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By Janet Evans
Wednesday, Aug 13 2008, 11:50 AM
There has been a change noticed regarding the attitude of al Qaeda over the past year.
It is a subtle change.
They have been noticed to be in a more defensive mode in their communications.
The questions is, does this mean anything in the long run?
It does appear to be a positive sign.
But what next?
We will have to see what happens during the next presidency, also.
Will al Qaeda test the waters?
Only time will tell...
“A senior Bush administration counterterrorism official said Tuesday that an analysis of public statements by al Qaeda in the past year shows that nearly half the verbiage is devoted to justifying the group's legitimacy.
The terrorist group seems to be adopting a more defensive tone in its public pronouncements, indicating that its leaders may be concerned that criticism from former allies and the increasing civilian death toll from attacks are undermining support. Al Qaeda senior leaders this year "have devoted nearly half their airtime to defending the group's legitimacy," said senior U.S. intelligence official Ted Gistaro.
"This defensive tone continues a trend observed since at least last summer and reflects concern over allegations by militant leaders and religious scholars that al Qaeda and its affiliates have violated the Islamic laws of war, particularly in Iraq and North Africa."
[...]
Sheik al-Oadah was one of the first religious leaders to preach against the presence of U.S. forces in the desert kingdom back in the early 1990s and was an early inspiration for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. In an open letter to bin Laden last September, the cleric accused him of having the blood on his hands of "at least hundreds of thousands of innocent people, if not millions."
"Are you happy to meet Allah with this heavy burden on your shoulders?" he said. In a lengthy treatise faxed to Arab media outlets from an Egyptian jail earlier last year, Dr. Fadl wrote: "We are prohibited from committing aggression, even if the enemies of Islam do that."
Al Qaeda leaders, and in particular the group's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri, have addressed these criticisms in several ways, analysts said.
"Do they now have fax machines in Egyptian jail cells?" al-Zawahri asked in an al Qaeda video message after Dr. Fadl's fax appeared. "I wonder if they're connected to the same line as the electric-shock machines."
Lawrence Wright, author and longtime specialist on al Qaeda, speculated earlier this year that "this sarcastic dismissal was perhaps intended to dampen anxiety about Fadl's manifesto ... among al Qaeda insiders."
But, according to the Jamestown Foundation, al-Zawahri also sought to deal substantively with Dr. Fadl's detailed critique, publishing a 188-page rebuttal of his thesis in March this year.
The rebuttal was "comprehensive," wrote Jamestown analyst Abdul Hameed Bakier, "using religious arguments and logic to refute and highlight weaknesses in the document.
"On the other hand," he continued, "the lengthy response demonstrates that al Qaeda is seriously alarmed by the possible negative consequences the document might inflict on their ideology and the jihadi movement."
Read the complete article from the Washington Times
HERE
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By Janet Evans
Monday, Jun 2 2008, 04:15 PM
I know…It’s a war.
There’s nothing positive about war.
Well, we have to mention when things are looking up, because the media tends to ignore that.
U.S. troop deaths in Iraq fell to their lowest level last month since the 2003 invasion and officials said on Sunday improved security also helped the country boost oil production in May to a post-war
high.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Iraq's oil minister credited better security for the two milestones, which illustrated a dramatic turnabout in the fortunes of a country on the brink of all-out sectarian civil war just 12 months ago.
Read the story from Reuters
Iraq hits milestones on U.S. troop deaths and oil í here
Some photos of those who serve…
ACADEMY FLYOVER
U.S. Naval Academy graduates cheer as the Navy's Blue Angels fly over Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md., during their commencement ceremony, May 23, 2008. U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was the ceremony's guest speaker.
Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley
NIGHT FIRE
While looking through night vision gear, U.S. Marine firefighters put out a fire in front of the old
Gunner’s Gym, May 6, 2008, during a simulated terrorist bombing on Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Ashley Stadel
STAYING THE COURSE
A plebe listens for instructions before starting an obstacle course
during Sea Trails at the U.S. Naval Academy, May 13, 2008.
Sea Trials are divided into six phases to provides physical and
mental challenges to test the plebes teamwork and mental stamina
through shared adversities.
U.S. Navy photo by Chief Petty Officer Todd P. Cichonowicz
CEREMONIAL COLOR
U.S. Navy Seaman Seth Green participates in the color guard for a change of
command ceremony for the mine countermeasures ship USS Guardian, Sasebo,
Japan, May 8, 2008. Lt. Cmdr. Steven H. DeMoss relinquished command to
Lt. Cmdr. Theodore E. Essenfield.
U.S. Navy photo Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua J. Wahl
WE ARE AMERICANS
Two hundred fifty-nine foreign-born U.S. troops serving throughout Iraq become American citizens
at Al Faw Palace, Camp Victory, Iraq, April 12, 2008, in the largest U.S. naturalization ceremony to date in Iraq.
U.S. Army Sgt. Jasmine Chopra
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By Janet Evans
Thursday, May 1 2008, 07:10 AM
 A student from Abu Shear School takes school supplies back to his classroom.
Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Tammy Hillis.
Progress in Iraq...
Iraqi citizens who had been displaced from their homes are now returning to South Bagdad in large numbers.
Since the economy has begun to turn around and security has greatly improved, those who left in fear are returning home.
Read the story from Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraqis Displaced From Homes Now Returning In Droves å here
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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Feb 3 2008, 10:30 AM
CBS 60 minutes aired a gripping interview with George Piro, who was the FBI interrogator of Saddam Hussein. What this interview reveals, makes me feel even better than I did before about the fact that we were able to capture Saddam, and that he was put to death for his atrocities.
If this interview wasn't enough, it's what's buried deep inside of it, and is now being reported by The Wall Street Journal, that makes one really pay attention. They say CBS buried the fact that Saddam reveals weapons of mass destruction remained a threat as long as he remained in power.
Here is an excerpt from The Wall Street Journal:
The Lebanese-born Mr. Piro, one of only a handful of agents at the bureau who speaks Arabic, was able to wheedle information from Saddam over a matter of months through a combination of flattery and ego-deflation that worked wonders with the former despot. But as Bruce Chapman of the Discovery Institute first noticed, the most important news in the segment comes when Mr. Piro describes his conversations with Saddam about weapons of mass destruction. The FBI interrogator says that, while Saddam said he no longer had active WMD programs in 2003, the dictator admitted that he intended to resume those programs as soon as he possibly could.
Here's the relevant segment, which appears well down in the interview:
Mr. Piro: "The folks that he needed to reconstitute his program are still there."
Mr. Pelley: "And that was his intention?"
Mr. Piro: "Yes."
Mr. Pelley: "What weapons of mass destruction did he intend to pursue again once he had the opportunity?"
Mr. Piro: "He wanted to pursue all of WMD. So he wanted to reconstitute his entire WMD program."
Mr. Pelley: "Chemical, biological, even nuclear."
Mr. Piro: "Yes."
Read the entire Wall Street Journal article
Buried WMD Scoop à here
and the CBS 60 Minutes interview
Interrogator Shares Saddam's Confessions à here
This interview just brings forth additional information to show the false accusations saying President Bush "lied" about WMDs are just that...false. * If Saddam had stayed in power, there always would have been the WMD threat.
*see comments
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