It's tough to be number 2

The line for the #2 spot in Al-Qaeda must be awfully short by this time.  I don't understand why one would even apply for the position.  Long hours, eat with your hands, sleep on the ground and always a target for an American drone missile.

Is there combat pay?


From AP/Yahoo September 15 by Kimberly Dozier

US officials: Al-Qaida ops chief killed by CIA  

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top al-Qaida operative was killed earlier this week in Pakistan's tribal areas, U.S. and Pakistani officials said Thursday. The death landed another blow against the besieged terrorist network.

The man killed was Abu Hafs al-Shahri, whom two U.S. officials describe as al-Qaida's chief of operations in Pakistan.

Though his name is little known beyond intelligence circles, Al-Shahri is described as dangerous by both the Pakistani and U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe classified counterterrorist operations.

He was apparently killed by a CIA drone strike in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas, though officials would not describe the method since the program is classified. A drone strike was reported by locals on Sunday night.

The officials say al-Shahri worked closely with the Pakistani Taliban to carry out attacks inside Pakistan, and was also a contender to assume some duties of al-Qaida's second in command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman. Al-Rahman was killed by a CIA drone strike in late August.

U.S. officials believe they can cripple the core al-Qaida organization if they take out the top four or five figures, following the killing in May of al-Qaida chief Osama by Laden by Navy SEALs. Eight of the network's top 20 leaders were killed this year alone, according to the Pentagon's undersecretary for defense intelligence, Michael Vickers, in remarks this week. Vickers predicted that with sustained counterterrorist operations, "within 18-24 months, core al-Qaida's cohesion and operational capabilities could be degraded to the point that the group could fragment and exist mostly as a propaganda arm."

And that will be the end of the "war on terror" and we can all breath easier.  

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