be captured or killed there, not in Iraq. Both are related to OIF only in the most peripheral of ways.
Will they be captured or killed in the next 2.5 years, one can only hope they are.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
It doesn't get any better than this! Not only did Zarqawi get smoked, he was alive long enough to know who was doing it. It puts a whole new meaning to Allah Akbar.
Reuters
"Iraqi police had arrived on the scene of Wednesday's bomb attack first and put Zarqawi on a stretcher, Caldwell said. The U.S. forces arrived later and identified Zarqawi, who died shortly after.
"He was conscious initially according to the U.S. forces that physically saw him. He obviously had some kind of visual recognition of who they were because he attempted to roll off the stretcher, as I am told, and get away, realizing it was U.S. military," Caldwell said."
After reading the many reactions to Z's demise, from both sides of the tracks, from Austin Bay to Gerard Baker, it easy to come away with but one conclusion.
While Z will provide a political "moment" it will have little or no short term effect in Iraq, on the ground.
Mr Maliki offers this
"...This government will build on the additional momentum gained from the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in order to defeat terrorism and sectarianism and to deliver on the Iraqi people's hope of a united, stable and prosperous democracy by following a three-pronged strategy: ..."
The Iraqi Governmentwill institute Socialist investments in business and infrastructure in the "Stable" areas, to harness the unemployeed. Kurdistan and the Shia areas will be considered "stable" enough for Job programs.
National Reconcilation through the Government
Securing Baghdad
Integrating the Militias into the ISF & Police, implement "Law 91".
When, by whom and how Baghdad is secured is the real measure of success in Iraq for the short term.
This is mentioned by almost every analysis.
Long term success depends on Security, for the population. Without that there can be no Political success, not in the face of an asymetric Civil War.
To think that Iraq's Civil War is not, because it does not follow
"historical" models, well. Iraq post Saddam is not Spain, pre Franco.
RWE.
Your request for a tune suggested to me another tune to be used in the meantime. For when you need a jarring image to spur you to fighting against some fifth columnist:
Singing in the Rain as sung by Malcolm MacDowell in A Clockwork Orange, home-invasion rape sceen.
"... Yet both the government and the press make the recurring mistake of thinking that at any one point there is a pure type of the jihadist terrorist — be it the hierarchical Qaeda, the Iraqi insurgents under Mr. Zarqawi, the self-starters in London. The reality is much messier. Spanish officials have hinted that there was a Zarqawi link to the Madrid bombings; some of the London bombers had traveled to Pakistan for training; and there is evidence that some of the Toronto suspects had links to others linked to Mr. Zarqawi.
The jihadists comprise a social movement, not just a cluster of terrorist organizations, and they are totally opportunistic and endlessly plastic in how they accommodate to circumstances. They thrive on our preconceptions and our instinctive determination to come up with rigid schematizations, and we will get the better of them only when our thinking is as flexible and innovative as theirs. ..."
Whether it is the Info Wars or F22's, should not the US field the bestest with the mostest, to turn inside their circle?.
The authors,
Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon are the co-authors of "The Next Attack." They are fellows, respectively, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Council on Foreign Relations.
may be less than knowledgable, though, they published in the
NYTimes
"Zarqawi's Life After Death"
I predict that Zarqawi's life after death will be played, with the willing aid of corporate media, along lines paralleling Elvis sitings and Jason-never-dies type horror flicks.
IOW, the jihais hate our culture's excesses unless, of course, it serves their purposes.
2164th and Habu dramatically demonstrate that we really are no better than them, perhaps worse:
'Rat will be inspired to write his Opus Magnum 357:
"War and More War"
(rwe: that's why they used that new smaller bomb for number 2:
Habu's Coup de Grace could be applied while Z did his last number 2 in his robe.)
'Rat's Horse Doctor is doing the Autopsy.
(His photoshop expert will analyze the doctored pics)
"It puts a whole new meaning to "Allah Akbar""
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"SHIT!"
...and he did.
And Died.
American Ideal:
Medic is Irish -
Uses reward to open a Bar/Brothel in Baghdad:
"Paddy's Pashtun P....."
The Chiropractic Adjustment should be charged to Zarqawi’s account. Hey! Doesn’t the extremely benevolent and beloved (to the Left) government of Mainland China charge the family of executed dissidents for the cost of the bullets used to do the execution?
Besides, that head-twist has a long list of historical antecedents, the best being a ridiculous story from Brother Dave Gardener’s 1960 humor LP. The character Brother Dave described had gotten his girlfriend to put on his leather jacket backwards while riding his motorcycle to keep the bugs off her, but they had a wreck. A police officer arriving at the scene of the crash demanded “Whass happm t’these hyeer luvly chirren?” (i.e., “What has happened to these lovely children?”)
A witness done tole him the driver had been killed outright, but the girl was okay “...till we turned her HEAD around.”
Z's last Chiropractic/Attitude Adjustment.
"An Army of FUN!"
Mohammad and Omar are truly inspirational and awe-inspiring.
I would wish they are both writing diaries of their private lives when they aren't blogging or working.
I'd like to know daily details of work, sleep, and etc
How few of us would choose to stay if we had the chance.
The Professional Liar Gitlin would make a good contrary indicator, I would think.
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