Pakistan Taliban Denies Leader Dead

[tekisui]

Source: Al Jazeera

A senior commander in the Pakistani Taliban has dismissed as "ridiculous" reports that the group's leader was killed in a US missile attack in South Waziristan.

Haikmullah Mehsud told reporters by telephone on Saturday that Baitullah Mehsud, who has a $5m bounty on his head, was in good health and would soon appear in the media to prove that he was alive.

There has been widespread speculation that Mehsud was killed, along with his wife and bodyguards, after a US drone aircraft fired missiles at his father-in-law's house in the village of Makeen earlier in the week.

Haikmullah Mehsud, who would be a leading contender for the leadership, said that the claims were "black propaganda" aimed at luring the Pakistani Taliban leader into the open so that he could be targeted.

His claims were echoed by Maulana Merajuddin, who heads a delegation representing Mehsud's tribe in Islamabad.

more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/08/2009887522640311.html

[conspirator]

1. Even if they kill one fucking leader. Don't they realize there will be others nt

[Fleet]

2. That's only one way of looking at this.

Strong leaders with many years of training and many more of actual experience in the field of combat are not just dime-a-dozen cannon fodder. Targeting highly capable leaders of terrorist organizations seems a very reasonable way of weakening their command structure and eventually their overall capacity to wage war. Don't confuse replacing a person with filling a vacancy.

[tekisui]

4. Mahsud was an important figure. He 'unified' the various

Pakistan Taliban factions. Before, they were independent, but sympathetic to each others objectives. He brought them together. If he is dead, it will be hard for another to re-unify them. But, they will remain as independent factions. The Pakistani government/ISI and the CIA are trying very hard to break up the factions. They are attempting to starve out Mahsud's group. The Pakistani Army has control of the roads into their camp, but can't afford the risk to send in ground troops.

[Canuckistanian]

3. He's just pining for the fjords

Where these ridiculous stories come from, I don't know.

[C_U_L8R]

5. In other news

Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead