Last Week's Suicide Bomb Attack Against CIA In Afghanistan Gets Even More Ominous

The suicide bombing at CIA camp in Afghanistan on 31 December killed seven of our intelligence operatives, a Jordian intelligence official who was also a member of the royal family, and injured several others. The CIA officers killed were very experienced officers whose loss, tragic in human terms, is also a severe blow to our intelligence operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

We now know that the suicide bomber, Humam Khalil Mohammed, aka Abu Dujanah al-Khorasani, was a physician, a prolific and vitriolic jihadi cyber activist, and a double agent, apparently for the Taliban. He made a "martyrdom video" in the month prior to his death:



There is also a disturbing report suggesting that elements of Pakistan's Intelligence Service, ISI, may have had a hand in this mass murder:

Early evidence in the December 30 bombing that killed seven CIA agents suggests a link to Pakistan, two senior Afghan sources, including an official at their spy agency, told The Daily Beast. The pair said that U.S. has already taken a chemical fingerprint of the bomb used by a Jordanian double agent in the attack, and that it matches an explosive type used by their Pakistan equivalents, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI.

If there is ISI involvement, then it compounds the issues raised by this bombing significantly.

Nibras Kazimi at Talisman Gate explains how this will reverberate through the jihadi community:

[Khorasani] is someone that many jihad-watchers have followed over the years . . .

If all the facts here are true, then this is huge. Huge. This story's immediate effect is to give the jihadists a massive morale boost. They will mythologize this story into a recruiting tool that encourages more and more young men who sympathize with the jihadists to surmount their instinctual fear of the nebulous intelligence services of the Middle East, and to challenge the autocracies that supposedly keep a lid on jihadism. Khorasani has left a lot of hero-worship material, much of it very smart at manipulating emotions. Now, he himself is the hero in the eyes of jihadist wanna-bes. Many will seek to emulate him, or even outdo him. . . .

This also raises a host of issues regarding security, field craft, and counterintelligence. Anyone can be fooled, but for six senior agents all to be milling about within the kill radius of a suicide bomb before Khorasani was searched is simply inexplicable. Leon Panetta claims that Khorsani was about to be searched when the bomb was set off, as if that somehow is an explanation for six deaths. It actually makes their failure to observe even basic common sense security procedures all that more blatant.

Dave In Boca discusses several of these issues in a very good post and I highly recommend you read it. He also adds this bon mot:

Robert Baer just came back from a visit to Kabul and environs and found that only two CIA officers spoke a local language, Dari, while NONE speaks or understands Pushtun, the language [that] most of the Al Qaeda Pathan in Afghanistan and their Taliban Punjabi brothers in Pakistan and Baluchi Taliban in Quetta converse in.

We are nine years into the war in Afghanistan. If this report is true, then there are more sucking chest wounds in our intelligence wing than merely security and counterintelligence. Indeed, I find this as breathtaking in its implications as is the fact that a suicide bomber was able to kill six senior CIA agents with a single suicide bomb. It means that nine years in, we essentially have an intelligence presence in Afghanistan - now America's main war effort - that is functionally deaf and illiterate. How the hell can the CIA expect to accomplish its intelligence mission without agents in country trained in the primary language spoken in Afghanistan. This isn't the stuff of 007 - its the stuff of a very bad Pink Panther movie. It is so 180 degrees off from what I would expect of a professional intelligence agency that I am near speachless. I am dead serious when I say that, between this failure of basic security procedures and the failure to have Pashtun speakers in a Pashtun speaking country when we are nine years into a war in said Pashtun speaking country, Sylvester Reyes and Leon Panetta should be emasculated and have their testicles hung at the Langley main entrance. This is utterly beyond belief.

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Iraq - War, Peace, the Economy, & Progress

There is much to report on Iraq, though none of it appears in the MSM. Below is a rollup of recent news of the war, the continuing gains in security, and economic gains in Iraq.





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There is little direct reporting in the MSM from Iraq these days. Fighting does go on, with Mosul being the main battleground today. This from the Long War Journal:

Al Qaeda is still is able to operate in Mosul, and maintains its only established supply line to Syria in the Mosul region, according to a December 2007 assessment of the terror group's capabilities by Multinational Forces Iraq. "In ... Mosul and the rest of Ninewa province we still have a very tough fight to go," said Major General Mark Hertling, the commander of Multinational Division North said in a press briefing on Jan. 22, just one day prior to a major attack in the city.

. . . "We have formed an operations centre in Ninewa (province) for a final war against Al-Qaeda and the remnants of the former (Saddam Hussein) regime," Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki said on Jan. 25. "Today our forces are moving towards Mosul. What we have planned in Ninewa will be final. It will be a decisive battle." . .

Read the article. What is heartening about this particular battle is the degree to which it is being led and fought by Iraqi forces. As Bill Rogio notes, "This is a capacity that was nearly nonexistent just one year ago when the surge began . . ."

(Update): Al Qaeda is still able to pull off the occasional suicide bombing, the most recent using tactics utterly inhumane and despicable. Al Qaeda has been blamed for tricking two women afflicted with Down's Syndrome into becoming human bombs:

Two women suicide bombers who have killed nearly 80 people in Baghdad were Down's Syndrome victims exploited by al Qaida.

The explosives were detonated by remote control in a co-ordinated attack after the women walked into separate crowded markets, said the chief Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad General Qassim al-Moussawi.

Other officials said the women were apparently unaware of what they were doing in what could be a new method by suspected Sunni insurgents to subvert toughened security measures. . .

Read the article. (H/T Jawa Report) Why is it that I expect that this will make it into the arguments posed by our far left as to why we need to surrender in Iraq?

Elsewhere in Iraq, the Pax American is taking hold. Violence continues to fall. The "January 2008 figure" for Iraqi civilian deaths "was more than 76 percent lower than the 1,971 civilians killed in January 2007 when Iraq was on the brink of sectarian civil war." "As the security situation has improved in the southern belts of Baghdad, coalition officials find themselves more involved with building local governance capacity and creating jobs." Michael Yon recently posted from his embed with the 1-4 Cav in a mixed Sunni-Shia neighborhood in the south of Baghdad:

. . . The 1-4 CAV has not been attacked since 9 September 2007. This is incredible, considering that their AO had been one of the worst battlegrounds in Iraq. I remember my first embed with 1-4 CAV in late March 2007. As soon as I arrived, I went out on a raid; the next day we were in a firefight. But even then, there were glints of hope. Now it’s nothing but tea and progress.

. . . There is so much cooperation between the 1-4 CAV soldiers and their Iraqi neighbors, both Sunni and Shia, it seems surreal. Lieutenant Colonel James Crider, commander of the 1-4 CAV, told me the story of one local bad guy who had been detained but was released, only to return to the neighborhood. Within a day, eleven Iraqis had either called in to 1-4 CAVs tip line, or stopped soldiers on the streets to report the bad guy’s presence. Incidents like this explain why Al Qaeda is having a hard time trying to re-germinate here.

Read the entire article. And, via Political Insecurity, there is this post from Michael Totten:

At the end of 2006 there were 3,000 Marines in Fallujah. Despite what you might expect during a surge of troops to Iraq, that number has been reduced by 90 percent. All Iraqi Army soldiers have likewise redeployed from the city. A skeleton crew of a mere 250 Marines is all that remains as the United States wraps up its final mission in what was once Iraq's most violent city.

“The Iraqi Police could almost take over now,” Second Lieutenant Gary Laughlin told me. “Most logistics problems are slowly being resolved. My platoon will probably be the last one out here in the Jolan neighborhood.” . . .

One of the major turning points in Iraq came with the Anbar Awakening and the creation of the Concerned Local Citizens Brigades to patrol their neighborhoods. The number of people involved in the CLCB has grown to 80,000, and are made up of 80 percent are Sunni and 20 percent Shiite. They have been paid $300 a month by the U.S.. As the program looks to conclude, the question has been whether these individuals would be absorbed into the security apparatus. According to Military spokesman Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, some 20% of these individuals have requested to join either the police or the military, and about half, or 9,000 have now been screened and are either undergoing training or on the list to enter training. The screening process is ongoing for the other 9,000.

With the Pax Americana descending upon Iraq comes the ability to rebuild infrastructure and the economy. The Times reports:

Oil production in Iraq is at its highest level since the US-led invasion of 2003, reaching 2.4 million barrels a day, thanks largely to improved security measures in the north.

The country’s Oil Ministry will shortly invite international oil companies to bid for contracts to help Iraq to boost output at its investment-starved "super-giant" oilfields. Production is expected to pass the prewar level of 2.6 million barrels by the end of the year, and Hussain al-Shahristani, the Iraqi Oil Minister, told The Times that he expected production to reach six million barrels a day within four years.

The International Monetary Fund predicts that Iraq’s economy, boosted by rising oil revenues, will grow by more than 7 per cent this year. . .

Read the article. If you want to beat the recession and take part in a dynamic economy, it would seem that you need to move to Baghdad.

Probably the best sign of all in terms of anecdotal evidence of the peace descending on Iraq comes from Iraqi Pundit:

Those who believe fearful Iraqis have locked themselves in, and are barely surviving a civil war might be surprised to learn that my fellow countrymen have managed to blend the newest technology with dark-edge humour. They are using the novelty of YouTube as a vehicle for expression and entertainment, mocking Iraq's firebrand buffoons and having a little fun at the expense of Western soldiers.

Iraqis have been posting clips on the popular Internet video site showing male U.S. soldiers dancing good-naturedly if clumsily with their Iraqi counterparts or with people in the streets. "One hilarious minute-long segment captures an American military policeman, complete with flak jacket and weapon, spinning round and round while a group of Iraqi policemen cheer him on," says AFP.

To the animation taken from the film Happy Feet, Moktada Al Sadr "is portrayed as the 'chief' penguin who dances while his follower penguins shout his name. The over-dubbed Arabic music is taken from a rally held by the militia and Sadr's supporters." . . .

Read the entire post here.

Not all reports about Iraq are good – or accurate. For those types of reports, we turn to America’s MSM and, today, the Washington Post. Dana Priest of WaPo tells the tragic tale of soldiers committing suicide in 2007, laying the tragedy on the stress of the wars. And she tells us that this number of soldier suicides in 2007 is the largest in any single year. Gateway Pundit tells us what Dana Priest and WaPo do not. The suicide rate for military personnel is the same as if not lower than that for the general population, and indeed, the suicide rate among our soldiers has been significantly lower during the war years of the Bush presidency than it was under the Clinton presidency. What a sorry lot they are at WaPo.

The reality is that Iraq remains a place where peace and democracy will only take permanent hold through long term vigilance and bravery by those utterly determined to succeed. Big problems loom on the horizon. The two biggest threats to Iraq now are Kurdish separatism and Iranian interference. I blog on the former separately today.

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Interesting News From Around The Web - 12/22/2007

Secretary of Defense Gates says that Pakistan is now al Qaeda’s primary target. And now a suicide attack inside a crowded Mosque in a settled area of Pakistan.

When the NYT runs positive front page articles on a particular Republican presidential candidate, why do I feel like there is an ulterior motive?

More on the destroyed CIA Tapes, this time from the 9-11 Commission staff.

Is China’s military operating outside of Politburo control?

Is global warming a cover for countries to try and gain economically at our expense?

The WSJ takes note of the incredible sophistry of Ms. Clinton’s far left foreign policy statements.

Reversing a trend that began with the Jacobites some 200 years ago, Sarkozy, a Catholic, is urging a greater role for religion in France’s public life.

Soccer Dad looks at Iranian influence on this side of the pond which, in reality, has been with us and growing for many years: "Allowing Iranian influence to grow in the Western hemisphere presents a threat to the United States. Will the government act to forestall this threat or allow it to grow unchecked?" If the latest NIE is any indication, we will not be forestalling that threat anywhere in the world.

I do not understand Israel’s restraint in failing to respond with overwhelming force when they are regularly attacked from the Gaza Strip. The latest is six qassam rockets that landed in an Israeli school yard. Joshuapundit has the story.

A Porkbusters letter to the President pleading for an end to earmarks in the Omnibus Spending Bill.

The insane energy bill that skews agricultural production and puts us on the edge of incredible inflation in the price of food.

Rick Moran at Right Wing Nuthouse throws his political endorsement behind Fred Thompson.

The question of universal healthcare has several facets, but the gate keeper is can such a system be made to work without degrading the quality of care. The Glittering Eye has an interesting post on this from the perspective of a Canadian doctor.

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Interesting News From Around the Web

The Goracle is at it again. On Monday, he used the occasion of his 2007 Nobel Peace Prize lecture "to tell the world in powerful, stark language" that "Man-Bear-Pig is" – no, wait one, strike that -- he said that "Climate change is a real, rising, imminent and universal" threat to the future of the earth.

Not only did he win the Oscar and a Nobel Peace Prize, the Goracle tops the list of the "Greenest Hypocrites" of 2007. And Marc Sheppard at American Thinker ponders just how green was the Bali Conference.

Students are protesting at Iran’s colleges as Ahmedinejad tightens the screws.

I am sure that someone else has already made this observation in print, but it bears repeating, people do not kill crazed gunmen, people with guns do.

Michael Vick gets hammered with a 23 month sentence for his role in a dogfighting ring. The judge went beyond the sentence of 12 to 18 months recommended by prosecutors because he believed that Vick had been misleading in his statements to the FBI.

At an international conference in Scotland organized by the IAEA, security experts are warning of the threat of "dirty bombs" and urging tighter control on nuclear materials. Perhaps someone could put them in touch Vann Van Diepen.

Ralph Peters looks at the work our Rehab Centers are doing for our wounded veterans. It’s a good read.

Scientists use genetic manipulation to create bisexual fruit flys, leading to the supposition that homosexuality has a genetic basis but is not hard wired.

The Supreme Court ponders whether the Constitution of the United States afford any due process for alien jihadists even as they conduct a terror war against Americans.

John McLaughlin, former deputy director of the CIA, states that the next administration and Congress need to give serious thought to stopping the flow of intelligence leaks.

Our MSM believes in balanced reporting when it comes to Iraq. As Gateway Pundit discusses, any good news must be balanced by bad news, even if it is uncorroborated.

Islamists carry out two suicide attacks in Pakistan, both horrific. One was on a busload of school children all below the age of twelve. The other was at a nuclear weapons site.

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