The Army Times’ Sean Naylor has a fascinating article on Task Force 145, which has replaced Task Force 626 and 121, and the hunt for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, which I have summarized below: – Zarqawi was nearly captured in Yusufiyah by Special Operations Forces nine days prior to the release of his videotape. Segments of […]
Resolving Iraq’s militia problem has become a priority for the Iraqi government and the Coalition. The delay in appointing a new government is directly related to the various political party’s fear that former Prime Minister Jaafari was too close to Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia, and would not reform the police forces believed […]
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s 34 minute long video tape not only includes numerous political messages, as Dr. Walid Phares explains; but also contains information on al Qaeda in Iraq’s propaganda and military capabilities. Several of the military and propaganda aspects are covered below:
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda’s commander in Iraq, has released “the first [videotape] to contain a ‘message’… U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News.” The tape is titled A Message to the People. This is his first video without a mask and directly posted on internet, not released through Al Jazeera. Zarqawi “needed” to be seen. […]
The scene of recent fighting in Helmand and Kandahar Provinces, Click to Enlarge. The fighting continues in the troubled southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar. Today, CENTCOM reports two separate engagements in Helmand and Kandahar. The CENTCOM press release for the Helmand incident states U.S. air assets were used to strike at a team of […]
The threat of a full-scale civil war in Iraq has receded after the disparate political parties have come to agreement on the face of the new government. After months of deadlock over the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance’s selection of Ibrahim Jaafari as Prime Minister, Jaafari reluctantly walked away from the nomination and the UIA selected […]
Clashes between Pakistani security forces and al Qaeda and the Taliban continue in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province. Yesterday, the Pakistani Army hit “suspected Taliban hideouts” with artillery barrages and helicopter strikes after security outposts in North Waziristan came under attack from Taliban fighters. Today in North Waziristan, “a paramilitary trooper and three tribesmen were […]
Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province and Federally Administered Tribal Areas Yesterday’s rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy and NATO’s International Security Assistance Force compound in Kabul, Afghanistan highlights the increased level of violence throughout the country. Coalition and Afghan troop have seen a marked increase in suicide bombings, IED (roadside bombing) attacks and platoon and company-sized […]
The London Times reports plans are in the works for “the second liberation of Baghdad” after the new government forms; operational developments in Iraq
41 Taliban killed in firefight near Kandahar; Mountain Lion & the 3-block war
Another senior al Qaeda middle-manager taken down in Iraq; said to have ties to bin Laden and Zawahiri
Yesterday’s helicopter attack in North Waziristan is directed at Mohsin Matawalli Atwa, one of the architechs of the 1998 attacks on the U.S. Embassies in Eastern Africa
A joint brigade-sized Afghan and U.S. operation in Kunar Province
Did the media fall for yet another insurgent information operation in Ramadi?
Dozens murdered while attending a prayer session in a public park
Sistani, Talabani and Sunni parties call for an end to the political deadlock for the selection of the Iraqi Prime Minister
Fighting and counterinsurgency operations continue in the restive city
al Qaeda steps up its campaign to destroy the political process and incite a civil war by attacking Shiite mosques; the wider situation in Iraq is virtually being ignored
Reflections on the Joint Urban Warrior ’06 Conference
Coalition and Iraqi forces arrest Abu Ayman, the commander of the Secret Islamic Army
Pakistan reacts to Taliban attacks in North Waziristan after a week of fighting on the Afghan/Pakistan border; Taliban active in Tank, Khyber and Peshawar Agencies
Reports of Zarqawi’s demotion is old news, but provides further insight on al Qaeda’s view of the state of jihad in Iraq
Pressure on Jaafari to step down mounts, Mahdi calls for Jaafari to “step aside”; Jaafari’s nomination may go to full parliamentary vote
A senior representative of SCIRI and confidant of Ayatollah Sistani calls for Jaafari to step down Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Click to enlarge. As the political deadlock to form the Iraqi government continues, support for Jaafari within the United Iraqi Alliance continues to wane. Another influential member of the UIA has stepped forward and called for […]
Support for Jaafari within the UIA appears to be crumbling; The Battle for Baghdad is in full swing The support for Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the current Prime Minister and candidate to lead the newly elected Iraqi government, is waning. Reuters reports a large majority of the United Iraqi Alliance no longer backs his candidacy, and a […]