Pakistani Taliban spokesmen say that Baitullah Mehsud is alive and well, when he isn’t dying:
The Pakistani Taliban’s leader Baitullah Mehsud is gravely ill, his top aide has told the BBC.
Maulan Nur Syed denied this was linked in any way to claims Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US missile strike on Wednesday in a remote tribal area.
In probably unrelated news, apparently a gun battle has broken out between Taliban members discussing the succession of the not-dead-yet Mehsud:
Confusion surrounds the leadership of the Taliban in Pakistan after reports of a gun battle between potential successors to leader Baitullah Mehsud.
Pakistani officials have said they had “credible evidence” that Baitullah Mehsud had died in a US drone attack.
But a senior Taliban commander, Hakimullah Mehsud, contacted the BBC to say his chief was alive and well.
Now officials in Islamabad say Hakimullah was himself one of those killed in a fight over succession.
I’m just all right with all of this.
In other news, the Economist writes that the jihadist movement has run its course:
It is not just Osama bin Laden who has been holed up in remote exile. His ideology of global jihad has also retreated. Stung by public disgust with nihilist terror, and seeing the radicals’ failure to consolidate tangible gains, some prominent preachers of endless jihad have repented their ways.
Jihadist ideology has also been facing what may prove to be bigger threats than those posed by military setbacks or defections. Clerics from the broader ideological mainstream of Islam, where most Muslims put themselves, are condemning nihilist extremism with greater boldness.
Good for them.
It was just a flesh wound. Nudge nudge wink wink.
Wonder what took so long?
A mag of ComBlock 30 delivered at full auto is a rather forceful rebuttal.
Steve, I guess they are getting tired of burying their wives and kids. Now, if only Fatah and Hizbollah could learn the same lesson.
“Hello, BBC? This is Hakimullah Mehsud. I am just calling to tell you that my illustrious commander is alive and well and was NOT killed by an American missile.”
“Oh, really. That’s wonderful news. Why don’t you put him on the phone so we can interview him”
“Hello? Hello? I’m sorry, we must have a bad connection…In’shallah. Good-Bye.”
Nothing like good ‘ole USAF “Predator Pressure” to keep ‘em on the run. (see, I’m gettin’ wit the whole “barco-jet” program) Seriously,tho, tribal leadership tussels and inter-tribal conflict has been a staple of all tribal societies since time immemorial. In addition to keeping the military full-court press on their leadership cadres/tribal chiefs, we should be sowing additional confusion thru massive bribes to back favored horses who might be amenable to “staying bought” with our help. More jaundiced-eyed, cold-blooded “Perfidious Albion” and less Wilsonian “nation building” not only will save American lives but be far cheaper, quicker and more effective in the long-run.
Lead poisoning.
The Economist, always smug and nearly always wrong, misses the forest for the trees again. None of the cited sources refute the doctrine of Jihad, none of them have advocated the religious, moral and legal equality of infidels with Muslims, and at most the dissenters are arguing about which tactics are most effective against the infidels (that is, us), not whether we are to be subjugated.
Qaradawi is quoted as saying exactly this, and yet the author completely misses the point:
Repeating his call for a “middle path”, away from either defeatism or destructive zeal, Mr Qaradawi suggests that the best arena for today’s jihad may be the “realm of ideas, media and communication.”
In other words, the West is collapsing inwards, there is no need for violence to cause its collapse. His words should cause the reader to shudder, not clap hands in joy.