US Commanders: al-Qaida in Iraq to Stay


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Al-Qaida is in Iraq to stay.

It's not a conclusion the White House talks about much when denouncing the shadowy group, known as al-Qaida in Iraq, that used the U.S. invasion five years ago to develop into a major killer.

The militants are weakened, battered, perhaps even desperate, by most U.S. accounts. But far from being "routed," as Defense Secretary Robert Gates claimed last month, they're still there, still deadly active and likely to remain far into the future, military and other officials told The Associated Press.

Commanders and the other officials commented in a series of interviews and assessments discussing persistent violence in Iraq and intelligence judgments there and in the U.S.

Putting the squeeze on al-Qaida in Iraq was a primary objective of the revised U.S. military strategy that Gen. David Petraeus inherited when he became the top commander in Baghdad 13 months ago. The goal - largely achieved - was to minimize the group's ability to inflame sectarian violence, which at the time was so intense that some characterized Iraq as trapped in a civil war.

However, the militants are proving they can survive even the most suffocating U.S. military pressure.


News from The Associated Press

I guess we're just getting another snow job from Bush about how the surge is working. This is proof that al qaida is just waiting in the shadows until the time is right for them to come out again. If anyone believes that it's over you are as dumb as Bush is.

And the really stupid thing is that there was no real Al Quaeda presence under Saddam. He was afraid of it and crushed them.

Now we have a continuing presence due to the total bungling of this whole war. We have Al Quaeda resurgent in Afghanistan because Bush wanted the Oil in Iraq and put our efforts there. He lies about listening to his Military commanders and then gets rid of any who disagree with his point of view.

If there is any justice in this world, he will be brought to trial after the Dems take back the Whitehouse. If there is an afterlife, he better have thermal underwear.

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Were you in the corps? What was your MOS? Did you deploy? I was alongside the 2nd MEF during operation steel curtain in late 2005.

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