Iraq Says It Nearly Captured Al-Zarqawi

[Roland99]

<cough> Bullshit <cough>

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&e=2&u=/ap/20050203/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_us_insurgency

WASHINGTON - U.S. and Iraqi security forces are getting closer to capturing or killing Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terror mastermind in Iraq (news - web sites), and they missed him by "one hour maybe" as recently as two weeks ago, Iraqi Interior Minister Falah al-Naquib said Thursday.

In a satellite video news conference from Baghdad with reporters at the Pentagon (news - web sites), Naquib said that he is confident Zarqawi eventually will be eliminated and the insurgency brought under Iraqi control.

He also cautioned, however, that insurgent violence is likely to remain a major threat in the short run.

"They think once we finished the election our security forces will relax and things will be much easier for them to (conduct attacks)," he said, alluding to the fact that some of the extraordinary security measures imposed for Sunday's elections are being relaxed this week.


Didn't see any mention in there of the three chances Bush had of capturing/killing Zarqawi before the war even started!

[bluedog]

1. ya right

and we believe them WHY?

[rkc3]

16. Before you judge....

I nearly captured Zarqawi this morning. He slipped through my fingers when I went to feed the birds on the back porch.

It was the damndest thing - I usually see a chickadee or a titmouse at the feeder and this morning there was a one-legged, Muslim terrorist at the feeder.

He really is crafty though - I can see why the US and Iraqi forces have had troubles.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

2. Is there really a guy

called Zarqawi or is it just putting a face on the enemy ? I just don't trust anything coming from the Chimp & Co.

[bluedog]

3. Like Bin Laden huh?............................ALMOST??

What a load of crap. Give us news once the job is done, I am sick of this "almost" sh!t!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cocoa]

5. he probably exists

but I think everything that's attributed to him is bullshit.

[makhno]

4. Zarqawi is Iraq's Basayev

No perpetual war without perpetual terrorists, eh?

[Journeyman]

13. I had to refresh my memory on Basayev. . .

I got a chuckle from the bio I found:

Name: Shamil Basayev
Location: Southern Chechnya
Affiliation: Chechen rebel army
Profession: guerrilla fighter, terrorist, fanatic
Born: 1965
Died: several times, none officially

[tk2kewl]

6. I nearly won the lottery a bunch of times.

:eyes:

[Roland99]

8. HA!

[ernstbass]

7. Close only counts in horseshoes!

[aden_nak]

9. Sure. And I "nearly" married Angelina Jolie.

Hey, I've got as much proof as they do!

[TomClash]

10. And I'm nearly a billionaire!

Only $999,999,999 to go!

[egoprofit]

11. awesome!!! CSI IRAQ!!!!!

We should have a new CSI... CSI IRAQ!!! WOOOOHOOO!!!!!!

[jayfish]

12. Curses...

foiled again.:eyes:

Jay

[Magleetis]

14. The one that got away

Too bad. Now that Iraq has had free elections if the capture Al-Zarqawi the mission in Iraq will be a complete success.

[radar]

15. And This Time They'll Keep Him - Honest...

Hehe...


Saudi Suicide Bomber Claims Zarqawi was Captured, Then Released
By Alisha Ryu Baghdad 24 January 2005
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-01-24-voa25.cfm

"Do you know what has happened to Zarqawi and where he is?" an Iraqi investigator asked Mr. Shaiyah.

He answered, "I don't know, but I heard from some of my mujahadeen brothers that Iraqi police had captured Zarqawi in Fallujah." Mr. Shaiyah says he then heard that the police let the terrorist go because they had failed to recognize him.

[stevedeshazer]

17. Geex. "Iraqi Interior Minister Falah al-Naquib"

Did Baghdad Bob get a new job?

[Xenotime]

18. So you say...

They keep telling themselves that to make them feel like the are "making a difference." What a crock. I think it's interesting that they can hide under a rock and they can't see them anymore. So much for all thier "technology" they have over there.

[bossfish]

19. ...and I "nearly" shtupped Halle Berry last night.

Except that I was at home and I don't know her.

[HamdenRice]

20. Zarqawi, MightyMouse and an old lady threaten you? Which do you run from?

The little old lady -- because the other two are obviously figments of you imagination!

[auburngrad82]

21. Close only counts in horseshoes and IEDs

I'm still convinced that there is no Zarqawi. He was reported killed in Afghanistan, supposedly either has one leg or two, and no one has really seen him.

[underpants]

22. I sure hope they don't kill him before they capture him

Some Evidence Suggests Saddam Dead: Bush
Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, April 25, 2003
http://english.people.com.cn/200304/25/eng20030425_115783.shtml
US President Bush said in a television interview Thursday that there is some evidence suggesting Saddam Hussein is either dead or "at the very minimum was severely wounded." Bush also said US troops would remain in Iraq "as long as necessary."

DNA tests after missiles strike 'Saddam convoy'
Sunday June 22, 2003
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,982710,00.html
American specialists were carrying out DNA tests last night on human remains believed by US military sources to be those of Saddam Hussein and one of his sons, The Observer can reveal.

Officials suspect Saddam was killed in bombing
Posted 4/10/2003
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-04-10-saddam-usat_x.htm
WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence has no clear information on Saddam Hussein's whereabouts, but the betting in the Pentagon's executive offices is that the Iraqi dictator lies dead under a pile of rubble in Baghdad, according to defense and intelligence officials.

But the theory given most credence is that Saddam died in Monday's bomber attack on a home near a Baghdad restaurant.
"The official take from the Pentagon is that Saddam is 'unfound,' " a senior defense intelligence official said on condition of anonymity. "Most along the E-Ring (the Pentagon's outermost hallway and executive suite) think he's under the rubble."
A Defense Department intelligence official said an abrupt end to an electronic intelligence intercept of Iraqi leadership conversations indicated that Saddam and his sons were at the site at the time of the bombing.
"The signal died when the bombs hit," the official said.

Saddam Captured 'Like a Rat' in Raid
Sunday, December 14, 2003
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,105706,00.html

Saddam Hussein arrested in Iraq
Sunday, 14 December, 2003, 17:04 GMT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3317429.stm
______________________________________________________________
Pentagon: 'Chemical Ali' Killed in Attack
Tuesday, April 8, 2003
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/4/7/204930.shtml

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon believes "Chemical Ali," Saddam Hussein's cousin who ordered a chemical attack on Kurds in northern Iraq in 1988, is dead, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld confirmed Monday.

'Chemical Ali' reported dead
Monday, 7 April, 2003
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2925375.stm


Officials: Body of 'Chemical Ali' Found in Basra
Monday, April 07, 2003
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,83383,00.html


'Chemical Ali' Captured in Iraq
Thursday, August 21, 2003
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,95314,00.html


'Chemical Ali' in U.S. custody
Thursday, August 21, 2003
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/08/21/sprj.irq.chemical.ali/
DOHA, Qatar (CNN) -- Ali Hassan al-Majid, the Iraqi general known as "Chemical Ali," is in U.S. custody, military officials tell CNN.
_______________________________

[0007]

24. The person that made Zarqawi's wooden leg also carved

Pinocchio the wooden puppet.

[underpants]

29. Leg? what artificial leg?

Zarqawi Eclipsing Bin Laden in Prominence
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,119700,00.html
In 1999, after being released from jail in Jordan, Zarqawi formed an alliance with bin Laden allowing Zarqawi to operate a training camp in Afghanistan for Arab fighters committed to the overthrow of Jordan's moderate monarchy.
During the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Zarqawi is believed to have been badly wounded in a U.S. airstrike and fled to Iran. Later, he ended up in Baghdad, where Saddam's regime allowed him to recuperate for several months after having his leg amputated.

But check out how CNN spins itself into the ground trying to cover for Bush five weeks earlier
Tuesday, April 6, 2004
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/04/06/us.zarqawi/
A U.S. official said Tuesday that al-Zarqawi traveled to Baghdad in May 2002 for treatment of a leg injury but, contrary to previous reports, appears not to have had a leg amputated. The official would not discuss the reason for the change in assessment.
Al-Zarqawi, an associate of Osama bin Laden, had been named by the Bush administration as an al Qaeda member who fled to Iraq from Afghanistan in May 2002 for medical treatment and then stayed to organize terror plots. He came to Iraq with about two dozen al Qaeda terrorists, according to the administration.
Before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell and other administration officials pointed to intelligence that they said suggested al-Zarqawi had had his leg amputated in Baghdad.

Unfortunately a YEAR before that report CNN said:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/29/sprj.irq.terrorist.capture/index.html
Zarqawi was said to have received medical treatment in Baghdad in May and June of 2002 after being wounded in Afghanistan during the war. His leg was amputated, U.S. officials say, by a surgeon in Iraq.

[Earth_First]

23. Isn't this the 5th (or so) time he's been "nearly captured"

:eyes:

[ClayZ]

25. ...and I nearly won at the casino last night.

If just one more 7 had turned up on that damn slot machine!

heh heh

[MARALE]

26. Again???

When is this going to end? How many times will the evil man slip away? Tune in next time to see and don't pay any attention to the other deaths going on in Iraq.

[xxqqqzme]

27. I nearly won the lottery

I ONLY needed 4 more numbers!

[Ouabache]

28. yeah, and I almost had a date with Kate Beckinsale quite a few times

she was giving me the eye, I tell ya !!

[ProfessorGAC]

30. What A Coincidence! So Did I!

Just about an hour ago, i almost caught him at the gas station near my house.

I think Li'l Georgie's guys might be looking in the wrong place for him, though. He's here in Illinois. I'm sure of it. As sure of that as i am that they almost caught him.
The Professor

[robertpaulsen]

31. Wow. I'm really impressed.

Just like they NEARLY got bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, etc, ad nauseum. And, if only they had caught him, the terrorists would be marginalized and peace and democracy would reign.

Unfrigginbelievable.

[hector459]

32. Do they really think that there will be no one to take his place?

We have Saddam in jail and Iraq is much more dangerous than it was when he was in power.