Newsweek: That #2 al-Qaeda dead guy may not have been the #2 guy

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

GEE, and Bush was just trying to milk some political capital out of this!

The 'Second' Man
The slain Abu Azzam may not have been Zarqawi’s top deputy after all. Will his death have any effect on the Iraq insurgency?
Abu Azzam, in an undated picture released by the U.S. Army

WEB EXCLUSIVE
By Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball
Newsweek
Updated: 4:31 p.m. ET Sept. 28, 2005

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9518556/site/newsweek/

Sept. 28, 2005 - U.S. intelligence officials and counterterrorism analysts are questioning whether a slain terrorist—described by President Bush today as the “second-most-wanted Al Qaeda leader in Iraq”—was as significant a figure as the Bush administration is claiming.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

In a brief Rose Garden appearance Wednesday morning, Bush seized on the killing of Abu Azzam by joint U.S-Iraqi forces in a shootout last Sunday as fresh evidence that the United States is turning the tide against the Iraqi insurgency.

“This guy was a brutal killer,” Bush told reporters in remarks that were also carried live on cable TV. “He was one of Zarqawi’s top lieutenants. He was reported to be the top operational commander of Al Qaeda in Baghdad.”

Bush’s comments came one day after Gen. Richard Myers, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon that the U.S. military considered Abu Azzam the “No. 2 Al Qaeda operative in Iraq, next to Zarqawi.”

[TallahasseeGrannie]

1. They kill the number 2 guy every other week.

They can't have THAT many number 2 guys.

[Dr Batsen D Belfry]

3. What we meant was he was

the number 2 CUBED, yeah, that's it

DBDB

[ET Awful]

7. I was about to say that . . . well he's not number two, he's more like

number 2 to the fifth power. :)

[Tomee450]

9. So true.

[Fridays Child]

10. It makes sense. They've killed bin Laden's number three guy...

...about twice a year since 9-11.

Cue the music...

But the cat came back, the very next day

Oh, the cat came back, you know they thought he was a goner

But the cat came baxk, he just couldn't stay away

[Borgnine]

2. There have been thousands of #2 guys and 9/11 masterminds.

It's pretty remarkable how Al Qaeda has no lower-level employees. I'm not sure how their payroll can manage it.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

8. Yep, they are sinking in NUMBER TWO

Can you tell I spend my day with kids?

[dalaigh lllama]

16. That's just what I was thinking

* seems to have a strange fascination for Number 2. Perhaps he needs a bathroom break. Better ask Condi...

[cloud75]

4. How many number twos is this now??? This bush ship is sinking!!n/t

[FloridaPat]

5. There have been so many #2 men caught, killed, searched for.

So many dead guys being searched for too like bin Laden and Zarqawi. Funny this is, ask the average person in the street to name more than one aq Qaeda operative and they couldn't I bet. And ask anyone on this board to name more than 2 and I bet they can't. That's assuming Zarqawi is, was will be in al Qaeda.

[Singular73]

6. They are just mixin' it up some, Texas style.

They've killed the #3 guy like 30 times, so its time to switch it up to killing the #2 guy a few times, before going back to #3

[KoKo]

11. Gosh...I kinda did a "Ho Hum" at that news. Frankly, don't think Bushies

have any clue as to what their "war on terrorism" is about. And, living in a Hurricane Belt" I know they aren't planning on "keeping me Safe!"

So I don't know what the big Magilla is here? Who the hell cares that after almost three years they find some low level guy they think is the "Big One."

:shrug: Their "perfomance record" leaves something to be desired as far as MY and MOST Americans safety is concerned. :eyes:

Bush and his Cronies have safety...but the rest of us can't count on anything, imho.

They were "clueless idiots" at "9/11" or Complicit...why should I get all hyped up about some guy they bring outta "cold storage" to pump their ratings?

[Angry Girl]

12. Like an episode of The Prisoner. There's always a new No. 2 n/t

[wishlist]

13. Not surprising, Bush warned today to expect spike in violence in Iraq

My favorite part of this article:

“If I had a nickel for every No. 2 and No. 3 they’ve arrested or killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, I’d be a millionaire,” says Kohlmann, a New York-based analyst who tracks the Iraq insurgency and who first expressed skepticism about the Azzam claims in a posting on The Counterterrorism Blog (counterterror.typepad.com)

[elperromagico]

14. I believe the #2 job is usually filled by a temp.

There's not much chance for promotion. There is a sizable chance, however, of getting blown the hell up.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

17. You mean he's doing the job with NO MEDICAL BENEFITS?

Hell, it hardly seems WORTH it.

I mean, a cut in pay to offset a health plan would seem to be in order to me.

Oh, well, he's DEAD, so whether he had medical benefits or whether he was really #2 is now a moot point, eh?

:evilgrin:

[SpiralHawk]

15. "We're Number One !" - BushCo

eom