CIA: Killing Bin Laden Won't End Al Qaeda

CIA Director Michael Hayden Says Terror Group Would Be Resilient

(AP)  The United States is making "a big and continual push" to capture or kill al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, but his demise will not end the organization's menace, CIA Director Michael Hayden said Tuesday in an Associated Press interview.

The CIA equally is interested in those jockeying to replace bin Laden in what he predicted will be a "succession crisis."

"It will be really interesting to see how that plays out. The organization is a lot more networked than it is ruthlessly hierarchical," Hayden said of the group behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. "How do you pick the next overall leader?"

A number of Egyptians are now part of al Qaeda's top echelon and may struggle for power among themselves. Bin Laden's current No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, is an Egyptian.

Despite al Qaeda's resilience, taking out bin Laden would be a psychological blow to the organization, Hayden said.

"If there ever was a sense of invulnerability, I think killing or capturing him would shatter it once and for all," he said.

Bin Laden is believed to be hiding in the lawless tribal areas of western Pakistan. The new Pakistani government is negotiating a new peace agreement with the area's tribal leaders that would have them expel extremists and police the region on their own. Hayden said he believes the result will be similar to the last agreement Pakistan struck with the tribes, which changed nothing.

"Any peace agreement that does not move the effective writ of the Pakistani government into the tribal region and push the rule of law there gives these groups the opportunity to continue to train, refit and move across the Afghan border. It's something we certainly could not look kindly on," Hayden said in the telephone interview.

The CIA has been using armed drones to attack alleged terrorists inside the tribal area, as U.S. military forces are barred from pursuing al Qaeda and Taliban fighters across the Afghan border.

Hayden would not say what else the CIA is doing, if anything, to target terrorist enclaves there.

"It's hard for me to get into any details. I understand the situation there, and I'm comfortable with the authorities we've been given," he said.

"There's an awful lot of senior leadership killed or captured including even in the last several months," he said.

Although bin Laden remains at large, Hayden said, "On balance I think we are doing pretty well on the war on terror."

"It's not luck," he said. "We've made it more difficult for people who would do us harm. That's not a guarantee. It doesn't mean they won't be back. It doesn't mean we'll always be successful."

One tactic that has caused worry is the CIA's holding of prisoners outside the reach of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The CIA has held fewer than 100 prisoners but kept some of them for years. That program was born of the decision shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks to put the CIA in charge of interrogations of alleged terrorists. The CIA also has come under criticism for harsh interrogation practices, including waterboarding, which gives the victim the sensation of drowning.

"We were kind of turning into the nation's jailer, a wholly inappropriate role for us," Hayden said.

The CIA is still holding prisoners but for less time. It recently turned over two detainees to the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after a few months.

"I'm not uncomfortable with the interrogation part or the detention required to conduct the interrogation. But once the intelligence value is bought off to a certain point, we have to move on," he said.

Hayden said he authorizes only intelligence activities that meet several tests, including whether the activity can withstand political shifts.

"We can't stand an American counterterrorism program with an on-off switch every other November," he said, referring to the American election cycle.

On other topics, Hayden said:

-Iran's intention is to produce its own nuclear fuel, using Iranian technology.

"That gives them the potential at any moment to break out and create a weapon, and that's what of course is most troubling."

-Even without Israeli intelligence, the CIA would have known by last July that a building in Syria's western desert was meant to be a secret nuclear reactor when a pipe system from the Euphrates River to the building was constructed.

"That was a powerful cooling system going to a building with no visible heat source," Hayden said. Israeli jets destroyed the building in August 2007, although Syria has denied it was a nuclear facility.

-North Korea's arms trade - helping Syria build a nuclear reactor or selling missile technology to Iran - is motivated by cash. "It's a starved economy, with very, very few sources of foreign exchange," he said. "This is one of the ones where they can actually turn a profit."

[ioweign]

CIA: Killing Bin Laden Won''t End Al Qaeda



More appeasement from the Bush Regime...

What happened to "Dead or Alive" - Bush lost his nerve...

[ioweign]

sorry to say this but post-911..the liberal masses had moved from "killing" to "worshiping" osama..

Posted by libsluv2spit at 11:59 PM : May 28, 2008

Wrong - "Again, libsluv2spit"

Appeasement in the highest form from a low life -


"I don''t know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don''t care. It''s not that important. It''s not our priority." GWB - Washington, D.C., March 13, 2002

[cfin5]

Oh? You don''t want the job huh? No problem, just give us back ALL the money you took from us to go get that job done. We want a refund,....NOW! Got fuel bills to pay to his family members don''t we.

[gopscam]

Posted by gopsoccermom at 09:47 AM : May 28, 2008

Fact war on terror is a profit center for the ultra Rich

[gopscam]

9/11 was an Inside Job, millions believe and there is no proof Bin Laden is alive so who''s kidding who Hayden?

[drinuk]

I see Cretin gopsoccermom is around again today, we are honoured to have amongst us the Champion GOP Asslicker. Her friend jamesm12341 should be lurking somewhere under the floorboards.

[red164]

War on Terror is a Scam

The weather kills more people in a year than 100 years of terrorism


Recent examples of destructive weather on the human race

May 2008 China Quake death toll 80,000

May 16, 2008 ... The official death toll for Burma''s cyclone disaster jumps to nearly 78,000 with 56,000 missing

May 2008 Tornadoes Rip Through U.S. South, Killing 50

May 11, 2008 ... Deadly Tornadoes Rip Through US Cities, Killing 22. Deadly tornadoes have ripped through US Cities

Colorado officials tour damage from huge tornado - USATODAY.comSevere storms, some including tornadoes, also ripped through parts of Wyoming, Kansas, ... About 100 people have died in U.S. twisters so far this year


PS, BIN LADEN IS DEAD!

[gopsoccermom]

zoe2006, no you are wrong. Bush is trying hard to get Bin Laden. Really really hard.

[gopsoccermom]

patriot12436, no he isnt. Clearly this is all Clintons fault. Any moron can see that.

[patriot12436]

gopsoccermom
If i had to pray to bush for anything i would just give up all hope. He is responsible for the mess we are in today.

[patriot12436]

floydzepp
That is because bush does know where he is. I don''t know why he doesn''t go get him, maybe ben laden has information bush doesn''t want the public to know, maybe he plans on getting him right before the election to make the republican party look good.Who knows what is in bushs twisted mind.

[gopsoccermom]

I''m scared and I am praying to President Bush to protect me like the rest of you should.

[patriot12436]

If we had him in captivity, even if he dies we could fake having him alive for years, print up false newspapers with false dates and hold up by him while he is alive, record everything he says so we could dub tapes of him talking, we could use his propaganda fior years agaist his followers.

[patriot12436]

Yes, taking Ben Laden prisoner would be better than killing him, then we could control his followers with threats to do harm to their leader.

[dinkydog1]

How thoughtful of the Repubs. Give thier supporters someone to be frightened of in case the great boggie man Bin Laden dies of old age.

[donevis-2009]

Da Dude Is DEAD. He''s been dead for so long he''s past the stinking stage. Wake up America, Bin Laden is this administrations scare crow.

[obama8years]

I know this is off subject. But how did we as Americans go so far off the path of what our country stands for that were in the midst of electing a President:

Dual Citizenship - Kenya

His Church - Africa First

His friends and Supporters - radical far left, Ayers, Black Panthers, Hamas, and the rest of Americas enimies.

20 years of Black Liberation Theology, White Oppression

Obama wife - in college was a black separitist.

These are Facts People. Not made up stuff. FACTS

Obama would be the perfect 60,s Black Panther Leader.

There must be a Movement that wants to turn America into a Socialist Marxist System.

Why else Would half of America be voting for Obama.

Unless they choose not to beleive Obama is a Radical.

Sad, Sad indeed.

[pensacola88]

This article is correct. The CIA has told us this for repeatedly since 1979. When there is no unified command and control authority present, the removal of a spokesperson or leader of any armed militia will not achieve the results of eliminating armed agression threats by tactical militia organizations.

The most effective method is to stop their funding and impose the strictest controls possible on weapons exports and trading. A weapons treaty was successfully negotiated by the Carter administration with several countries. Ronald Reagan reniged on the treaty, much to the frustratioin of our allies. The Iran-Contra affair exposed how Retrired General John Secord became an independant arms trader working for CIA Operations director John Poindexter.

The CIA was operating a covert war and actually had armed both opposing sides of Iran and Iraq at different stages of the war. When this was learned, the war was stopped and a consolidated anti-American initiative was launched.

George Bush was Vice President and has former director of the CIA, had a big mess on his own hands.

The CIA and the State Department have never agreed on regional policy. Often the CIA would align with one side while the US State Department aligned with the other. The reason: Fighting communists was the CIA''s mission, and Fighting Terrorists was the State Department''s mission. They both had difficulties maintaining lasting alliances, because few were common to both.

[shameonbush]

What would happen if they found Bin Laden and he was dead? They would not have a boogey man to scare us into continuing a war, they (rich oil) may lose support for this oil war. If they found a dead Bin Laden, they would never tell us, they would keep him alive, hence the same outfit he has worn for almost 10 years. There is no way that Bin Laden is stil alive, it is obvious to me that they could never allow that.

[sleepyric]

same old scare tactics we''ve heard for 8 long years. Time to rev up the scare factory to benefit McCain. This is the only way Bush can try to redeem himself and his legacy. Get McCain elected using the tried and true scare method.