Updated: Pelosi: Some of the success of the surge is due to Iran’s “goodwill” UPDATE: U.S. officials: Iran talking to Al Qaeda about freeing captive top jihadis
Allah has the details. Thought you might like to see how her numbers compare to Bush
UPDATE: U.S. officials: Iran talking to Al Qaeda about freeing captive top jihadis
Senior U.S. officials tell ABC News that in recent months there have been secret contacts between the Iranian government and the leadership of al Qaeda. It’s a development that has caught the attention of top officials in the White House, the Pentagon and the intelligence community.
According to U.S. officials familiar with highly sensitive intelligence on this issue, the contacts are on the status of high-level al Qaeda operatives, including two of Osama Bin Laden’s sons, who have been under house arrest in Iran since 2003. The officials don’t believe Iran will allow these operatives to go free, but said they don’t know Iran’s motivation for initiating the talks.
“The Iranians know there would be hell to pay if these guys were set free,” a U.S. official told ABC News.
“Iran likely sees these individuals, as major bargaining chips,” says another official. “How and when they’re going to use those chips or whether they are going to keep them in the bank is part of an ongoing strategic discussion they are having internally.”:
In the past, the Iranians have also resisted efforts by Al Qaeda to get them released. But recently there has been a renewed effort by Al Qaeda to negotiate for their release and signs that the Iranians are willing to at least talk about that.
ALLAHPUNDIT adds:
It’s not a secret that some of AQ’s big fish are in Iran but the feds pretend like it is for fear that making a big deal about it would spook Iran into turning them loose. Even so, major stories pop up in major pubs periodically: Newsweek ran a fascinating story a few years ago about how Saif al-Adel ended up in Iranian custody and WaPo claimed last year that Bush turned down an offer from Iran in 2003 to hand over al-Adel and the Bin Laden boys on Cheney’s and Rumsfeld’s advice. (This too-bad-to-check report from the Telegraph is still my favorite on this subject.) The New York Sun went so far as to allege that AQ has two separate leadership councils, one of which meets regularly in eastern Iran. The point being, contrary to what the nearest progressive might tell you, the two sides are well acquainted.
ABC’s sources speculate that this new round of “flirtation” is either some form of appeasement by Iran to get Al Qaeda to knock off its recent anti-Iranian rhetoric or a form of saber-rattling against the U.S., possibly due (just me speculating) to Maliki’s offensives in Basra and Sadr City. I’m not sure why they think it’s Iran that’s initiated the talks with AQ, though, instead of vice versa. Be on the lookout in your news reading over the next few weeks for stories about Al Qaeda’s leadership, as I’m suddenly seeing a curious amount of stuff about Osama and who might succeed him. First there was the report from Al Arabiya about the U.S. possibly having traced him to the K2 mountains, then there was Michael Hayden telling the AP about the CIA’s preparations for succession within Al Qaeda, then there’s the increasing success we’ve been having lately with airstrikes against AQ bigwigs in Pakistan, prompting one intel expert to note, “I think the money that the Americans are spreading around is having an effect.” Maybe it’s all a coincidence, but if AQ has reason to believe we have a bead on them then their demand for guys as seasoned as the ones in Iranian custody to fill any new vacancies will be sky high. Just a theory, but as I say, be on the lookout.
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May 29, 2008 - 02:54 PM on May 29th, 2008
Yes the picture is dead on the money and face facts it is really about money our leaders will sell us out for muslim money will sell us to the third world and bush like McCain and hillary and all want mass Amnesty for the world and after mass Amnesty you who are not part of the third world will become the targets of the third world people right here inside the FORMER USA, So be happy in your last days.
McCAIN Has been setup to be removed and Obama has been picked to be the next President of the new usa/NAU, How sad to watch a great nation become a third world monkey house.
Iran will never be attacked for political reason and it will be here long after the USA Become just a history note in some third world history book.
May 29, 2008 - 03:24 PM on May 29th, 2008
I can always count on ol’ Crazy Fred here to not vote for Sen. McCain this fall!
That’s one less voter out there against my guy!
May 29, 2008 - 03:31 PM on May 29th, 2008
Bwahahahaha!!! Love the graphic!
May 30, 2008 - 12:19 AM on May 30th, 2008
I have always thought of Nancy Pelosi as an incompetent fool in public office, but with this utterance of hers I am starting to genuinely hate her.
For starters, she is so laughably wrong on this it is staggering. Iranian-made weapons supplied to the terrorists as well as militias in Iraq have been recovered over and over. It was the Iranians who made the shaped charges that enabled IEDs to defeat the armor placed on the HMMVs. And this utter moron, babbling idiot Nancy Pelosi thinks that Iran not only wants to have peace in Iraq, but has already intervened to do so? She should be thrown out of office for gross idiocy just for expressing that!
Now on the deeper level: She has insulted the U.S. Armed Forces. She is saying that the gains made in Iraq, kicking Al Qaeda’s ass, isn’t due to the incredibly effective efforts of our troops. She won’t just give them not enough credit, she gives them no credit. She is insulting the troops, insulting their Commanders, and insulting America.
Nancy Pelosi, even I cannot find the words to adequately express the depth of your incompetence, the limits of your idiocy, or the degeneracy of your attempts to insult our Armed Forces.
Here is another anecdotal example that demonstrates Liberalism is a form of mental illness. It is the only way I can think of to explain someone like Nancy Pelosi.
If I was benevolent Dictator I would throw her out of office and banish her from America forever. I absolutely despise her.
May 30, 2008 - 06:18 AM on May 30th, 2008
[...] Right Voices has a hilarious graphic [...]
May 30, 2008 - 06:18 AM on May 30th, 2008
Surrender Monkey Friday: Nancy Appreciates Iranian Help In Iraq
Yes, the perpetually surprised looking Speaker of the House loves our troops and the USAÂ so much that she cannot even give credit to either (via Hot Air through Ace. I thought about posting it on Thursday, but, Surrendie demanded that this story was …
May 30, 2008 - 09:08 PM on May 30th, 2008
Iran’s goodwill? Oh brother.
Someone wanna go get the brave, honorable men and women serving in Iraq a towel? They’ve been hosed… by a Democrat… yet again.
June 3, 2008 - 03:25 PM on June 3rd, 2008
Pelosi is a ‘JILLASS’ and ‘genuine hate’ sounds good. I think she deserves genuine hate, and sent to Iran to live among all the hate filled extremist. She will get her just deserves and I can see by this cartoon it’s starting to crawl up her ass - Pelosi is a traitor of the worst kind! Hope someone mails her a copy of this - very good!
Now lets see even a better one of Obama - double dog dare anyone! I’m sure many will surface.
June 3, 2008 - 04:55 PM on June 3rd, 2008
I just voted for Speaker Pelosi today in California’s June 3rd election.
(She lives about 6 blocks away from SFL)
June 3, 2008 - 05:27 PM on June 3rd, 2008
And you are admitting it?