The Week In Counterterrorism

12 May, 2006. 331 words.

Mrs. Krehbiel seemed surprised the other night when I mentioned there was evidence that the insurgency was losing in Iraq. In the conservative blogosphere, these types of news bits are reported all the time, along with the obligatory snarking that the liberal, pro-terrorist media is “suppressing” it. Personally, I just think that television media doesn’t consider anything news unless there is eye-popping video to go along with it. So as a service to the people in my house, I’m going to start summarizing victories in the War on Terror when I see them (most of this news comes from the Counterterrorism Blog). This week:

Coalition forces recently recovered an Al Qaeda In Iraq internal status report describing their situation in Baghdad as getting worse every year. The document acknowledged that car and suicide bomber tactics are only used to influence American media, and that there are only 110 Al Qaeda operatives in Baghdad. al-Qaeda’s assessment of the state of affairs in Baghdad, “the epicenter of jihad”. Could be disinformation, of course, but still interesting.
Foreign fighters from Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, and Sudan have been killed by U.S. forces in battles with Al Qaeda In Iraq. I interpret this as evidence supporting the “fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them here” meme, and evidence that Iraqi insurgencies are running out of people. New Reports of Al-Qaida’s Foreign Fighters Killed in Iraq.
In the past month, Task Force 145, the people hunting Zarqawi, have struck and/or dismantled five Al Qaeda cells in Yusifiya, Balad, and Samarra (I guess those are cities in Iraq). Task Force 145 may have struck again in Samarra.
On the political front, 50 Iraqi clerics and tribal leaders just met to discuss how to work together to end violence in Iraq. Good News Breaking Out All Over Iraq, MSM Silent.
On the global front, 7 Islamic terrorists linked to Al Qaeda, who beheaded 3 Christian schoolgirls, were captured in Jakarta. The Muslim Beheaders.

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