Al-Awlaki is Dead: AQAP is Not

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Sat Oct 01, 2011 at 03:26:29 PM EST
Tags: Anwar al-Awlaki (all tags)

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The U.S. is warning travelers world-wide of potential retaliation threats for the targeted killing of Anwar al-Awlaki.

A Yemen security official said today that reports that bombmaker Ibrahim al-Asiri was one of those killed with al-Awlaki and Samir Khan is incorrect. As for how they found al-Awlaki, the official said "they had located Awlaki with intelligence gathered from a captured al Qaeda operative." Anyone wonder what tactics were used to get that information?

Al-Awlaki's death is not going to end AQAP or be the end of al Qaeda. For one thing, AQAP's top leaders are still alive, including Nasser al-Wahayshi, deputy leader Said al-Shihri, and military commander Qasim al-Raymi. AQAP will replace its leaders who are killed much faster than we can kill them.

Update 10/2: The US media is finally correcting its reports from yesterday saying bombmaker Ibrahim al-Asiri was killed in the attack on al-Awlaki and Samir Khan. If I could find the Yemeni officials' statements yesterday saying al-Asiri was not killed, why couldn't they? Answer: They probably did see the reports, but chose to run with the unsupported claim by unnamed US officials that he was killed. More bang for the buck I guess -- it made for a juicier story.

< Anwar al-Awlaki Killed in Yemen | 500 Arrested on Brooklyn Bridge in Occupy Wall St. Protests >

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Al-Awlaki is Dead: AQAP is Not | 19 comments (19 topical)

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Just because you replace someone (5.00 / 2) (#3)
by Militarytracy on Sat Oct 01, 2011 at 05:24:19 PM EST

in name does not equal replacing them in competence, abilities, drive, or skill. Those things matter as well. Just sayin

: And the resources they expend finding (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by jpe on Sat Oct 01, 2011 at 06:25:57 PM EST

and training a replacement are resources they can't use trying to blow people up.

So...if it had been Bush, or if it were (5.00 / 3) (#8)
by Anne on Sat Oct 01, 2011 at 09:49:58 PM EST

President Perry/Romney/Bachmann, who had ordered the assassination of an American citizen, and then announced with pride, "mission accomplished," would Democrats' reaction be different than it is with all of this having come from a Democratic president?

Would those praising the president be excoriating him instead?

Hey, why not have a war on crime right here in the good old US of A? Just forget all that constitutional blather about due process: shoot to kill and don't look back. I mean, why not? What's the difference between al-Awlaki and your average drug lord? Are gangs not a threat to our safety? Why not a war against these kinds of people, terrorizing citizens right here?

Who are we?

Are we people who cannot see principle because we are blinded by party? Are we any different from those who cheered Rick Perry's statement that he doesn't have qualms about possibly executing innocent people?

Maybe the worst part of all of this is the normalization of policy and action that should make the hair stand up on the necks of anyone who believes in what this country is supposed to stand for.

These are sad, sick and dangerous times.

Jesus H., people, read the writing... (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by Dadler on Sat Oct 01, 2011 at 10:14:58 PM EST

...on the friggin' wall. It is a short matter of time before anyone and everyone who wants to can, say, make their own drone, and we will see them falling here sure as the sun comes up. Next year, the year after, whenever. The explosive sky will be overhead, it is only a matter of when, not if. Then we will see the horribly logical conclusions of all the law and principle we have thrown out the window. Americans will be collateral damage in their own nation. Can