Thursday, January 19, 2006

The bodies, the bodies!

Back to Damadola...

(I think the old saw is true: that the only way Americans learn geography is by going to war...how many Americans could find Afghanistan on the map before 9/11? Ever heard of Fallujah before Iraq?)

From the AP:



Pakistani intelligence agents hunted Wednesday for the graves of four al-Qaida militants believed killed in an airstrike near the Afghan border -- including at least one suspected high-ranking al-Qaida figure. ABC News and The New York Times reported that Pakistani officials believe a master bomb maker and chemical weapons expert for al-Qaida was killed in the attack on the village of Damadola last week. He was identified as Midhat Mursi, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, who ran an al-Qaida training camp and has a $5 million reward on his head. Also killed, Pakistani officials believe, was Khalid Habib, the al-Qaida operations chief for Pakistan and Afghanistan, ABC said. The Times, however, said officials were uncertain about whether he was killed.

The Times also reported that Pakistani officials believe Moroccan Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi, the son-in-law of al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri, and the man who ran the group's propaganda in the region, was killed in the strike. ABC described al-Maghrebi as a senior operations commander. The newspaper said an Egyptian chief of insurgent operations in a region near the airstrikes also was believed killed and an Egyptian associate of al-Zawahiri's was possibly slain.

Pentagon officials said they had no information on the reported identities of the dead and CIA spokesman Tom Crispell said the agency could not comment.


That's because nobody has the actual, er, bodies.

The New York Times:


The bodies of the men have not been recovered, but the two officials said the Pakistani authorities had been able to establish through intelligence sources the names of three of those killed in the strikes, and maybe a fourth. Both of the officials have provided reliable information in the past, but neither would be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the news media.
(Bill Roggio at Threats Watch says 'According to a trusted source, the DNA tests are complete and the two other other “foreigners” killed are said to be al-Qaeda bodyguards.' But, um, they don't have any bodies so I doubt that.)

So four, or five. Big ones. But there is yet another wrinkle. Two more bodies seem to be missing:

2 graves near Damadola found empty

The villagers are claiming 18 innocents died in the attack. There are 18 graves to match. But two are empty.

So the villagers, who insist no foreigners were in the area, were busy little beavers. They sorted the bodies, dug graves, buried the locals, and hid the foreigners.

And it's possible that an early report saying there were as many as 7 foreigners may have been correct after all.

Or not.

46 comments:

Syl said...

mark

What does that have to do with anything? We all know that.

And it has nothing to do with HIDING bodies of foreigners. Ain't in the Koran.

buddy larsen said...

Peter, you're giving Mark the heebeejeebies--he's burying people in the desert even tho it ain't the desert--

Anyhoo--news flash--bin Laden tape offers 'truce'?

The mkts went straight up on the news, a few minutes ago--stand by--

cf said...

I think we have special ops guys in the area..and they removed the bodies and set the IED in the neighbring village to nab a couple who got away.(I know the Pak paper reported villagers saying those 2 were in their thirties..but I'd give that as much credence as wedding party claims).

flenser said...

Are Al Queda crying Uncle?

"We do not mind offering you a long-term truce with fair conditions that we adhere to," he said. "We are a nation that God has forbidden to lie and cheat. So both sides can enjoy security and stability under this truce so we can build Iraq and Afghanistan, which have been destroyed in this war. There is no shame in this solution, which prevents the wasting of billions of dollars that have gone to those with influence and merchants of war in America."

After expending a great deal of effort in trying to destroy Iraqi infrastructure, including oil pipelines, water treatment facilities, and electrical generation plants, Al Queda is suddenly concerned with "building" Iraq?

Charlie Martin said...

Mark, the Quran says "by the next sunset". not "in the middle of the night while waiting for another incoming."

Hmm. The Turing word is "cbo dolt".

I wonder what "cbo" means

Charlie Martin said...

Offering a truce "until we can rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan" doesn't strike me as that great a deal.

"Hey, tell you what. Time out until I can build up a base to attack you again. And stop killing my guys."

buddy larsen said...

Wonder if the truce offer has anything to do with the referral pressure on the Iran gov't?

Syl said...

Bush should respond reasonably as well

Words fail me.

Have you ever heard of hudna?

There is no such thing as a truce in the Western sense of the word in Islam.

Take your friggin' empathy and shove it.

buddy larsen said...

"I have no idea why such things pop into my head."

Because you left the door open?

buddy larsen said...

Ahh, got "Abramoff" in--good show, Mark!

buddy larsen said...

Like turning in to a driveway leaves you free to not be asphalt?

Syl said...

Ah, poor Mark. Just when the Dem noise makers are screaming about impeaching Bush over NSA surveillance up pops Osama to remind Americans WHY Bush is doing it.

Howard Dean got his cheap shot in at Bush today saying the fight with al Qaeda is in Afghanistan, not Iraq.

Somebody should remind him about Zarqawi and that al Qaeda's resources were expended on Iraq instead of Aghanistan. Now that Zarqawi is losing the battle in Iraq, al Qaeda has decided to concentrate on Afghanistan again.

Oh, and I'm sure Dean ignored the new information re Saddam training thousands of Islamist terrorists in THREE training camps in Iraq-up through 2002.

Iraq had nothing to do with terrorism. Sure.

buddy larsen said...

I still can't keep a S&G CD around here--the kids hear it playing, and off it goes to that 100% one-way, permananent bye-bye that always opens with "Borrowed yer S & G dad, want to burn it, have it back in a day or two!" I've lost four or five S & G that way. Sweet, high harmony--gets ya. Everly Bros, Kingston Trio--can't keep a private stock--kids get 'em all. Time is ripe for another high-harmony group, hey?

buddy larsen said...

Mark, if Iraq (mostly peaceful, with a few 'hot' areas that're hot due to isolated--deadly yes, but isolated--explosive devices) is "war-torn", then what term do we use for say WWII Germany, Italy, Japan, the Phillipines, and USSR?

"Really, really, REALLY war-torn?"

chuck said...

How can they be sure it wasn't #2, or even #1, who turned?

Keep 'em guessing, I say. It will be good for their souls.

buddy larsen said...

Knuck, just the thought of it makes me want to send you my Amazon codes.
\:-D

buddy larsen said...

Please, buy the warehouse--on me!

Specter said...

And I thought I was chickenhawk...bummer...Guess I'll be Foghorn Leghorn then.

The questions that have not yet been asked are:
1) Is it Osama
2) When was it made

The answer to 1 will be answered by the techs shortly. But the answer to 2 might be a bit harder. The problem is that the tape refers to "you have heard explosions in Europe" or something like that. Then it goes on to claim that some are coming soon in the US. The problem is that the last "explosions" heard in Europe were in London last July. Why wait this long to publish the propaganda?

Mark - don't make me punish you again about Abramoff.....

Syl said...

specter

CNN has the full transcript (al-jazeera only played parts). And someone who has read it says he refers to the November 2005 article out of Britain re Bush wanting to bomb al-jazeera.

(Wonder why al-jazeera didn't air that part...heh)

So the tape was made after that. Fairly recently.

Specter said...

mark,

I don't own this site. I can't delete posts. But I did post facts and I know that just tears you apart...

Specter

Specter said...

syl,

Thanks for the update. I had not seen the transcript. So much for my hope that OBL died last year...

Specter

Specter said...

Oh....you mean like all the ones Fitz...Fitz... (now what was that guy's name?....used to know it when certain people thought it was the biggest thing to come along...can't seem to remember) came up with?

Specter

buddy larsen said...

No worries, there, Mark--you've taught us all how to be never right, and never worried about it.

buddy larsen said...

"Suite Judy Blue Eyes! How can I weigh THAT MUCH?"

buddy larsen said...

So, who's the next target--Ed Meese?

Syl said...

The transcript isn't posted, AFAIK. Someone on CNN had read it and reported that tidbit.

buddy larsen said...

How 'bout Jesus--did anyone ever actually SEE a bill of sale for those sandals?

Better investigate!

Syl said...

mark

don't get your hopes up.

The Dems are scaring people with all this talk of impeachment over something the American people don't think is a bad thing. If it isn't legal they just want somebody to make it legal and then shut up about it.

Dems and their political wisdom. Since their basic beliefs are screwed up, there's no way they can help themselves from stepping in it over and over and over.

buddy larsen said...

What are we talking about, impeachment or the internet? What? Did you hear that?

buddy larsen said...

Haven't you noted, Peter, that the left hits the same topics daily, on cue? When Mark fired off on the 'can't catch OBL' bit, so did every talking donkey on cable TV.

It's that way every day.

Mark simply hasn't yet been told how to 'play' the big AQ kill yet--we'll hear the response soon enough.

buddy larsen said...

"...bury the bodies as soon as possible.'

Yeh, dead bodies are a health hazard in the desert, didn't you know?

Here in the temperate zones we just prop 'em up at the kitchen table and forget about 'em.

buddy larsen said...

...and voting in all the close elections.

Syl said...

How long does it take til they get to you and Kevin Bacon?

I don't care.

I wouldn't have cared even before 9/11.

The NSA doesn't arrest people.

Ever since I got online I work under the assumption that nothing I say is private. Nothing. Even e-mail. Especially e-mail.

Phones don't worry me either. I never talk on the phone anyway because I keep pretty odd hours. I keep in touch with family via email.

The internet has just made life seem much more transparent. I'm one of millions. And I just don't worry about it. I think all this faux concern is so '70's

buddy larsen said...

I agree, Syl. But if I were in the porn or drug biz, I would be very much against NSA. What the hell is such a big deal about a little terrorism, anyhoo?

NSA is safe for the vice-merchants now, but what if Aunt Hillary gets elected?

The children-raisin' villagers are going to maybe want to grab the torches and pitchforks and go get the Dr. Frankensteins.

Specter said...

Check out the latest from the Kos Kooky Kids - ABP has a list of some of their latest comments amongst themselves....really funny if it weren't so scary. Does Mark go under another name there?

Specter

buddy larsen said...

Yep, they're too far gone to even bother with. Fortunately, there's all those over-18 folks out in flyover country, who vote.

buddy larsen said...

Bush staffs Al-Jazeera, see, and 'they' keep it quiet because he's the 13th Imam.

buddy larsen said...

Re ABP post, it DOES seem that every second nutjob is named "mark" doesn't it. Maybe there's something to that 'name' theory--as if you name yer kid 'mark', he becomes a 'mark' for every crackpot notion that comes down the pike.

Syl said...

Buddy

Here in the temperate zones we just prop 'em up at the kitchen table and forget about 'em.

ROTF!

Well, off to snooze a bit...

Specter said...

All right....maybe I'm ignorant about it...but does the name Mark Garrity - other than he is markg8 - have special significance?

Unknown said...

syl, I feel the same way. Whatever people want to know about me they can find out. Nothing is private anymore.

I am more concerned about AlQaida.

Gale does not have a phone, he uses mine. He rarely goes on line, and he pays cash. But he pays property taxes and so he is easy to find.

Unless you are an illegal alien cleaning Hillary's house there is no way you can hide.

Unknown said...

specter:

He gets around, so much so that Roger Simon banned him.

He should be nice, like me.

Specter said...

OK - I figured it out. LOL. I had done a search on his name once and found a "Mark Garrity" in NJ that was doing a report for votetrustusa.org. I was just wondering if I missed something....well obviously not much of anything...

buddy larsen said...

yeh--he's a pro. We're part of his workload, i guess.

buddy larsen said...

If you're in the mood for hopeful news, item after item of it, go over to Instapundit. So many things are going well--all is not Iran (tho all IS Iran, if it goes bad).

cf said...

I think AQ has been seriously compromised.he round up continues in Pakistan.
http://www.pakistantimes.net/2004/08/30/top4.htm