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| Iraq-Jordan | |
| Zarqawi narrowly escapes US trap | |
| 2005-04-26 | |
| US forces recently came close to capturing Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq and had found his laptop computer and seized some of his money, America's ABC television reported today. The most wanted man in Iraq just eluded capture on February 20 as he headed to a meeting in the western city of Ramadi, ABC News quoted a senior US military official as saying. Zarqawi's driver and a bodyguard were detained in the operation. The US set up Taskforce 626 last year to track Zarqawi, who has been accused of masterminding scores of attacks in Iraq. Following a tip-off from inside the Zarqawi network about the Ramadi meeting, members of the taskforce had troops in place and checkpoints around the city, as well as Predator drones in the air monitoring the region, the report said. The senior military official said that just before the meeting troops pulled a car over as it approached a checkpoint and at the same time a pickup truck about 1km behind quickly turned in the opposite direction. The US believed the militant leader was in the truck, he said. "Zarqawi always has someone check the waters," the official was quoted as saying. US teams began a chase, but when the truck was pulled over Zarqawi was not inside.
The official said Zarqawi's computer and 80,000 euros ($134,000) were found inside.He described the find as "a seminal event". The computer had "a very big hard drive", the official said, and recent pictures of Zarqawi. The ABC said Lieutenant General John Vines, the US commander responsible for daily military operations in Iraq, would not provide detail of the escape in a recent interview, but that he did say the Zarqawi network had been damaged. "We believe he is resilient," Lt-Gen Vines said. "He is incredibly evil and we can't forget that. So he is dangerous still, but he is on the run." The official said the owner of the safe house Zarqawi went to had also been arrested. | |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #21 Chester (of "Adventures of" fame) had this tidbit: You can get 1000-Euro notes. Makes carrying a lot of cash a lot lighter. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2005-04-26 5:31:49 PM |
| #20 Where were these particular euros printed? To which bank account(s) can they be traced? Follow the money and see if it leads to the Italian government. |
| Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) 2005-04-26 2:55:02 PM |
| #19 Hmmm. Interesting that his cash was in Euros. Like Seafarious said, plus -- what do you think they collect in Europes mosques? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-04-26 2:52:44 PM |
| #18 Actually, first extract every bit of useful knowledge by whatever means necessary. Then load him into a decompression chamber, ramp him up to several atmospheres gradually. Then rapid decompression sufficent to render eyes and eardrums explosively decompressed - hence deaf and blind and probably brain damaged. Then dump the gibbering idiot on the streets of Bagdad to beg for scraps among the populace for the rest of his days. |
| Posted by: Warthog 2005-04-26 2:31:06 PM |
| #17 "Dear Mr. Zarqawi: Thank you for your interest in investing for your retirement with the Bank of Hades. We have set forth below several hypothetical calculations to assist you in evaluating your alternatives. In Case No. 1, we have assumed that a Marine sniper blows your head clean off with a 50-caliber round. In Case No. 2, we have assumed that vengeful Shiites find you first. In Case No. 3, we have assumed that you are one very lucky gomer..." |
| Posted by: Matt 2005-04-26 2:28:34 PM |
| #16 Up 'til now, any hitmen/terrorists caught by US or Iraqi forces have been carrying dollars... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-04-26 1:59:24 PM |
| #15 "Wheresoever you may be Death will overtake you... Even if you are in a lofty tower..." I like that. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2005-04-26 1:49:23 PM |
| #14 What Seafarious said. Oil's traded in dollars, not euros. Iraq's reserve currency is dollars. I could be mistaken but I'd be very surprised if most of Iraq's hard-currency commerce is conducted in euros rather than dollars. Certainly Iraqi hit men would prefer to be paid in dollars, which need not be exchanged, thus avoiding public exposure and the authorities' suspicion. |
| Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) 2005-04-26 12:59:37 PM |
| #13 He was carrying Euros 'cos that's how Berlusconi paid him for Sgrena. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-04-26 12:51:42 PM |
| #12 First we hang him, then we kill him! /No Pee-Wee's Big Adventure fans out there? |
| Posted by: Raj 2005-04-26 12:26:04 PM |
| #11 Don't capture him. Kill him. If captured he becomes someone the other terrorists can berter for, as in I think we would see a large increase in kidnapped civilians they would "trade" for Zarqawi. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2005-04-26 11:48:34 AM |
| #10 Capsu :-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-04-26 11:30:57 AM |
| #9 I think Greenspans concerns regarding the sliding US dollar have unnerved the Zman to convert his 401K to Euros. Afterall, Social Security reform is decades off for Jordonians "working abroad". His financial planner has probably pointed out that even though he is in his 40's, his "USMC adjusted" actuarial time horizon is not very long... |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2005-04-26 11:21:38 AM |
| #8 Hmmm. Interesting that his cash was in Euros. Wouldn't it make more sense to have dollars? Or did he just come from a meeting with his paymasters? And which country that uses euros as currency has something to gain from making life difficult for Americans? |
| Posted by: Jonathan 2005-04-26 11:09:08 AM |
| #7 "Curses! Foiled again!" -- Snidely Whiplash |
| Posted by: mojo 2005-04-26 10:36:40 AM |
| #6 If that Zarqawi son of a bitch is caught alive, whoever nabs him should beat the guy senseless, just for good measure. If AI and HRW are smart, they wouldn't make a sound over it. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-04-26 10:07:09 AM |
| #5 The computer had "a very big hard drive", the official said, and recent pictures of Zarqawi... nude. Actually, recent pictures are a major coup. Gonna be hard for him to hide his face. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-04-26 9:17:28 AM |
| #4 The Zarqawi terrorist network has, notwithstanding the pressure and notwithstanding the problems, been actively sponsoring or participating in dozens of attacks per week. It may well be that Zarqawi may no longer be the big cheese of the terrorist network he nominally heads. |
| Posted by: mhw 2005-04-26 9:04:17 AM |
| #3 Get 'em Mike. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-04-26 8:18:53 AM |
| #2 ..Imagine this for just one moment. You cannot sleep in one place for more than one night - and maybe not even for an entire night. You cannot fully trust ANYONE. You cannot be sure your most privleged communications are not being listened to. You cannot be sure that the black dot that swept across the sky is a bird - or an RPV. You cannot be sure that the cries down the street are those of children playing or merchants haggling - or of your sentries losing their last battle. Your dreams are filled with hatred and murder - and fear that the next thing you see will be the grim face of a boy who once surfed in California, or skateboarded in Chicago, or walked the Hood in Cleveland - or put on his firefighter father's helmet in New York. And worst of all, WORST of all - the words of your own malignant God echo in your head every moment: "Wheresoever you may be Death will overtake you... Even if you are in a lofty tower..." That is the life of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi right now. It serves the son of a bitch right. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2005-04-26 7:57:18 AM |
| #1 Dang! OTOH, in some ways the laptop is more important than the man. like with saddam, if we can cut the command links, it will only be a matter of time. |
| Posted by: N Guard 2005-04-26 5:31:02 AM |