Article

2006-01-14 India-Pakistan

Pakistan probes reports of al-Zawahiri death

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Posted by Fred 2006-01-14 00:00|| || Front Page|| [8 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 It's actually amazing, and I have to consciously shake off the automatic Western-think mode to do it, but weren't any of the mooks in PakiWakiLand watching when their treasured ISI creation, the Taliban, were summarily toppled with minimal US forces and without breaking a sweat? Hell, the whole process was slowed down to make it a Northern Alliance thingy.

Geez. The CogDis problem is remarkable - even in fuckwit-think mode.

The "alliance of convenience" with Pervy hasn't long to run, methinks. I'll be happier when that mud is removed from the water and we are rid of (yet another) State Dept stripey-pants obligation.

PakiWakiLand. Like a whole 'nuther unreality.

Posted by .com 2006-01-14 00:14|| 2006-01-14 00:14|| Front Page Top

#2 Hope we had a valid FISA warrant before tracking Zawahiri just in case he called somebody in the US.

It's not looking as good as earlier today. The AP story is down to a 50% chance and Fred makes a good point that Z would have fled if Predators were buzzing around earlier.

Posted by JAB 2006-01-14 00:26|| 2006-01-14 00:26|| Front Page Top

#3 "senior Pakistani government official told The Associated Press that "there is 50-50 chance that some al-Qaida personality was at the home"

yeah right... CIA risks an international incident on a 50-50 chance to bag an Al Qaeda person of interrest. I wonder who was covering the backdoor?

Posted by TomAnon 2006-01-14 00:29|| 2006-01-14 00:29|| Front Page Top

#4 I'd say another strike on the Jammaat protest party is called for. Sure to be some unwanteds there or just a collection of assholes that would be better off taking dirt naps anyway...

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2006-01-14 00:35|| 2006-01-14 00:35|| Front Page Top

#5 Rooters has more that the ABC AU story. The locals admit to hosting a few visitors to celebrate Eid al-Adha.

Happy Eid, Ayman.

Posted by JAB 2006-01-14 00:39|| 2006-01-14 00:39|| Front Page Top

#6 well, even if he did get away, as they always seem to do, I'm hoping that zawahiri has gone to hide in the same place that binny and zarqawi went....in that hiding place that's really, really, really deep.... so deep that we never hear from them again.

Posted by 2b 2006-01-14 00:47|| 2006-01-14 00:47|| Front Page Top

#7 It's the middle of winter, deep snow, travel will be very difficult. Even if they saw the UAVs the chances are good they wouldn't have gone far.

Posted by phil_b">phil_b 2006-01-14 00:48|| http://autonomousoperation.blogspot.com/]">[http://autonomousoperation.blogspot.com/] 2006-01-14 00:48|| Front Page Top

#8 Another thing. I knew Zawahiri was a doctor but did not know he was an eye surgeon. For some reason I thought pediatrician.

Anybody know for sure? Maybe Reuters got him mixed up with Baby Assad? Or, is there just something about the eye doctors in the region?

Posted by JAB 2006-01-14 00:49|| 2006-01-14 00:49|| Front Page Top

#9 I'm pretty sure you're right - pediatrician

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2006-01-14 00:50|| 2006-01-14 00:50|| Front Page Top

#10 Maybe then Rooters got him mixed up with Baby Assad then. Hopefully it will be cleared up in his obit on Sunday. Inshallah.

Posted by JAB 2006-01-14 01:00|| 2006-01-14 01:00|| Front Page Top

#11 With such a big target why not a bigger bomb.
The area targeted does not even abide by international law. It's us or them. Until the world turns were still the big man on the block so it's time for a MOAB. Fuck'em!!

Posted by Long Hair Republican">Long Hair Republican 2006-01-14 01:09|| 2006-01-14 01:09|| Front Page Top

#12 Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to
Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to
Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to
All on that day

Run to the rock, rock was a meltin'
Run to the sea, sea was a boilin'
Run to the moon, moon was a bleedin'
Run to the Lord, Lord won't you hide me?
Lord said "Sinner man, you shoulda been a prayin'"

Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to
Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to
Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to
All on that day?

Posted by 3dc 2006-01-14 01:22|| 2006-01-14 01:22|| Front Page Top

#13 fingers crossed

Posted by MacNails 2006-01-14 02:02|| 2006-01-14 02:02|| Front Page Top

#14 The US should let Aljazeera show the hellfire hit, like the Yasin assassination by Israel. Brains cooking in his own lap, while gazing wide eyed into astonishment! Al-Zawahiri would only be ~~flattered~~ flattened!

Posted by smn 2006-01-14 02:17|| 2006-01-14 02:17|| Front Page Top

#15 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060114/ap_on_re_as/pakistan_al_qaida_attack
al-Qaida Leader Not at Site of Airstrike By RIAZ KHAN, Associated Press Writer
10 minutes ago

DAMADOLA, Pakistan - Al-Qaida's second-in-command was not at the site of a U.S. airstrike on a Pakistan village near the Afghan border that killed at least 17 people, two senior Pakistani officials said Saturday.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said that Pakistan's own investigation concluded that Ayman al-Zawahri was not in the village of Damadola.

"Their information was wrong, and our investigations conclude that they acted on a false information," said a senior intelligence official who has direct knowledge of the investigations launched by Pakistan to look into the attacks.

Separately, a senior government official told AP that al-Zawahri was not present at the homes which were attacked.

"He was not there, and this is what we know after a detailed probe" into the incident, he said.

Pakistan's government was expected to formally issue its reaction on the attack later Saturday.

Posted by Glenmore">Glenmore 2006-01-14 06:22|| 2006-01-14 06:22|| Front Page Top

#16 That's 'cuz we'd never violate Pak sovreignty, since they'd never harbor our sworn enemies on their territory...

LOL! We score better when we play the game by their rules.

Posted by 2b 2006-01-14 06:45|| 2006-01-14 06:45|| Front Page Top

#17 The key to this war is not getting the man at the top -- visionaries aren't hard to find. Key is removing those capable of organizing the execution of that vision, so that the top man is isolated and alone, and the cannon fodder mill aimlessly and ineffectively until they are arrested, killed, or wander back home in disgrace. The West (not just the U.S.) has been doing a wonderful job of taking out that layer of management (who is #3 these days in Iraq? in Fallujah? etc).

I would be very satisfied if only five [unknown to me] senior A.Q. men had been killed in this particular raid. There are few worse hells for a go-get'em kind of guy like Zawahiri than to be hiding in the goat shed of the Tribal village idiot, with no wives and children to wait on his very word, and no clever lieutenants to execute his clever ideas. Let's keep shooting missiles at A.Q. conventions, and never mind only aiming for the Alpha male. Besides, there should be a high cost for even associating with these men. Darwin effect, wiping out the entire line of descent, sounds about right to me.

Posted by trailing wife 2006-01-14 10:03|| 2006-01-14 10:03|| Front Page Top

#18 5 VPees of Operations would be fine tW.

Posted by 6 2006-01-14 10:52|| 2006-01-14 10:52|| Front Page Top

#19 Masood Khan, whose house was among those bombed and whose family was killed in the attack, said that he was asleep when he suddenly heard a loud explosion.

And just why was he "Sleeping" somewhere else than home?

Posted by Redneck Jim 2006-01-14 19:58|| 2006-01-14 19:58|| Front Page Top

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