Rahm Emanuel: Half of Al Qaeda ‘Eliminated’
EmailAbout “a half of al Qaeda has been eliminated in this last 18 months” White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said in an EXCLUSIVE interview on ‘This Week’.
Discussing the war in Afghanistan – which recently became America’s longest – with host Jake Tapper, Emanuel was bullish on the progress that has been made in war-torn country and insisted that President Obama’s July 2011 deadline for the beginning of a drawdown of troops was “not moving.”
“The president raised the troop level and civilian participation to 30,000. This…creat[ed] a window of opportunity for Afghanistan,” Emanuel said. “We are now at that point in Afghanistan, and in fact for the first time in eight years, nine years, they’re actually meeting their police recruitment requirements as well as their army recruitment requirements. So they themselves can take more and more responsibility for the security of that country,” he said.
Emanuel also discussed the Taliban and Al Qaeda. “About a half of Al Qaeda has been eliminated in this last 18 months,” he said. “So we’re taking the pressure to al Qaeda, taking the pressure to the Taliban.”
“All of this has been predictable in the sense that we knew once we created this window of opportunity, we were going to focus on what are the resources that are necessary, where are we going to be making progress,” he said. “But the July ’11 date, as stated by the president, that’s not moving. That’s not changing. Everybody agreed on that date. General Petraeus did. Secretary Gates did. As also Admiral Mullen agreed.”
Tapper pressed the chief of staff on just what that date meant – how many troops would be leaving then?
“That’s what you’ll evaluate based on the conditions on the ground. That is — but what had to happen prior to that was having a date that gave everybody, the NATO, international forces, as well as Afghanistan, that sense of urgency to move,” Emanuel said.
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You know you can believe these jokers, their mouths are moving. It is all a big scam, a big money making scam for them and their cronies.
Posted by: Sideeous | June 20, 2010, 9:59 am 9:59 am
Emanuel also discussed the Taliban and Al Qaeda. “About a half of Al Qaeda has been eliminated in this last 18 months,” he said. “So we’re taking the pressure to al Qaeda, taking the pressure to the Taliban.”
Mr. Emanuel, you are a liar. I’m not a military commander, a politician, or even a “war buff”, but I DO know that Al Qaeda and Taliban recruitments are like a revolving door… as a few go out, more come back in.
Whether he’s trying to come across as a cheerleader for what’s happening in Afghanistan/Pakistan to build up the public morale, or whether he’s trying to sell us on a lie to boost this administration, the point remains the same. It’s a lie.
Posted by: Shoe | June 20, 2010, 10:07 am 10:07 am
“The president raised the troop level and civilian participation to 30,000 . . .
Rahm Emanuel’s numbers and explanation lacks accuracy. Obama sent an additional 30,000 troops in Dec. ’09. There are presently 100,000 troops in Afghanistan. If I’m not mistaken, there’s an equal amount of private contractors there.
Emmanuel is also vague on the number of Al Queda members that have been eliminated. According to McChrystal last fall, there were a hundred. So the assumption left is that 50 have been eliminated.
Posted by: jane | June 20, 2010, 10:14 am 10:14 am
I hate it when politicians OR their ‘spokesmen’ make stupid boasts that cannot be substantiated. The realization that many foolish Americans actually believe such nonsense is scary.
Rahm, please tell us, the American people, when the first census of alQaeda membership was conducted. Please provide the exact number of members who returned their questionnaires. Then please give us the date the second census was taken and provide exact numbers responding the second time.
We know that not all alQaeda members returned their questionnaires durig either census, so what is the percentage of error used to reach the final number whereby you can assure us that ‘about half’ have been eliminated?
Finally the only way you can know how many there were and now are is to know where they are. So, why have you only eliminated about half?
Posted by: malcat | June 20, 2010, 10:46 am 10:46 am
Actually, most of the big fish in Al Qaida were killed or captured before Obama even took office.They may be doing well with the second-stringers,but to spill to Al Qaida our current knowledge of their leadership is stupid and detrimental to future operations.Political grandstanding compromises operation security- that is why the Bush administration kept the elimination of Al Qaida leadership for the most part underwraps.
Posted by: Nephron | June 20, 2010, 11:11 am 11:11 am
Problem of arabian terrorism is very actual right now, and that’s true what all that TV guys making some money movement.
Posted by: MeCute | June 20, 2010, 2:54 pm 2:54 pm
Talking out of both sides of his mouth…lots of shuckin and jive’n.
Posted by: shawn | June 20, 2010, 3:48 pm 3:48 pm
How can anyone believe a word that man utters?
Posted by: Roma | June 20, 2010, 5:27 pm 5:27 pm
A man with half a brain? Yes
Half of America’s Freedoms Eliminated? Yes
Half of Congress replaced in November 2010? Likely
Ram Emanuelle is fired, um steps down after the Demorats defeat? Priceless
Posted by: SavageNation | June 21, 2010, 1:16 pm 1:16 pm
It’s obvious that the name of the game is to use up weapons, wear out and/or break machinery to keep the wheels of the manufacturing (weapons) spinning.
They could have ended any of these supposed conflicts with one or two pushes of a button. 1. Detonate a Boomer at the Nevada Test Site, or South Pacific Island. Give the offending countries a couple days to arrest the terrorists they know about and their countrymen have supported.
2. Launch a Boomer on their caplital city.
Every other country in that hot, dirty, despicable desert would sit down and shut the blank up.
People forget that FRANCE did this in the 90′s by detonating a nuke underwater in the South Pacific.
They forgot that French commandos stormed Greanpeas’s ship and arrested everyone so they wouldn’t get vaporized. Notice nobody’s F’d with France since? Smart French.
Posted by: Military Media Simplex | June 21, 2010, 1:37 pm 1:37 pm
I wonder how Arabs feel, you know the young poor ones. They think about joining Al Qaeda, they think about staying in the trap of poverty, doing nothing. Then they see this jackboot, Israeli soldier, on the news. He’s in the American cabinet, talking trash. I wonder how many people have joined up just to spite him.
Posted by: Elizabeth Plumley | June 24, 2010, 12:52 pm 12:52 pm
Yea in HIS DREAMS…….
Posted by: DAS | June 25, 2010, 7:24 am 7:24 am
what minerals are we taking out of afgh ,why did russia want afgh,how much money did bin laden have,it just don,t add up,whats under the sheets,really,we are finally starting to wake up,and speak out loud one day we will close you down,hunt you down and put you behind bars,im talking the big players
Posted by: jack | June 27, 2010, 1:49 pm 1:49 pm
what minerals are we taking out of afgh ,why did russia want afgh,how much money did bin laden have,it just don,t add up,whats under the sheets,really,we are finally starting to wake up,and speak out loud one day we will close you down,hunt you down and put you behind bars,im talking the big players
Posted by: jack | June 27, 2010, 1:49 pm 1:49 pm