Another Number Two?

By Cernig

The Pentagon has announced that US troops have caused "major disruption" to Al Qaeda in Iraq by killing the network of terrorist cell's alleged second in command. He is the third "Number Two in Al Qaeda" to be killed in Iraq and was a complete unknown as far as press reports go. Googling either of the names he used according to the Pentagon - Abu Qaswarah and Abu Sara - turns up no previous mentions before this announcement of an Al Qaeda leader, just a Baghdad chicken restaurant owner and a Shiite guy getting a haircut.

Over at Think Progress, Amanda Terkel writes:

Al Qaeda continues to remain resilient in the face of these attacks from the U.S. military, who are trying to undo a situation created by Bush’s invasion. No matter how many times troops kill top leaders, new ones emerge, because the insurgency continues to be, in part, fueled by the U.S. occupation. As counterterrorism analyst Evan Kohlmann said in 2005, “If I had a nickel for every No. 2 and Nov. 3 they’ve arrested or killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, I’d be a millionaire.”

The nature of a cell system is that decapitating the leadership doesn't really effect day to day operations and, if Abu Sara really was an AQI leader rather than a conveniently timed patsy (he died on October 5th but the announcement was made today, the day of the last presidential debate), his death is likely to have just as little effect. Meanwhile, the real reason for the terror group's loss of relevance in Iraq, the Sunni Awakening, is under threat of disbandment from the Shiite-led central government. That threat, most prevalent in the region around Mosul, has led to a minor resurgence of AQI in the area. Elsewhere, the underlying destabilizing faction fights which make Iraq a place no-one sane would want to declare a successful victory continue unabated.

Comments

[anderson]

Cernig,

"his death is likely to have just as little effect."

But that is not what the announcement is for. You know that.

[mawado]

Damn,

Is anyone else having flashbacks to "The Prisoner"? Every week there was a new number 2. Number 6 would defeat them, and next week, a new number 2 was working their nefarious schemes to confuse number 6.

mawado

[Russ Wellen]

Patrick McGoohan -- The Prisoner, Secret Agent. Loved him.

They should make a new movie: Secret Agent and James Bond vs. al Qaeda.