The U.S. recently reported that, in the last few months, American and Iraqi forces had killed or captured 34 of the 42 most senior al Qaeda leaders in Iraq. American intelligence has discovered that this huge loss has paralyzed al Qaeda in Iraq, which is now unable to find volunteers to replace all the lost leaders.
| Nobody wants to be a Number Three anymore, because they can't get health insurance. |
The losses have also cut communications with other al Qaeda groups, especially the senior leadership in Pakistan. The large loss of leaders also led to an unprecedented capture of documents and al Qaeda leaders willing to talk. Many family members of these leaders were also willing to discuss their experiences. For example, the widow of slain (in April) al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri revealed that she and her husband (they are both Egyptian) came to Iraq in 2002, having been offered sanctuary by Saddam Hussein.
| No, no! Saddam Hussein was a typical secular fascist strongman. He would have had nothing to do with a radical Islamist terror group. I know this is so because I read it in the New York Times! Mrs. al Masri must be mistaken, or lying out of her love for Chimpy BusHitler. |
Many other al Qaeda were found to be terrorists hiding out in Iraq, under Saddam's protection, and having nowhere to run after 2003. While many of the terrorist leaders were Iraqis who used to work for Saddam (and also had nowhere to run, given their known crimes), there were hundreds of foreigners. Few of them are left, outside of prison and graveyards.
This devastation began two years ago. Between mid-March and mid-April, 2008, al Qaeda suffered major losses in Iraq. American and Iraqi troops killed or captured 53 al Qaeda leaders.
| And clearly they've been talking together over tea ever since. How odd that nothing has been mentioned in the New York Times editorials. Ah well, perhaps some of their johnnies have been reading Rantburg over lunch in an attempt to keep up. |
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