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Al-Qaeda calling in reinforcements in Afghanistan
Al-Qaeda is calling for recruits to come to Afghanistan to reverse momentum toward democracy and stem military victories by the U.S.-led coalition, a top U.S. military commander said.
| And they're calling the Faithful to reinforce them in Iraq, too? This is a good sign, I'd say... |
Maj. Gen. Rick Olson, second in command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said senior leaders of the Islamic terrorist group, including Osama bin Laden, are operating in northwest Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan, giving direction to the Taliban and foreign fighters. "Do not underestimate what is left of them," Olson said. "They are still a viable organization." Still, Olson said al-Qaeda has been seriously disrupted and the Taliban that once ruled Afghanistan is splintering in the aftermath of the country's first open election. "They have been dealt significant blows," he said. "There is evidence that the Taliban has recognized they have suffered.
| "Duh... Dey never laid a glove on us... Say! Is them birdies? I like birdies!... Ummm... Dat ain't blood is it? |
"(Intelligence) shows that they are very disappointed they could not stop the election. (They failed) to mount significant attacks that had a negative effect on the coalition or that had succeeded in intimidating the population of Afghanistan." The result is "a number of reports that there is a lot of recrimination and finger-pointing about the failure to get something going, some kind of spectacular event," Olson said.
 "Mahmoud! Cut his head off!"
"No, Mahmoud! Cut his head off!" |
Intelligence shows "that they know things aren't going the way they like them to go," he said. On Nov. 20, seven Arab fighters were killed in the Barikaw district of eastern Nangarhar province by U.S. and Afghan forces. The Arabs had established a bomb-making factory. Their presence surprised U.S. military leaders who had thought they had eliminated most foreign fighters from Afghanistan. Olson said that while more insurgents now see Iraq as the preferred battleground, al-Qaeda has not given up on Afghanistan.
Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-11-28 |
