Monday, April 03, 2006
Brief war notes
Al Qaeda and its ideological allies continue to take their hits. One of the longstanding enemies of our enemy, the king of Saudi Arabia, has given a big speech promising both to "annihilate" al Qaeda and to "combat [its] ideology." As regular readers know, around here we are big believers that al Qaeda's defeat depends on the repudiation and discrediting of its ideology across the Muslim world. Only Muslims can do that, and the king of Saudi Arabia has special clout (which in and of itself reveals the stupidity of Arab and Muslim political culture, but that's another point entirely).
The linked Agence-France article says that "the kingdom has been under pressure to crack down on militancy since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, a strike masterminded by the Saudi-born Osama bin Laden in which 15 out of the 19 suicide hijackers were Saudi." The article does not point out that Saudi Arabia deferred that crackdown until May 2003.
Then there is this article from Pakistan, which I thought was quite curious. Under the headline "Bin Laden ally severely beaten":
What is this with catching and releasing Khalil multiple times? Was Khalil beaten because he was a snitch? If so, why wasn't he killed? Perhaps he was beaten because he wasn't a snitch. But again, why wasn't he killed? Perhaps the perps are just locals who have decided to beat up al Qaeda guys, which itself is good news.
In any case, somebody decided to beat one of our enemies to within an inch of his life, which I am, of course, all in favor of.
The linked Agence-France article says that "the kingdom has been under pressure to crack down on militancy since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, a strike masterminded by the Saudi-born Osama bin Laden in which 15 out of the 19 suicide hijackers were Saudi." The article does not point out that Saudi Arabia deferred that crackdown until May 2003.
Then there is this article from Pakistan, which I thought was quite curious. Under the headline "Bin Laden ally severely beaten":
Gunmen on Wednesday attacked and critically injured a longtime ally of Osama bin Laden who U.S. authorities have linked to an alleged terrorist sleeper cell in California.
Fazlur Rehman Khalil, a signatory to the 1998 bin Laden declaration of war on the United States and its allies, was severely beaten by eight armed men, supporters said.
The attackers dragged Khalil and his driver from a mosque in Tarnol, about three miles northwest of Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, as they attended evening prayers, said his spokesman Sultan Zia.
Khalil is a former leader of a al-Qaida-linked militant group. The U.S. labeled Khalil's group a terrorist organization in 1994.
Khalil's attackers held him for five hours and beat him with rifle butts before dumping him in front of a mosque on Islamabad's outskirts, supporters said. He was reported in critical condition in a hospital Wednesday night.
In June, the FBI arrested Lodi, Calif., ice cream truck driver Umer Hayat, 48, and his son Hamid Hayat, 23, and charged them with training in one of Khalil's camps in Pakistan for attacks in the United States. The men are on trial in California. The prosecution rested its case Wednesday....
Pakistani authorities arrested Khalil in 2004 when he was accused of aiding militants crossing into neighboring Afghanistan to attack U.S.-led forces.
He was detained at least two more times, but was always released under what Pakistan's government insisted was close supervision to ensure he didn't engage in militant activities.
What is this with catching and releasing Khalil multiple times? Was Khalil beaten because he was a snitch? If so, why wasn't he killed? Perhaps he was beaten because he wasn't a snitch. But again, why wasn't he killed? Perhaps the perps are just locals who have decided to beat up al Qaeda guys, which itself is good news.
In any case, somebody decided to beat one of our enemies to within an inch of his life, which I am, of course, all in favor of.
1 Comments:
By 
Dan Collins, at
Mon Apr 03, 11:21:00 AM:
We might be making too much of this. Maybe he's just the kind of guy people like beating on.
