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May 14, 2005
Stock Tip: Buy Hellfire
Bill Roggio at The Fourth Rail relays the news that another senior al Qaeda member has been introduced to the Hellfire missile. From ABC News:
Haitham al-Yemeni, a native of Yemen known for his bomb-making skills, had been tracked for some time in the hope that he would help lead the United States to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, intelligence officials said. But with the recent capture in northwest Pakistan of Abu Faraj al-Libbi, thought to be al Qaeda's No. 3 man, officials worried al-Yemeni would soon go into hiding, and decided to take action.
Bill makes the key observation that this guy was taken out by a Predator drone aircraft in Pakistan, which means one of two things: Pakistan was unaware of the operation and the US proceeded anyway (very unlikely given the long-term importance of relation with Pakistan); or Pakistan was aware of the operation, thus giving its tacit approval.
Bill goes on to note the importance of the stated long-term observation of the now-deceased target:
Any observation of al-Yemeni would probably be conducted by or in conjunction with Pakistani intelligence (ISI - Inter-Services Intelligence). Human intelligence would be required to keep such close tabs on him as indicated by this article, and the ISI would have to be involved at some level. That fact that he could be watched for a long period of time without the ISI leaking this information to al Qaeda or their sympathizers suggests the ISI is not as porous as is believed to be the case.
Emphasis mine. Bill concludes by pointing out the further implication that tracking this guy's location on a long-term basis also brings in a ton of data on his safehouses, contacts, etc.
Let's hope that these jihadists meet the same end that this guy did in Yemen in 2002:
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