US general: al-Qaida may be easing effort in Iraq

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

BAGHDAD - Senior leaders of al-Qaida may be diverting fighters from the war in Iraq to the Afghan frontier area, the top American commander in Iraq told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Gen. David Petraeus also said al-Qaida may be reconsidering Iraq as its highest priority war front.

"There is some intelligence that has picked this up," he said in the interview in his office at the U.S. Embassy along the Tigris River. "It's not solid gold intelligence," he added, stressing that the reliability of the information has not been confirmed and that it does not mean al-Qaida has given up on Iraq.

Nonetheless, he cited the signs as part of a broadly positive review of conditions in Iraq, where al-Qaida fighters over the past year have been driven almost entirely from Baghdad and pummeled in other urban areas.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080719/ap_on_re_mi_ea/petraeus_interview

---

Interesting timing for these comments.

[jwirr]

1. It is no secret that Al-qaida hates us - they will be in any war front

that exists to help the other side fight our troops. They do not have to tell us. What they need to understand is that *ss has actually helped them with his insane wars.

[boomerbust]

2. Dateline November 4 2008

Bush declares victory, honored as war hero in huge parade in NYC.

[dipsydoodle]

3. It's not solid gold intelligence :

more kinda cheap and nasty plastic intelligence. Never mind - you know you can trust me. :sarcasm:

[Arctic Dave]

4. Sounds like more story line for the move

from Iraq to Afghanistan since NAM is going to boot us out.
We will start to hear, "We weren't kicked out, we left to fight the other war".

[ohio2007]

6. That was the story of Iraqi troops desperately wanting OUT of Iraq

to fight the cave dwellars of the Afghan/Pak border tribes

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=490_1216433242

It's going to be a cold cold winter for the sleepless Taliban


http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6d1_1216416129

[mmonk]

11. Yes. "Al Qaida in Iraq" is not bin Laden's al Qaida.

This is adjusting the public to upcoming realities.

[Tutonic]

5. Patraeus is Betraying us again. The man has no loyalties to America.

How convenient that the Sunni Bloc boycott ends today--yippee--when Obama touches down in Afghanistan. Oh and al-Qaida--well human intelligence (that would be Cheney, Gates and Rice) has confirmed that they've shifted their battle away from Iraq to Afghanistan. Oh and did I mention that Obama just touched down in Afghanistan? Yeah we sure can count on Betrayus to give us the straight talk. After all he's looking out for our boys and girls fighting that little conflict in Irag right? They are about to unleash some never before seen evil on Obama--so be prepared. Its gonna get UGLY. They can't afford to let this get away from them.

[ohio2007]

7. Life has changed in Fallujah. The colonel has replaced "# 2" to become #1

KFC in Fallujah

Marines visiting a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. Scenes include troops walking inside the restaurant and KFC workers preparing and frying chicken and french fries.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=65b_1216315012



I wonder how the food boycott ordered by al Sadr is coming along ?


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3325566#3325569

[stillcool]

8. I get so tired of the bullshit...

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/irqindx.htm

[jefferson_dem]

9. General Petraeus: Al Qaida May Be Shifting Focus Back To Afghanistan From Iraq

Source: AP

General Petraeus: Al Qaida May Be Shifting Focus Back To Afghanistan From Iraq
ROBERT BURNS | July 20, 2008 07:31 AM EST |

BAGHDAD — After intense U.S. assaults, al-Qaida may be considering shifting focus to its original home base in Afghanistan, where American casualties are running higher than in Iraq, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said Saturday.

"We do think that there is some assessment ongoing as to the continued viability of al-Qaida's fight in Iraq," Gen. David Petraeus told The Associated Press in an interview at his office at the U.S. Embassy.

Whatever the result, Petraeus said no one should expect al-Qaida to give up entirely in Iraq.

"They're not going to abandon Iraq. They're not going to write it off. None of that," he said. "But what they certainly may do is start to provide some of those resources that would have come to Iraq to Pakistan, possibly Afghanistan."

He said there are signs that foreign fighters recruited by al-Qaida to do battle in Iraq are being diverted to the largely ungoverned areas in Pakistan from which the fighters can cross into Afghanistan. U.S. officials have pressed Pakistan for more than a year to halt the cross-border infiltration. It remains a major worry not only for the war in Afghanistan but also for Pakistan's stability.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/20/general-petraeus-al-qaida_n_113881.html

[Aqaba]

10. We've always been at war with east-asia

Just how fucking convenient is that?