Pandagon: Al-Qaeda in Iraq, No More at 11

January 26, 2004

Al-Qaeda in Iraq, No More at 11

Reelection is starting up nicely:

The minister in charge of Iraqi police said Monday that al-Qaida was probably behind some suicide bombings in Iraq, and President Bush praised the capture of a senior member of Osama bin Laden''s network.

"There is a presence of al-Qaida in this country. We've announced that directly and indirectly," Interior Minister Nouri Badran said.

"A lot of the suicide attacks have the fingerprints of the crimes committed by al-Qaida," he added. Asked if al-Qaida is operating in Iraq, he said: "Yes, it is."

That's scary stuff there. If Miller heard that, he'd probably go start gutting Iraqis himself simply on the chance, the hope, that one of them may be an Al-Qaeda member:

But he provided no evidence to back his claim. There was no immediate comment from U.S. military commanders.

...

A few non-Iraqi Arab and foreign fighters have been detained or killed in Iraq since the fall of Baghdad, but coalition forces have been reluctant to clearly say if they were part of or directly linked to al-Qaida.

I seem to remember that the last Interior Minister of Iraq was a less than honest guy. And I have this odd feeling that coalition forces would be all to pleased to announce the capture of Al-Qaeda operatives in Iraq. Now, far be it for me to question the Interior Minister's proofless, baseless assertions, but this one just doesn't add up...

Posted by Ezra Klein at January 26, 2004 03:39 PM | TrackBack

Comments

WooHooo! Go USA!!! Iraqis now have the same freedom Americans do to be the victims of an Al Qaeda terrorist attack!!! They never had that sort of freedom when Saddam was in charge!!!

Posted by: Rob at January 26, 2004 04:04 PM

I think it would be appropriate to ask when Al-Qaeda started operating in Iraq (if at all).

Posted by: Dan at January 26, 2004 05:55 PM