A Secret Killing Program Breeds New Success in WoT

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Secret killing program is key in Iraq, Woodward says​

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The dramatic drop in violence in Iraq is due in large part to a secret program the U.S. military has used to kill terrorists, according to a new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodward.
Bob Woodward on Larry King Live

Bob Woodward's book, "The War Within: Secret White House History 2006-2008," came out Monday.

The program -- which Woodward compares to the World War II era Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb -- must remain secret for now or it would "get people killed," Woodward said Monday on CNN's Larry King Live.

"It is a wonderful example of American ingenuity solving a problem in war, as we often have," Woodward said.

In "The War Within: Secret White House History 2006-2008," Woodward disclosed the existence of secret operational capabilities developed by the military to locate, target and kill leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgent leaders.

National security adviser Stephen Hadley, in a written statement reacting to Woodward's book, acknowledged the new strategy. Yet he disputed Woodward's conclusion that the "surge" of 30,000 U.S. troops into Iraq was not the primary reason for the decline in violent attacks.

"It was the surge that provided more resources and a security context to support newly developed techniques and operations," Hadley wrote.

Woodward, associate editor of the Washington Post, wrote that along with the surge and the new covert tactics, two other factors helped reduce the violence.Video Watch Bob Woodward explain the strategy »

One was the decision of militant cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to order a cease-fire by his Mehdi Army. The other was the "Anbar Awakening" movement that saw Sunni tribes aligning with U.S. troops to battle al Qaeda in Iraq.
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Woodward told Larry King that while there is a debate over how much credit the new secret operations should get for the drop in violence, he concluded it "accounts for a good portion."

"I would somewhat compare it to the Manhattan Project in World War II," he said "It's a ski slope right down in a matter of months, cutting the violence in half. This isn't going to happen with the bunch of joint security stations or the surge."

The top secret operations, he said, will "some day in history ... be described to people's amazement."

While he would not reveal the details, Woodward said the terrorists who have been targeted were already aware of the capabilities.

"The enemy has a heads up because they've been getting wiped out and a lot of them have been killed," he said. "It's not news to them.

"If you were a member of al Qaeda or the resistance or some extremist militia, you would be wise to get your rear end out of town," Woodward said. "It is very dangerous."

Secret killing program is key in Iraq, Woodward says - CNN.com
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Of course the part in bold might actually be the reason for the surge in foreign militants in FATA and Afghanistan ...

Could this be implemented in Afghanistan and FATA?

Woodward seems to think so.

Could this mean that the recent air strikes which, bar one, seem to have been quite successful are an application of that program, and did this figure into the discussions between the top brass of the US and Pakistani Mil. on board the carrier?

My curiosity is peaked in terms of how the program functions. There is a reference to people getting killed if the program does not remain secret, so that would imply (if it wasn't misdirection) that there is a strong human element involved in this process.

Special forces infiltrating into known insurgent infested areas for reconnaissance and targeting over extended periods of time? Possible part of the program, but thats hardly anything earth shatteringly new.

Infiltrating the militant groups themselves would imply extensive use of Iraqis, and would explain the need for secrecy, but that too isn't a new concept. A combination of the above with technology ...???

Your thoughts and opinions?

 

[Spring Onion]

) i would be calling it somewhat fair IF they get Baituallah Mehsud.

IF they dont well in FATA its only target killing of Pro-Pakistan tribal elders which US/CIA is carrying out.

 

[muse]

Amen to that - we need this all over FATA, PATA and Swat

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Three Pakistani intelligence officials identified four foreign militants killed in the strike as Abu Qasim, Abu Musa, Abu Hamza and Abu Haris. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of their jobs' sensitivity.

Abu Haris led Al Qaeda efforts in the tribal areas, while Abu Hamza led activities in Peshawar, said the intelligence officials, who said they got the details from informants and agents in the field.

http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect...qaeda+men+killed+in+mondays+waziristan+attack

Jana ji,

This article indicates that this strike at least targeted AQ members involved in terrorism in Pakistan.

 

[IceCold]

I dont think so there is any wonder magic trick that is going on and which by the way they want to pratice in Pakistan as well. These tactics are known to all and we by the way dont need the locals because we are the locals in case of FC. Our special forces could be easliy deployed within the effected area to provide reconnaissance and also to effectively disrupt enemy lines. The only problem is that the US is providing the opposite forces with real time date over the movement of the PA. We should now be worried more about that because in some way we are if not directly but surely indirectly against one of the forces that has the best real time intel available to them that we can only think off thanks to the superior technology that they have.
But our recent success in both SWAT and FATA with CIA cover blown has proved that our military has the capability to netrualize the enemy no matter how supperior they are in terms of technology.

 

[IceCold]

) i would be calling it somewhat fair IF they get Baituallah Mehsud.

IF they dont well in FATA its only target killing of Pro-Pakistan tribal elders which US/CIA is carrying out.

Dont expect them to take mehsud out, infact expect from their side to take PA out, the kind of data and real time imagery that they are providing to him and means to successfull intercept PA communication should make it clear what they are up too. We have the capability to handle terrorists like him, the only thing that we need to do however is change our american gear with Chinese specially our communication equipment.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Well, its a good strategy, but I don’t think it really played such a major role in reducing violence there, in my opinion, the lion’s share goes to the Anbar Awakening, the American are paying the Sunnis to kill AQ leaders, Muqtada’s cease fire and increase in US troops also played a significant role. Just to sell his book Woodward is making a mountain out of molehill.

 

[Shoaib_Sham]

Well, its a good strategy, but I don’t think it really played such a major role in reducing violence there, in my opinion, the lion’s share goes to the Anbar Awakening, the American are paying the Sunnis to kill AQ leaders, Muqtada’s cease fire and increase in US troops also played a significant role. Just to sell his book Woodward is making a mountain out of molehill.

You are very much right. It is mainly due to couple of factors.
1) Muqtada-Sadr docile anti US operations.(for some well known reasons)
2) Anbar Awakening.
3) Iran using his power to exercise changes in Iraq's security scenario as a bargaining chip or a balancing rod with US

I think for us the lessons learned mainly relates to the second factor.

But point to analyze is that why is US not accepting the reality and instead mentioning his military capabilities as strategic success factor.

Here is my 2 cents opinion. They want to show and prove that insurgency and Islamic ideological militancy can be eradicated using their supreme training, ingenious skills of their military planners and their Hi-tech gears. Using Iraq as an example they will buy more support and time from home and from international community for their Afghanistan occupation (though original title is WOT). Or may be this is just a last ditch effort to glorify what will be a miserable retreat of US occupation forces.