Jun 02 2010

You think?

Al-Qaeda is likely to replace No. 3 leader with ease

By Craig Whitlock and Greg Miller, Washington Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The death of al-Qaeda’s third-ranking leader in a drone strike was portrayed by U.S. officials Tuesday as a severe setback to the terrorist organization. But if history is any guide, the network will have no problem replacing him.

On at least 10 occasions in the past decade, al-Qaeda has sustained the loss of a senior operative described at some point as the No. 3 figure in its hierarchy. Each time, the group has moved quickly to appoint a successor, demonstrating a resilience that has enabled it to survive a dozen years of open warfare with the United States and defy repeated predictions of its demise.

Al-Qaeda, it seems, has gotten used to filling the No. 3 spot, an especially high-risk job that involves overseeing terrorism plots, recruiting, raising money and providing internal security.

14 comments

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  1. Duh.

  2. The one with Patrick McGoohan.  A new #2 every week.

  3. some subset of the legalized extortion gangs running D.C.

    WOW – Number 3 Captured! WOW – Nancy says we’ll repeal Glass Steagal! WOW – barack is going to legally go after someone other than a nobody peee-on!

    WOW! Can I give money?

    WOW! Can I give MORE money?

    WOW! Can I give time?

    WOW! Can I give MORE time?

    we’d better not let those evil fascists win or … or … or … impeachment will be off the table, and #3 won’t get blown up!

    rmm.  

    • Edger on June 2, 2010 at 14:27
    • #

    If they keep killing them eventually every single member of al-Qaeda will have rotated through the number 3 spot right? And then it will be all over but the head scratching… er… head scratchthing?

    They don’t call it The Long War for no reason, eh? And lookit how good it is for the MIC economy, and all the trickling down from that…

  5. One just how many times number 3 has been killed, caught or captured?

  6. Probably more accurate than we would like to think.

    Photobucket

  7. “History did not demand Yossarian’s premature demise, justice could be satisfied without it, progress did not hinge upon it, victory did not depend on it. That men would die was a matter of necessity; which men would die, though, was a matter of circumstance, and Yossarian was willing to be the victim of anything but circumstance. But that was war.”

    Catch 22, Joseph Heller, Chapter 8, pg. 75

  8. with each drone strike.  Maybe they’ve wised up and left that vacancy unfilled?  Or maybe they’ll just move to a matrix management structure.

  9. guy is a little jumpy.

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