I noted below that the Iraq Study Group found a pattern of under-reporting of violence in Iraq and Atta finds that they also over-report successes against Al Qaeda in Iraq:
U.S. eager and it shows in Iraq
Jul 6, 2007 5:03 AM (1 day ago)
by Rowan Scarborough, The Examiner
Phoenix, Arizona
Washington DC (Map, News) - The U.S. command in Baghdad this week ballyhooed the killing of a key al Qaeda leader but later admitted that the military had declared him dead a year ago.
A military spokesman acknowledged the mistake after it was called to his attention by The Examiner. He said public affairs officers will be more careful in announcing significant kills.
Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner began his Monday news conference with a list of top insurgents either killed or captured in recent operations. ..."In the north, Iraqi army and coalition forces continue successful operations in Mosul," he told reporters. "Kamal Jalil Uthman, also known as Said Hamza, was the al Qaeda in Iraq military emir of Mosul. He planned, coordinated and facilitated suicide bombings, and he facilitated the movement of more than a hundred foreign fighters through safe houses in the area." All told, Bergner devoted 68 words to Uthman's demise.
Uthman was indeed a big kill, and the military featured his death last year in a report titled "Tearing Down al Qaeda."
"The more we can bring down al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations, the greater probability of reducing violence," Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the command's chief spokesman said, in 2006.
Uthman was listed in the 2006 news release as "the chief of military operations [in] Mosul."
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment