Tough Times for al-Qaeda

A couple of articles over the past day or so, point to the difficulties al-Qeada is having with leadership. First there is a letter that was recovered by US forces. The letter is from Abu Asim al Qusayami al Yemeni to Abu Musab Zarqawi about poor morale and incompetent leadership. The second is the annoucement of the capture of the al-Qeada number 3 man, Abu Farraj al-Libbi, in Pakistan. You can see the entire articles here and here.

He wrote to Zarqawi that he could no longer trust people who say they were representatives of the terror master and wanted a face-to-face meeting to discuss setbacks. It is not clear whether Yemeni believed there were traitors within the organization who wanted to capitalize on a coalition reward of $25 million for information leading to the capture or killing of Zarqawi.

The letter, dated April 27, was seized in a raid on a house in Baghdad that also netted the coalition other documents, including a list of possible targets.

"The morale has weakened and lines of the mujahidin have become separated due to some leaders' action," Yemeni wrote. "God does not accept such actions and that will delay victory. We do have big mistakes where some of us have been discarded."

Th war on terror is one of patience. Those who believe that there has to be a quick end to this war are only deluding themselves. Those that believe there can be some sort of negotiated settlement are ignorant of the culture of terror. Zarqawi is on the run. His suboranites are not competent. This may be the begining of the end of al-Qeada in Iraq.

Marines and special-operations troops came within minutes of capturing Zarqawi near Ramadi in February. A tip led forces to his hideout, but he and senior lieutenants left before the raid and traveled in a convoy spotted by a Predator drone. By the time troops stopped the convoy, Zarqawi had leapt from a truck and escaped.

With Zarqawi on the run, he has left day-to-day operations up to leaders of his various cells.

"We have leaders that are not capable of being good leaders," Yemeni wrote. "We are not accusing them without reason, but we have tested them and found them incapable."arqawi will be captured eventually. This letter is very telling in what leadership will be left.

The second article cover the capture of Abu Farraj al-Libbi, the reputed number three man of al-Qeada.

One official said the suspects were in the custody of a Pakistani intelligence agency but declined to give more details, including the suspects' nationalities.

Al-Libbi is accused of masterminding two bombings against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in December 2003. The military leader escaped injury but 17 others were killed in one of the attacks.

He is accused of taking over as al-Qaida's operational chief in Pakistan after the March 1, 2003, arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the terror network's alleged number three. Mohammed was later handed over to U.S. custody and his whereabouts are unknown.

Musharraf, a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, named the Libyan as the chief suspect in the bombings against him. He was among six suspects identified as Pakistan's "Most Wanted Terrorists" in a poster campaign last year.

In the poster, he appeared in a photo as a dapper man with a short beard, wearing a Western suit and tie. The other suspects were all Pakistanis, linked to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni Muslim militant group believed tied to al-Qaida. Al-Libbi is not on the FBI's list of the globe's Most Wanted Terrorists.

I have no doubt that his scumbag terrorist leader will not enjoy his time in the custody of Pakistani intelligence. Slowly but surely, the leadership of al-Qeada is being decimated. Those not one the run seem incapable of anything more than homicide bombings of civilian targets, including weddings and funerals. - Sailor