# One more down, many more to go.



## Artevelde (May 29, 2012)

Another Al qaeda terrorist killed. Many more to go.

From the BBC News site:

29 May 2012 Last updated at 09:26 GMT Share this pageEmail Print Share this page

One of the most senior al-Qaeda figures in Afghanistan was killed in a weekend air strike, Nato-led forces say.

In a statement, Nato described Saudi-born Sakhar al-Taifi as the group's second most senior figure in Afghanistan.

He commanded foreign insurgents and directed attacks against coalition and Afghan forces, the statement said.

But Taliban sources in Kunar deny Al-Taifi was killed and claim he left the area three months ago. 

Sakhar al-Taifi died in "a precision air strike" in the Watahpur district of Kunar province on Sunday night, according to the Nato statement. Another rank and file member of al-Qaeda was killed at the same time, it said. 

Al-Taifi, who also went by the names of Mustaq and Nasim, arranged for weapons and insurgent fighters to be transported into Afghanistan, Nato says. 

He reportedly had strong links to Taliban fighters in the area. 

Nato estimates that there are fewer than 100 al-Qaeda operatives in the country. However, the border with Pakistan where the fighters operate, is porous, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul. 

Troops on the ground often report hearing the voices of Arabic-speaking insurgents over radios - when they do, immediate attacks are launched against those sites, he says.


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## ima (May 29, 2012)

So what? Remember when you killed the cockroach in your kitchen, did that make them stop coming after your food?


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## Artevelde (May 29, 2012)

ima said:


> So what? Remember when you killed the cockroach in your kitchen, did that make them stop coming after your food?



No dead cockroach has ever come after my food. Are you aware of zombie cockroaches?


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## Wry Catcher (May 29, 2012)

ima said:


> So what? Remember when you killed the cockroach in your kitchen, did that make them stop coming after your food?



Point missed.  Have you ever cut of the head of a snake and had that snake return?


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## California Girl (May 29, 2012)

Wry Catcher said:


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AQ are a tad more advanced than snakes. Killing off their leadership, while a good thing, is not a long term solution. Leaders can be replaced.


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## Artevelde (May 29, 2012)

California Girl said:


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True. that's why I put: "many more to go"


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## Mad Scientist (May 29, 2012)

As long as the CIA is supporting them there's gonna be a *never ending supply* of "al qaida".

From the OP's post:


> But Taliban sources in Kunar deny Al-Taifi was killed and *claim he left the area three months ago. *
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> Troops on the ground often report hearing the voices of Arabic-speaking  insurgents over radios - when they do, immediate attacks are launched  against those sites, he says.


What does that even MEAN?


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## Katzndogz (May 29, 2012)

How do we know that some leadership has actually been killed?   Is it because obama says so?  

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/w...r-on-al-qaeda.html?_r=1&partner=MYWAY&ei=5065

WASHINGTON &#8212; This was the enemy, served up in the latest chart from the intelligence agencies: 15 Qaeda suspects in Yemen with Western ties. The mug shots and brief biographies resembled a high school yearbook layout. Several were Americans. Two were teenagers, including a girl who looked even younger than her 17 years. 

His first term has seen private warnings from top officials about a &#8220;Whac-A-Mole&#8221; approach to counterterrorism; the invention of a new category of aerial attack following complaints of careless targeting; and presidential acquiescence in a formula for counting civilian deaths that some officials think is skewed to produce low numbers. 

The administration&#8217;s failure to forge a clear detention policy has created the impression among some members of Congress of a take-no-prisoners policy. And Mr. Obama&#8217;s ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron P. Munter, has complained to colleagues that the C.I.A.&#8217;s strikes drive American policy there, saying &#8220;he didn&#8217;t realize his main job was to kill people,&#8221; a colleague said. 


War by a$$asination has never been successful.   This one is nothing to be proud of.


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## ima (May 29, 2012)

Osama bin Laden is in witness protection.


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## High_Gravity (May 29, 2012)

ima said:


> Osama bin Laden is in witness protection.



Wheres your proof?


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## RoccoR (May 29, 2012)

California Girl,  _*et al,*_

Yes, California Girl is right on the money.

The correct analogy is the "Starfish;" not a snake.   If you cut it in half, right though its core (brain), you don't get one dead starfish; but, two live ones.



California Girl said:


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*(COMMENT)*

Back in the days of the US HQ in the old Presidential Palace in Baghdad (North Wing), we use to joke that there was no more dangerous job in the world - then being the Number Two guy in any terrorist organization.  It seemed like every week, we read a FLASH IIR that stated the #2 of AQ had been killed.  The life expectancy of the #2 guy wasn't very long; sometimes only weeks.  And no sooner we kill one, then another took his place.  

Anti-Government Insurgents, Anti-Occupation Forces, and terrorist organizations bent on revenge, are notoriously difficult to eliminate through military and security means.  This is particularly true in the Middle East, Persian Gulf, and Afghanistan.

The is a great little book:  Terrorism Ends UNDERSTANDING THE DECLINE AND DEMISE OF TERRORIST CAMPAIGNS by Audrey Kurth Cronin.

Cronin, Audrey Kurth (2009-08-24). How Terrorism Ends: Understanding the Decline and Demise of Terrorist Campaigns . Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.

One of the more effective ways to address these threats, at least hurt them significantly, is to deprive them of their popular support from the indigenous population.  It has been known to happen that the more traditional military operations (search and destroy for example) over time create unavoidable events that energize the local population against US forces.  When this happens, it will prolong the struggle, not shorten it; even if the S&D Op result in significant enemy kills.

There are many recorded instances of engagements with terrorist organizations.  From Table 4 of the book (CHAPTER 4), you'll see a long list of factors that were key in the demise of a large number of these historical enemies.  It does address how decapitation strategies impact terrorism; but usually, the demise is brought about, more often than not, by some sort of operational failure, as oppose to successful security intervention.

In the case of Afghanistan, The Taliban and al-Qaeda, represent two completely different kinds of threats, so while a single strategy may have some impact on both threats, it may not be focused enough to eradicate either threat entirely.

Just my thought, one man's view.

Most Respectfully,
R


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## Artevelde (May 30, 2012)

ima said:


> Osama bin Laden is in witness protection.



Together with Elvis?


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## ima (May 30, 2012)

RoccoR said:


> California Girl,  _*et al,*_
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What threat do the Taliban pose to the US, they have no nuke, no planes, no tanks, no nothing! They never attacked the US and never had any plans to, and they never did any "terrorism" against western targets. So why are we even there?


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## ima (May 30, 2012)

High_Gravity said:


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It's the only place he can be since he's still alive since there is ZERO proof that anyone killed him.


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## High_Gravity (May 30, 2012)

ima said:


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The only place he can be? bullshit.


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## ima (May 30, 2012)

High_Gravity said:


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Ok, give me another place the Seals dropped him off at. And remember, there's ZERO proof that he's dead.


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## High_Gravity (May 30, 2012)

ima said:


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If hes not dead why are all wives deported and why did Pakistan try that Doctor for treason? also you don't have any proof he is still alive either.


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## ima (May 30, 2012)

High_Gravity said:


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Nobody cares what happens to the people you mention.
Last time I saw a video of him, he was alive, therefore, until another video or picture or something proves otherwise, a rational thinking person can only conclude that he's not dead.


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## High_Gravity (May 30, 2012)

ima said:


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The last time I saw a video of 2pac and Elvis they were alive, so they must still be living.


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## Katzndogz (May 30, 2012)

High_Gravity said:


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When Cary Grant died, I mentioned it to a friend of mine, a woman, who said "He was so young!  I just saw him in a movie.  How did he die?"   In some surprise I said, "Cary Grant was 80, the movie you saw was made in 1945."  

This is the mentality you are dealing with.  They know what they saw.  Osama Bin Laden will always live and Cary Grant will always be young and handsome.


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## High_Gravity (May 30, 2012)

Katzndogz said:


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I guess your right Katz.


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## ima (May 30, 2012)

High_Gravity said:


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Elvis died on the 'throne", his bodyguard found him. others saw him dead as well. Same thing with 2Pac. 
Nobody saw Sammy dead. And don't say the US army guys did. That's total bs. You'd think that killing the biggest badguy in 100 years doesn't warrant a few pictures...? You're naïveté is exactly what the army was counting on.


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## High_Gravity (May 30, 2012)

ima said:


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Show me pictures and video of Elvis and 2pac dead, you can't so they must still be alive.


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## ima (May 30, 2012)

High_Gravity said:


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First of all, we're not talking about Elvis and 2Pac, we're talking about Sammy. Show me some proof that he's dead.
Secondly, public coroners and people like that have seen them dead. 
Thirdly, so nothing exists in your world before the advent of pictures and video?


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## Katzndogz (May 30, 2012)

obama should be forced to release those pictures.  That I agree with.


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## High_Gravity (May 30, 2012)

ima said:


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If he wasn't dead the Pakistanis would not have charged the doctor with treason and Al Qaeda wouldn't be mourning him as a martyr.


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## ima (May 30, 2012)

High_Gravity said:


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 You really think that they couldn't make all that up? Throw 1 paki in jail and of course AQ is going to use it as another reason to go apeshit anyways. Man, it sure doesn't take you much to believe what people tell you. You have to be more on your toes than that, geez.


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## RoccoR (May 30, 2012)

ima,  _et al,_

This is a good question.



ima said:


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*(COMMENT)*

The Taliban is the Government in Exile; headquartered in or near Quetta, Balochistan Province, southeast of Kandahar, inside Pakistan; not far from the Pakistan Command & Staff College in Quetta.  The Taliban was essentially deposed by the US led invasion; after The Taliban sided in the protection of al-Qaeda.  In 2009, Hamid Karzai, the American-supported leader of the transitional government, was elected by a run-off election engineered by Senator Kerry.  

The connection is undeniable.  Karzai is a criminal, as is most of his family.  And the US backed a corrupt leader.  It is not likely that a withdrawal of US/NATO Forces will allow the Karzai Regime to survive long.  Funding is being lost and the Afghan Security Forces may experience a Reduction-in-Force by nearly 30%.  We stay because we're afraid that the insurgents will topple the Karzai Government.

Most Respectfully,
R


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