"3 out of 4 top Al Qaeda leaders" How do they justify that??

[ProfessorPlum]

I have heard every GOP puking head make this claim, from slimey Mehlman up to the Chimpleton himself, in the debates. They claim to have killed or captured 3 out of 4 top Al Qaeda leaders. In order for this claim to have any connection whatsoever to reality, or even meaning, we'd have to assume

1) There is a finite list somewhere of "top Al Qaeda leaders", that the list is correct

2) That we are sure the people we've "caught or captured" are the people on the list

3) That these people aren't being replaced by even more ruthless, bloodthirsty, or diabolical individuals

Obviously, 3 is not true. I doubt 1 or 2 are true either.

It is a totally empty claim, making them sound as if they have done something instead of making matters worse.

Yet every time, EVERY TIME, a GOPer makes that claim, the "Democratic" person on the show clams up. They NEVER call them on the bullsh*t. They never say, "How many people is that based on?". I'd bet they couldn't get an answer on that. Does the GOP know that there are 321 "top Al Qaeda leaders"? Can they prove that?

Come on, Democrats!!! Wake up and shove this crap right back down their throats. Jesus, why do we seem so asleep???

[SheepyMcSheepster]

1. when they say al qaeda leaders they mean

the al qaeda leadership they knew of when the 9/11 attack was carried out.

[ProfessorPlum]

4. Do they?

I'm sure that was a really detailed, accurate list. I mean, we all know how much attention was paid to Al Qaeda by this administration before 9/11.

/sarcasm.

[trotsky]

2. Duh!

Every Al Qaeda captured or killed has his membership card on him, which indicates his name, rank, and serial number. As well as bonus jihad points collected, which can be redeemed for valuable virgins in the afterlife.

[AlCzervik]

3. Didn't you hear?

Well like most organizations AlQuaeda issues yearly reports, you know, expenses, profits and an Org chart of their employees, then they fax that off to the Whitehouse.

I've asked this same question many times.

[Stephanie]

5. When this was posted right after the debate, someone said it referred

to the top Al Queda leadership - as identified who knows when. That leadership they said was 24 so the 75% would be 18 people.

WHY they are not called on this is a mystery. Give a number. Seventy-five percent of WHAT, and how do you know?

[soleft]

6. They captured or killed 9 men, that's the actual #

[Laelth]

7. Ah, but you see ...

they don't have to justify that because facts don't matter. The truth doesn't matter. And the media is complicit in spreading the lies because of its own notions of fairness (if we give one side time to argue, the other side must get equal time).

Suskind makes this all very clear in his article "Beyond a Doubt." If you haven't read that article from New York Times Magazine yet, you need to do so. It's important.

If you don't want to give NYT your e-mail address, the article can be found HERE. It's the second entry in that thread.

-Laelth