NEWS: CIA Predator Drone Kills al-Qaida Operative

Al-Qaida operative Haitham al-Yemeni, reported to have been a senior leader in the group, was killed today when he was fired on by a C.I.A. predator drone.
The predator strike took place in the northwest section of Pakistan where other members of the terror group are said to be hiding.
It is thought that al-Yemeni had replaced Abu Faraj al-Libbi as al Qaida's number three leader after al-Libbi was captured earlier this month.


I think this a positive step in the war and shows that the U.S. is still in persuit of Al Qaida leaders. I think they are getting their moneys worth out of these drones as this is not the first Al Qaida operative killed by one. I doubt his death will have much impact on the organization though as I am sure someone will easily step up to fill his shoes.

What I also find interesting is that apparently the agency does not have to check with the White House or with Pakistani authorities or the CIA director before taking action like this when Al Qaida targets are found.




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[edit on 13/5/05 by Skibum]

Glad to hear it, after a predator in Afghanistan had the oppurtunity to kill bin Laden but was not given the order to, I've always been waiting for them to kill a high priority target.

I find it insane that killings are done in this manner. How much proof is there that the now dead target was a terrorist that needed to be killed? How can it be confirmed that the person who was killed was indeed the target they were seeking? Is there a body that has been retrieved?

With all the secrecy involved in this type of thing, how can anybody even be sure that the events reported even took place?

That is one problem with black ops, often the actions cannot be used very well for publicity because of the lack of independant, or conclusive verification

Hurrah!!! We've captured Al-Qaida's number 3 ...look everybody, see how successful the war on terror is.

Only it seems he's not number 3 but some lowly staffer from payroll or something

Then, all of a sudden... Hurrah!!! We've blown Al-Qaida's number 3 to pieces with a missile.

No, not the lowly staffer we first told you was number 3 but his replacement. Well, he had a beard and a funny hat so he must have been the REAL one

Originally posted by Frith
I find it insane that killings are done in this manner. How much proof is there that the now dead target was a terrorist that needed to be killed? How can it be confirmed that the person who was killed was indeed the target they were seeking? Is there a body that has been retrieved?

Predators have very advanced cameras able to recognize faces. And I'm sure the body was retrieved, the Hellfire misilles are not so powerfull, so some body parts must remain.

[edit on 14-5-2005 by longbow]

Originally posted by longbow

Originally posted by Frith

Predators have very advanced cameras able to recognize faces. And I'm sure the body was retrieved, the Hellfire misilles are not so powerfull, so some body parts must remain

.

[edit on 14-5-2005 by longbow]

... Hellfire can be used as an air-to-air or an air-to-ground missile. ... The Hellfire missile is capable of defeating any known tank in the world today. ...
www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ factfile/missiles/wep-hellfire.html - 4k - Cached - Similar pages

Hope they hit him with something a bit less forceful, or it could never be proven that there was anyone there at all.

Always think that it is funny ... Black Ops are wet and dirty, thus the sobriquet. It is not for the weak of stomach nor faint of heart. And more often than not, the Black Ops activities will lead "civilized" man to rage and howl at the evil intent. It takes men, dedicated and with a keen sense of mission and will to be those Special Forces.

I'm just happy that we are attacking terrorist targets inside Pakistani territory, with little or no trouble. Although Pakistan is doing some to capture and kill terrorists inside its borders, there are certain things which they are not capable of or equipped to do. Using a Predator drone to shoot Hellfire missiles at terrorists is one of those things which Pakistan cannot do.

It's about time we stop letting al Qaida use the safety of Pakistan's borders and tribal areas against us. Let the Pakistani troops flush them out on the ground, and we'll take care of the rest from the air. All we need is some more CIA infiltration into the cities where suspected al Qaida hideouts are located.

Originally posted by Rasputin13
I'm just happy that we are attacking terrorist targets inside Pakistani territory, with little or no trouble.

Pakistan is denying the missle was fired in thier country. Apparently because they fear reprisal from hard core islamic's.

www.abovetopsecret.com...