3+ years later Zarqawi is dead

Miklaszewski failed to mention this on the Today Show this morning.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4431601/

By Jim Miklaszewski
Pentagon Correspondent
NBC News
Updated: 7:14 p.m. ET March 2, 2004


With Tuesday’s attacks, Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant with ties to al-Qaida, is now blamed for more than 700 terrorist killings in Iraq.

But NBC News has learned that long before the war the Bush administration had several chances to wipe out his terrorist operation and perhaps kill Zarqawi himself — but never pulled the trigger.

In June 2002, U.S. officials say intelligence had revealed that Zarqawi and members of al-Qaida had set up a weapons lab at Kirma, in northern Iraq, producing deadly ricin and cyanide.

The Pentagon quickly drafted plans to attack the camp with cruise missiles and airstrikes and sent it to the White House, where, according to U.S. government sources, the plan was debated to death in the National Security Council.

Four months later, intelligence showed Zarqawi was planning to use ricin in terrorist attacks in Europe.

The Pentagon drew up a second strike plan, and the White House again killed it. By then the administration had set its course for war with Iraq.

The Pentagon drew up still another attack plan, and for the third time, the National Security Council killed it.

that have replaced the news welcome this rare MSNBC critical glimpse into the WH failures, if not their thinking- if any.

Enemy #1 was a dead man walking between the Sunni and Shiites whom he admittedly wanted to pit against each other by indiscriminate killings of all sides. it was amazing he lasted this long,. probably by avoiding contacts with all sides until being drawn into the civil war.

The timing. Well, at any time it might have helped Bush but it would appear that some clearing of the books on an up note is part of the Iranian assault agenda. The irritant and pretext has served its purpose and if Americans had not done the trick the Sunnis might and never left any evidence if he had come and gone. This is assuming that the story is at least as honest as that about Hussein's sons and not as deceptive as that about Hussein's capture. Thanks to Bush lies and secrecy any such assumption is a walk on warm pudding.

Apparently they want to declare Osama dead as well and seem to be testing the cynical waters to see what
people will swallow as evidence instead of simply getting it and presenting it. Again, the timing is likely more than Bush's bad poll numbers. I would guess and leave the rest to historians that either this is the only way to boost Bush over the hump into Iran or a sign of desperate competence among the unleashed lower echelons to smooth over the civil unrest withing the pentagon and other parts of the government.

That's classic.

Giving them any benefit of the doubt is naivete. Assuming the worst is the safest play.