Obama team restocking hunting grounds in Yemen?
First is the good news that we are whacking bad guys in Yemen. Huzzah. It shows an active mindset and I applaud the administration for doing so.
The US military carried out cruise missile attacks against two al Qaeda camps in Yemen, killing several terrorist commanders and fighters as well as civilians.
The attacks, which took place on Dec. 17, were carried out in conjunction with the Yemeni military, who targeted al Qaeda bases in the provinces of Sana’a and Abyan. The Yemeni government and the US launched the raids after intelligence indicated that al Qaeda was planning to conduct attacks against Yemeni and US installations in the region.
Abyan is a known al Qaeda haven. The terror group opened a large training camp in Yemen this year, which reportedly housed more than 400 al Qaeda fighters from the Middle East [see LWJ report, "Al Qaeda opens new training camp in Yemen"]. Many of the fighters were Yemenis, Saudis, and Somalis.
The Yemeni government claimed 34 al Qaeda fighters were killed and 17 more were captured in the joint air and ground strikes. Muhammad Salih al Awlaqi, al Qaeda’s leader in Abyan province, and commanders Muhammad al Amburi and Munir al Amburi were also reported killed in the Abyan strikes, according to reports in Quds Press and Al Sahwah.net.
As I said that is all good news, but it raises another question as the folly of closing, or trying to close, Gitmo unfolds. What to do with the bad guys we are holding there.
The Obama administration is planning to repatriate six Yemenis held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a transfer that could be a prelude to the release of dozens more detainees to Yemen, according to sources with independent knowledge of the matter.
OK riddle me this Obama-man, we are lobbing cruise missiles at AQ camps in Yemen and then turning more of their troopies over to a government that has had almost zero success holding or rehabbing the ones we have already sent them. And Yemen is a magnet for all kinds of terrorist types, like another Gitmo graduate we released to Saudi Arabia and who joined up with AQ in Yemen as their #2.
A Saudi man who was released from Guantanamo after spending six years inside the U.S. prison camp has joined al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen and is now the terror group’s No. 2 in the country, according to a purported Internet statement from al Qaeda.
Kinda sounds like a job security program for drone pilots, cruise missileers and the friendly pipe hitters at JSOC. Not that I’m against that, but it is just, well somewhat hypocritical isn’t it? I guess if we are gonna play catch and release and we know where they will be, it makes it easier to take them out down the road. It does seem a little like one of those big fenced hunting ranches where you can go an shoot exotic game. Maybe we could organize junkets to raise funds for the overseas contingency operations. I imagine there are quite a few folks who would enjoy an al Qaeda hunt and would pony up goodly chunks of change for the chance.
Tags: al qaeda, cruise missile, detainees, gitmo, jsoc, terrorism, yemen
Don’t make it cost too much. I am a retireee on a fixed income. I would like to get in on the action too!
If I can get a seniors discount ( I’m a Nam Vet) I would book a trip.
Its an interesting hypothesis, but I haven’t seen that much thought put into anything this administration has done. Stumbling and dropping everything like a Chevy Chase skit on SNL has been their pattern so far. This is more a case of “yeah, throw it on the wall, see if it sticks”. The current President is the dumbest educated man in all the land.
Nice article Jimbo.
Agreed the continued release and “repatriation” of Gitmo detainee’s is just plain ludicrous and naive. But, leave it to the Obama administration to avoid homefront criticism and confrontation from the far left by doing the poitical “right thing” in closing Gitmo. Only to then also do the “right thing” and get tough on terrorism by bombing training camps.
As long as he can attempt to spin that he is living up to campaign promises, and doing “the right thing” politically, then common sense be damned.
It’s all about how something will reflect on him politically. Crazy….the actual end results don’t mean a damned thing. No wonder that State Dept officer and former Marine in Afghanistan resigned. Who could work for people like this…??!!
The only radical Muslim that has and is planning the destruction of America resides in the White House! The Joker’s “re-stocking” the hunting grounds in Yemen is the least of our problems. He is the Clear and Present danger most Americans should be worried about.
No, I disagree, even overlooking the 50 dead civilians, the airstrikes did more damage than good to US security and the fact that the primary target escaped was entirely predictable.
US Continues Failed Polilcy
Airstrikes a Tactical and Strategic Failure
At best the blowback will be a b*tch, at worst, the US was played.
rdgs, Jane
It’s just a reset. We’re doing it everywhere..
Gee, did we bomb another “wedding”?
Remember how Al-Qaeda and the Palestinians operate when they think they can get away with it: they claim that every body is a “dead civilian” and they’ll go so far as to manufacture civilian casualties. In Lebanon, Hezbollah deliberately drew fire toward UN outposts, civilian homes, and hospitals.
It would be easy to fake civilian casualties in Yemen, because nobody’s watching closely enough.
[...] Obama team let loose from Gitmo and who we gave them to. Aside from the Yemenis they are using to restock the game ranch over there, it seems a fairly recent capture from Somalia was released to the Somaliland [...]
Sounds like a great opportunity for safari trips to me!
I’m all for it. I say we insert little tracking devices. Then, when the bast*rds get back home, we send them a “gift”. I would bet that the cost of a JDAM divided into 5-10 will be cheaper than the cost of housing and feeding one those bast*rds for a year, let alone 6-10. Well worth the investment, don’t you think?