U.S. missile strikes take heavy toll on Al Qaeda (enemy, generation)

[Oerdin]

I found this article to be hopeful as it seems the contraversial, to some people anyway, missile strikes in Pakistan have actually been bringing down many Al Qaeda leaders in Northern Pakistan. It appears the CIA is finally getting it right by no longer relaying exclusively on SigInt and has now put in place the structures to gather HumInt so they're now getting a bunch of actionable intellegence. The result of these missile strikes has been that several key Al Qaeda figures in Northern Pakistan have met a fiery end.

That's something all of us can get behind, I hope.

Source: Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Washington -- An intense, six-month campaign of Predator strikes in Pakistan has taken such a toll on Al Qaeda that militants have begun turning violently on one another out of confusion and distrust, U.S. intelligence and counter-terrorism officials say.
...
"This last year has been a very hard year for them," a senior U.S. counter-terrorism official said of Al Qaeda militants, whose operations he tracks in northwest Pakistan. "They're losing a bunch of their better leaders. But more importantly, at this point they're wondering who's next." U.S. intelligence officials said they see clear signs that the Predator strikes are sowing distrust within Al Qaeda. "They have started hunting down people who they think are responsible" for security breaches, the senior U.S. counter-terrorism official said, discussing intelligence assessments on condition of anonymity. "People are showing up dead or disappearing."
...
But the Predator campaign has depleted the organization's operational tier. Many of the dead are longtime loyalists who had worked alongside Bin Laden and were part of the network's hasty migration into Pakistan in 2001 after U.S.-led forces invaded neighboring Afghanistan. They are being replaced by less experienced recruits who have had little, if any, history with Bin Laden and Zawahiri.
...
U.S. officials say that despite complaints, the Pakistani government's opposition has been muted because the CIA has expanded its targeting to include militant groups that threaten the government in Islamabad.

More in article: U.S. missile strikes take heavy toll on Al Qaeda, officials say - Los Angeles Times

[Oerdin]

BTW the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times are just about the only two big national newspapers who still do indepth investigative reporting in America. I guess the Washington Post is still good for politics but not much else. The country needs the real journalism these newspapers of record provide while the blogs people love to quote around here do little more then link to the work of real journalists and try to spin facts for partisan gain.

[harborlady]

Go GIT EM tiger! ^5

[harborlady]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

try to spin facts for partisan gain.

Oh dear, the bigger the lie, the more vicious the attack, the longer their vote doesn't count with me. I'm afraid they're not catching on very quickly. The bush brain numbing hate drug still hasn't worn off.

------------------

My enemy is not my fellow citizens. My enemy is lies.
Every time I find a conservative who is an enemy of lies, I find my America.
Every time I find a liberal who is an enemy of lies, I find my America.
I do not care what their religion is, what generation, what color state or skin. This for me is the only 'for me or against me' affinity argument worthy of enlistment.
Let my America stand on truth. ~Harborlady

[Oerdin]

You're claiming most most blogs aren't just partisan hackery run amok?

[sanrene]

That's something all of us can get behind, I hope.

The question is; Were you behind it when bush was implementing it? He was doing this for years - striking AQ wherever he finds them - including Pakistan.

Or did you think this was a new idea from obama?