[antimedia] antimedia: What you see in Iraq....

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Posted by antimedia:
What you see in Iraq....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1146618830.shtml


   ....gets reported by Centcom and the news media. What you don't see is
   [1]much more lethal and effective.

     The SOCOM intel effort has its hooks into everyone else's
     intelligence operations, and gets any info related to al Qaeda, and
     especially al Qaeda leadership. The basic drill is for one of the
     four smaller Task Forces to grab a likely bit of info and quickly
     plan and execute a raid. The rangers provide muscle (perimeter
     security, read guard) , as needed, and keep any other unfriendlies
     away, while the SEAL, Delta or SAS commandoes go in after the main
     target. The objective is to capture people alive, if possible,
     because interrogations and examination of documents starts
     immediately. The idea is to get fresh information that will lead to
     other al Qaeda people. Often this is the case, in which the
     commandoes and rangers are immediately off to another raid. Most of
     this takes place at night, and several raids may be carried out
     between dusk and dawn.
     The Task Force has been so successful that, except for Zarqawi,
     there are no more foreigners (Saudis, Jordanians, etc) in the Iraqi
     al Qaeda leadership. It's all Iraqis, and these guys are proving
     just as vulnerable to informers as the foreigners (who stood out
     because of their accent and body language) were. Most Sunni Arabs
     are tired of all the violence, and are backing the government by
     passing on (and getting paid for) tips on where Zarqawi and his
     crew are hiding out.
     TF 145 almost got Zarqawi last February, and in the last six months
     have been hammering al Qaeda, and it's Sunni Arab supporters
     heavily. There are still several well armed gangs and tribal
     militias in the "Sunni Triangle" of central Iraq, and some of these
     have been persuaded to make peace with the government in order to
     avoid a visit from TF 145. Iraqis are big fans of American action
     movies. And they note that a visit from TF 145 is just like the
     movies, except for the real bullets, blood and dead bodies. So far,
     two dozen senior al Qaeda leaders have been killed or (mostly)
     captured, while about 200 al Qaeda leaders, who have had direct
     contact with Zarqawi, have been taken as well.

   Killing terrorists is hard and slow-going work. It's one or two at a
   time, sometimes more. But as the days go by, their organization gets
   weaker and weaker and more susceptible to collapse.
   How much longer do you think they can last? (Hat tip to [2]Smash.)

References

   1. http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsf/articles/20060502.aspx
   2. http://www.indepundit.com/archive2/2006/05/why_zarqawi_is.html