Al-Qa'eda 'fatally wounded' in Iraq, says US

[Snowden]

Al-Qa'eda 'fatally wounded' in Iraq, says US


By Alex Spillius in Washington

Last Updated: 9:31am BST 16/10/2007


American commanders in Iraq believe they have damaged al-Qa'eda enough to claim victory over the terrorist organisation at work in the country.


Mission accomplished, Take 1: Bush in 2003

They were reported to have made the case that a series of reversals have fatally wounded the network, which has been behind most of the major attacks against US forces and Iraqi civilians since the 2003 invasion.

Nearly a year of intensified US military activity has seen a decline in suicide bombings, and the killing and capture of al-Qa'eda leaders as well as more than 1,000 footsoldiers.

It is also reported that the number of foreigners crossing the border from Syria to take up arms has declined dramatically.

Al-Qa'eda has been largely pushed from its former base in the western province of Anbar after Sunni tribal chiefs joined forces with the US military.

Military top brass are wary of making such conclusive claims however, aware of the embarrassment caused by President George W Bush when he addressed troops in front of a "Mission Accomplished" banner in the summer of 2003.

There have been other examples of over-optimism, notably after the killing in June 2006 of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qa'eda in Iraq, which preceded by some counts the bloodiest six months of the war.

Even with recent improvements in security, 62 US military personnel were killed in September, a figure only slightly below average for the past couple of years.

Military intelligence officials told the Washington Post that Lt Gen Stanley McChrystal, chief of Joint Special Operations Command in Iraq, was a leading advocate of a victory declaration, believing the terror network has been virtually obliterated.

Lt Gen Raymond Odierno, the second highest-ranking officer in Iraq, recently said that the group's capability had been "degraded" by 60-70 per cent.

Commanders on the ground feel progress made in the past few months has not been promoted strongly enough on the home front, and that a triumphal announcement on al-Qa'eda would lift public morale.

But the top brass, including Gen David Petraeus, the commander in Iraq, and Adm William Fallon, chief of the US Central Command, are reported to be against a declaration, believing more time is needed to assess the true extent of the damage to the organization.

Al-Qa'eda 'fatally wounded' in Iraq, says US - Telegraph

[Scrappy]

Man, this if foder for a much bigger discussion. who was it in the past few months saying we lost? Oh man, I want to debate these nay sayers so bad. Where'd danny boy go, anyone know of any other discussion boards he's around?