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Strategy Page: Getting Inside The Training Cycle
 Despite the Pakistani anger at the United States for flying into Pakistan to raid Osama bin Laden's hideout (in a military town), and the subsequent expulsion of many American military trainers and intel specialists, the CIA decapitation (kill the leaders) campaign there continues. So far this year, there have been 41, compared to 118 for all of last year (and 53 in 2009, 33 in 2008, 4 in 2007, 2 in 2006 and 2005 and one in 2004). Attacked by Predator and Reaper UAVs, armed with missiles, the terrorists (al Qaeda, Taliban and the Haqqani Network) have lost about 50 senior leaders in the last six years, most of them in the last three years. These losses are not only bad for morale at the top, but are seriously disrupting terrorist activities. The terrorist losses have been severe, and include heads of operations, finance and intelligence. Many of the mid-level commanders were bomb making, and terror attack experts. These losses caused additional casualties as less skilled bomb makers died when their imperfect devices blew up while under construction. New bomb makers have been less skilled because of poor instruction.
| One does have to wonder why the ISI doesn't send instructors. These are the good Taliban, after all, committing jihad in Afghanistan instead of at home. |
The loss of operations commanders meant operatives were less effectively deployed, and more easily caught or killed. The damage to their intelligence operations meant there was less success in general, especially against the growing American informant network on the ground. The financial leadership losses has meant less income, and more reliance on stealing from locals, which makes the terror groups even more unpopular.
Posted by: trailing wife 2011-07-02 |
