posty Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 (edited) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34368206/ns/wo...d_central_asia/ A high-ranking al-Qaida figure was killed Thursday in an attack by a drone aircraft in northwest Pakistan, U.S. officials told NBC News. The officials did not identify who was killed, except to say that it was not al-Qaida’s supreme leader, Osama bin Laden. If the report is confirmed, it would be the first time coalition forces had killed a top al-Qaida figure in almost a year. The officials said the killing was the result of stepped-up operations targeting al-Qaida leaders in recent weeks. Pakistan officially denied that any such attack took place, disputing reports that at least four people were killed and four were injured in a U.S. Predator drone strike in the Ladha area of South Waziristan province. The discrepancy between the U.S. and Pakistani reports could not immediately be resolved. A senior U.S. counterterrorism official confirmed that the al-Qaida operative was high-ranking but did not identify him. The attack apparently took place in the past day or two. The last high-ranking al-Qaida official killed by the U.S. was Abu Laith al-Libi on Jan. 28, 2008, also by a Predator attack. Al-Libi was blamed for a suicide bombing outside Bagram air base in Afghanistan during a visit by Vice President Cheney in 2007. The CIA-operated drones have already been increasingly used near the Afghan border. Nearly 50 drone air strikes in northwestern border regions this year have killed about 415 people, including many foreign militants, according to officials and residents. But Pakistan opposes expanded U.S. drone attacks against militants on its tribal areas, as well as any strikes on Baluchistan, where Washington believes Afghan Taliban leaders are hiding, the foreign ministry said last week. Anti-American sentiment Missile strikes from pilotless drone aircraft have created fierce anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, a strategic ally Washington wants to crack down harder on Taliban fighters operating along the porous border with Afghanistan. The White House has authorized the expansion of the CIA's drone program in Pakistan to complement President Barack Obama's plans to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed officials. It said that for the first time, U.S. officials are talking with Islamabad about the possibility of hitting Baluchistan, where Pakistan is already facing a low-level insurgency from Baluch rebels seeking provincial autonomy. Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said there were limits to Pakistani cooperation, and the drone attacks were counterproductive. "This has never been part of our discussions. There are clear red-lines as far as we're concerned," he said when asked if there were any talks between Washington and Islamabad on expansion of drone attacks to Baluchistan. "We have clearly conveyed our red-lines to them." The drone strikes have been limited to Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun tribal regions near the Afghan border, semi-autonomous lands believed to be sanctuaries for al-Qaida and the Taliban. In outlining his Afghanistan strategy in a speech on Tuesday, Obama made a vague plea to Pakistan to fight the "cancer" of extremism and said the United States would not tolerate Pakistan allowing its territory to be a safe haven for militants. The militant threat in Pakistan U.S. lawmakers told Obama's top advisers Dec. 3 that the focus on sending additional troops to Afghanistan ignored the much larger threat of militants across the border in nuclear-armed Pakistan. Underscoring sensitivities of the drone issue, U.S. officials say strikes are carried out under an agreement with Islamabad that allows Pakistani leaders to decry the attacks in public. But it is not just a rise in drone attacks, but the widening of the war geographically that worries Pakistanis. Some of the most prominent militants reported killed by drone attacks include senior al-Qaida member Abu Laith al-Libi and al-Qaida chemical and biological weapons expert Abu Khabab al-Masri. A drone missile strike in August killed Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who was responsible for many suicide bombings including one that killed Pakistan's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, according to Pakistani officials. Edited December 10, 2009 by posty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cre8tiff Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 As one bleeding heart liberal, I approve this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mucca Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 It is a MSNBC headline, so it might not be true. Hopefully I'm wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Is this going to be a return to the days when we would announce that we had killed al-Qaida's #2 man every three weeks or so? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Is this going to be a return to the days when we would announce that we had killed al-Qaida's #2 man every three weeks or so? Well, we do need some good news to distract us from your party raising the debt ceiling by $1.8Trillion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_am_the_swammi Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Well, we do need some good news to distract us from the memory that was theprior 8-years of turning a fiscal surplus into a fiscal deficit, while leaving the country in tatters upon going into hiding. Fixed for accuracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chargerz Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Welcome news, but the problem is somebody else will just take over his position, and sadly the situation in that area of the world will remain the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Fixed for accuracy. How long does the free pass last? I just want to know. When do we stop hearing about what Obama inherited? I mean he's already done enough to get a Nobel Prize, surely he has done enough to own what he has done and spent, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mucca Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Obama inherited two years of a democratic controlled house and senate. So three years of power and look how good things are now. The future looks bright, wheres my shades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJoTheWebToedBoy Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 How long does the free pass last? I just want to know. When do we stop hearing about what Obama inherited? I mean he's already done enough to get a Nobel Prize, surely he has done enough to own what he has done and spent, right? I'd say about 8 years......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_am_the_swammi Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 How long does the free pass last? I just want to know. If my math is correct....about 7 more years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_am_the_swammi Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Obama inherited a war we cannot win, started by a POTUS that turned a record surplus into a record deficit Again, fixed for accuracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 I remember the days when a thread like this was good news. Now we talk about Obama and debt when we kill Al Qaidas number 2 guy. If this news is true it would be a great boost to our troops. You guys are a bunch of bitches sometimes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mucca Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Again, fixed for accuracy. Wow that's original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 I remember the days when a thread like this was good news. Now we talk about Obama and debt when we kill Al Qaidas number 2 guy. If this news is true it would be a great boost to our troops. You guys are a bunch of bitches sometimes They can't credit Obama with anything. And, yes, anything like this is great news. The increased use of the drones is making a difference. Google "Beast of Kandahar". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_am_the_swammi Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Wow that's original. 6 syllables....[elf] look at you! [/elf]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 I remember the days when a thread like this was good news. Now we talk about Obama and debt when we kill Al Qaidas number 2 guy. If this news is true it would be a great boost to our troops. You guys are a bunch of bitches sometimes + infinity . . . but I readily admit that I can fall into the last sentence too . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 They can't credit Obama with anything. And, yes, anything like this is great news. The increased use of the drones is making a difference. Google "Beast of Kandahar". I give him credit for a lot of things, a historic deficit, hugh unemployment, government take overs of industry etc..... I agree the al-Qaida leader getting smoked is good news, and said as much in my first post in this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 I give him credit for a lot of things, a historic deficit, hugh unemployment, government take overs of industry etc..... Thank you mayor of Negativetown . . . dont you have a Salvation Army kettle to go pee in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mucca Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 6 syllables....[elf] look at you! [/elf]. You're correct You get a gold star. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Thank you mayor of Negativetown . . . dont you have a Salvation Army kettle to go pee in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Thank you mayor of Negativetown . . . dont you have a Salvation Army kettle to go pee in? No, but me and my two daughters will be ringing the bell next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 No, but me and my two daughters will be ringing the bell next week. Shooting the kettle repeatedly with a handgun doesnt count as "ringing the bell". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millerx Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Somebody's knockin' at the door...somebody's ringin' a bell... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 I remember the days when a thread like this was good news. Now we talk about Obama and debt when we kill Al Qaidas number 2 guy. If this news is true it would be a great boost to our troops. You guys are a bunch of bitches sometimes Yea, but he took a plane to get his Nobel Peace Prize. C'mon, get down with the Right Wing funk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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