Al Qaeda's #3 dies again, after dying in 2008

[Pakman]

Let me be the first to cast doubt on the announcement that Al Qaeda's #3 is dead. I base this on the fact that we have "killed" people who didn't die in the past. We've "killed the Ayatollah of Iran several times. Now Al Qaeda allegedly just announced that their #3, Mustafa al-Yazid, has died. But read this interesting fact:

AP (6-1-2010): "Al-Yazid has been reported killed before, in 2008, but this is the first time his death has been acknowledged by the militant group on the Internet."

link

On related flashback from February of thsi year, "Taliban confirm Hakeemullah Mehsud dead." http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistani-Taliban-confirms-Hakimullah-Mehsuds-death/articleshow/5551602.cms

Well, either the Taliban was playing a prank or they were wrong, because the man turned up alive: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/03/world/asia/03taliban.html# Mehsud is the top Taliban leader in Pakistan.

I find the following excerpt from an Al Jazeera story interesting:

It's unclear exactly where or how al-Yazid was killed. Pakistani news reports speculate that he was killed in a US drone strike, but US officials won't comment.

"And there's some controversy here, because nobody in Pakistan has confirmed where he was killed," said Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from Lahore.

This is significant because Pakistan also strongly asserted that Mehsud had been killed as well.

Moral of the story: We never know when our leg is being pulled. Could it be that this news is being spread in order to subtract attention from certain incident that occured this weekend? Or as a way to prove that, "See? Drones kill very bad people!"
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/06/20106143751105245.html

Be skeptical.

[Art_from_Ark]

1. I'm always skeptical

Every time I hear of an announcement purportedly made by "Al Qaeda", I think, "Not this shit again"

[EFerrari]

2. At this point, bin Laden would have to personally show me his original long form death certificate.

lol

[glowing]

5. He's dead.. I'm rather sure.. His kidney's were in pretty bad shape.

Which is the reason I believe he took credit for the plot in return for all the bin Laden's being wisked out of the country on planes when the rest of the US citizens were still stuck and grounded. It made a neat trick.. AND it achieved all of his stated goals.. When the strikes first happened, he said he didn't do it... then later claimed it.

That and he has old ties to the CIA. Al Quada to me is just one big network of CIA personnel. Look at the drug ex-port out of Afghanistan now that the US controls it.

[malaise]

14. Don't they control the majority of drugs on the planet?

When they tell me why there has been no discussion on Benazir Bhutto's statement that Bin Laden is dead, I'll listen to them re the dead and undead #2 &3s.

[Dr Morbius]

3. This al Queda #3 guy is like Dick Cheney. Just keeps coming back, apparently can't die.

Which leads me to go, "Hmmm."

[smirkymonkey]

19. Wouldn't he have been promoted to #2 after #2 was killed over

50 or 60 times already?

[dipsydoodle]

4. Was he in the cast

of Lost. :shrug:

[MrScorpio]

6. It's quite obvious that the man is a zombie

We'll kill him again in a couple of years.

[Vinca]

7. I thought #3 had been killed 6 or 7 times.

[hobbit709]

8. In Iraq it was always the #2.

[madokie]

9. So you're implicating that once a number three is killed no one ascends to the number 3

slot ever again. I say bull to that.

[democratajack]

13. Learn how to read

Al Qaeda #3's could die many times, as a new #3 will always replace the old one. but the OP notes that THE SAME EXACT GUY died in 2008, allegedly. OP cited his name and last name.

[Mari333]

10. the propaganda machine grinds on, badly

[Vinnie From Indy]

11. Al Queda is a manufactured enemy used to inject fear into the West

and justify the gargantuan theft of money to fight this boogeyman. The fact is that the war profiteers learned after their main sugar daddy enemy the Soviets collapsed that having an amorphous, global enemy is far better than a tangible one. Al Queda will never die and thus the gravy train is assured for the forseeable future. Quite simply, the bogus philosophy of the War on Drugs was so successful at stealing money from Americans by law enforcement and the military that the MIC adopted the same model with the "War on Terro". Waging war on things is far more enduring than wars on people. Things never declare defeat and they never go away.

[old mark]

12. Maybe he died in '08 and came back 3 days later.....nt

[pipi_k]

15. They're all related to Kenny of "South Park" n/t

[Morning Dew]

16. I heard something about this when I awoke today

and it scared the crap out of me for a second.

I heard it as "creditor drones".... that's a damn frightening thought.

[Blue Owl]

17. It's like the Spinal Tap drummer

or "they've killed Kenny again!"

[Bigmack]

18. Al Qaeda's #3 = Energizer Bunny. nt

[Echo In Light]

20. Phony "war"

[Canuckistanian]

21. I think it's fascinating

That they view Al Qaeda as a vertically structured organization, with little pigeonholes for every "rank". Do they also have an AGM? Is there an annual budget? Is there a comptroller who approves expenditures?

By insisting on imposing this western view, it's no wonder they're not making any progress.

I haven't seen any evidence that Al Qaeda is anything other than a loose collection of extremists who have vaguely similar goals.