al-Douri Nabbed!

[A_Wanderer]

Another one in custody, Iraqi National Guard backed up by US forces captured Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri - he was key in the Anfal Campaign against the Kurds and held senior spots in the Revolutionary Council. This is a bit of good news to come out of this awful weekend - this cuts at least some of the money flowing towards the insurgency and may upset the uneasy alliance between Baathist Thugs and Islamist Nutters. This capture will do a bit of damage, its one small victory of many that are going to stack up on the side of good. Interesting to note he was captured in Tikrit, just like Saddam.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6152796

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3629282.stm

 

[verte76]

I'm glad they've got this .

 

[Klaus]

From A_Wanderers link:

Initial reports from the Iraqi authorities suggested he had been arrested on Saturday while receiving treatment at a clinic near Tikrit.

But the US military have made it clear he is not in their custody.

A Iraqi minister said that they were "90% sure" that the man they cought is Al Duri.

Well i hope they can confirm it and they can put this man on a fair trial to the man who was responsible for so much pain and suffer in Halabdscha.

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

BBC news are quoting a US official as saying the operation was unsuccessful and al Douri hasn't been captured. They also reported that more than 70 people were killed in the operation.

 

[verte76]

Yeah, wrong man. It's in my ISP's news. I believe they got his cousin, and he put out a statement saying he's still out there. There's been another major attack somewhere also. Not good.

 

[Klaus]

Yes - the clarification of the wrong news don't make it to the headlines here like the "it's 90% sure that he's the man" news

 

[verte76]

Good, great, wonderful, hideous attack in Fallujah.

 

[AcrobatMan]

I want Osama - dead or alive

 

[verte76]

I think we all want Osama. But honestly, looking in every cave and everyplace all over eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan is like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are probably some excellent hiding places around there, and only so many military people looking for him. Of course some people actually think the guy's dead. If he's not I'll bet they've got some locals protecting his identity as pro-Taliban sentiment is very strong in that part of the world, regardless of who's officially running the government. There's a joke that Karzai is just the governor of Kabul because he doesn't really have any authority outside of the city. Most of Afghanistan is now in the hands of warlords and a number of these are Taliban supporters.

 

[A_Wanderer]

I think that Osama is a smudge beneath hundreds of tonnes of rock in Tora Bora, how else can one explain the shift to audio tapes and the pronounced lack of verifiable video footage?

Its quite inconcequential either way, Osama was not a big player in terms of planning attacks - he was a figurehead. The real danger is still from the lieutenants in the Islamist organizations who run the operations.

 

[A_Wanderer]

And as for the fact that they didn't actually catch him - Don't Go Trusting Reuters or the BBC, and I guess the Iraqi Government

 

[Klaus]

A_Wanderer
Well it was your BBC link which said it was unsure if they got him or not