Secret killing program key in Iraq, Woodward says

[lokimanahan]

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/09/09/iraq.secret/index.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The dramatic drop in violence in Iraq is due in large part to a secret program the U.S. military has used to kill terrorists, according to a new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodward.

The program -- which Woodward compares to the World War II era Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb -- must remain secret for now or it would "get people killed," Woodward said Monday on CNN's Larry King Live.

"It is a wonderful example of American ingenuity solving a problem in war, as we often have," Woodward said.

In "The War Within: Secret White House History 2006-2008," Woodward disclosed the existence of secret operational capabilities developed by the military to locate, target and kill leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgent leaders.

National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, in a written statement reacting to Woodward's book, acknowledged the new strategy. Yet he disputed Woodward's conclusion that the "surge" of 30,000 U.S. troops into Iraq was not the primary reason for the decline in violent attacks.

"It was the surge that provided more resources and a security context to support newly developed techniques and operations," Hadley wrote.

Woodward, associate editor of the Washington Post, wrote that along with the surge and the new covert tactics, two other factors helped reduce the violence.VideoWatch Bob Woodward explain the strategy »

One was the decision of militant cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's to order his Mahdi Army to cease fire. The other was the "Anbar Awakening" movement that saw Sunni tribes aligning with U.S. troops to battle al Qaeda in Iraq.

Woodward told Larry King that while there is a debate over how much credit the new secret operations should get for the drop in violence, he concluded it "accounts for a good portion."

"I would somewhat compare it to the Manhattan Project in World War II," he said "It's a ski slope right down in a matter of months, cutting the violence in half. This isn't going to happen with the bunch of joint security stations or the surge."

The top secret operations, he said, will "some day in history ... be described to peoples' amazement."

While he will not reveal the details, Woodward said the terrorists who have been targeted were already aware of the capabilities.

"The enemy has a heads up because they've been getting wiped out and a lot of them have been killed," he said. "It's not news to them.

"If you were a member of al Qaeda or the resistance or some extremist militia, you would be wise to get your rear end out of town," Woodward said. "It is very dangerous."

All AboutIraq War • Bob Woodward

[d0uche_n0zzle]

Allegedly, Delta Force has teamed up with the SAS to go out and hunt down the bad guys. They've been ventilating them quite nicely, while minimizing civilian casualties.

[lokimanahan]

Allegedly, Delta Force has teamed up with the SAS to go out and hunt down the bad guys. They've been ventilating them quite nicely, while minimizing civilian casualties.

SAS = very scary bunch of guys..........

[d0uche_n0zzle]

Never met any SAS, but have met retired SF guys. Even one or two involved in operation Phoenix in the 'Nam.

[lokimanahan]

Never met any SAS, but have met retired SF guys. Even one or two involved in operation Phoenix in the 'Nam.

There were a bunch of SAS guys on my father's ship when he was down in the Falklands War (even though they never actually tell anyone that they are SAS). The shit that those guys do is unreal.........

[Jimmy's Dignity]

So you're saying that we're finally letting our bad asses be bad asses? Bad ass!!

[bethm1b]

Would this work in Chicago?

[domelogic]

hey bob what is wrong with this tactic? granted i didnt read the whole article but it sounds like he disapproves. even if he doesnt why would you spread the word about what the us military is doing? i hate these dumb fucks. the military is doing what it deems necessary to keep us and the world safer

the only better thing than them doing this would be to have video of them doing this

[d0uche_n0zzle]

Some are calling for charges of Treason against Woodward. They may be right.

[CougarHunter]

Cool.

I'd gladly kick in an extra 5'er a year for dirtbag liquidation.

[lokimanahan]

hey bob what is wrong with this tactic? granted i didnt read the whole article but it sounds like he disapproves. even if he doesnt why would you spread the word about what the us military is doing? i hate these dumb fucks. the military is doing what it deems necessary to keep us and the world safer

the only better thing than them doing this would be to have video of them doing this

He didn't disapprove of the tactic; he actually praised it.

[FMDoug]

hey bob what is wrong with this tactic? granted i didnt read the whole article but it sounds like he disapproves. even if he doesnt why would you spread the word about what the us military is doing? i hate these dumb fucks. the military is doing what it deems necessary to keep us and the world safer

the only better thing than them doing this would be to have video of them doing this
He didn't disapprove of the tactic; he actually praised it.

And he doesn't say what it is, only that it exists. Check it out yourselves on 60 minutes from this past sunday and larry king from last night.

He also points out that the president didn't really communicate or have discussions with military people about the surge. It came from a citizen source and then he fired generals to make it happen.

[Butter Nuggets]

If it truly ends up being just special forces assassinating people, while very cool, it doesn't seem like any type of surprising revelation. It also doesn't seem like that information will "get people killed". Maybe he just means buying off locals, also not very surprising.

I'm hoping for some crazy new space weapon. Maybe instead of a satellite that can see the letters in a newspaper they have one that can zero in and listen to a single person.

[Vyce]

"It's a secret program"

So why the fuck are you reporting about it, Woodward.

[FellowTraveler]

"It's a secret program"

So why the fuck are you reporting about it, Woodward.

Because he is looking for his next 15 minutes of fame.

[Southpaw]

He didn't disapprove of the tactic; he actually praised it.

Yup:

It is a wonderful example of American ingenuity solving a problem in war, as we often have," Woodward said.


He said there was a secret plan - he didn't say what it was so, CALMO...

[Razor Roman]

Some are calling for charges of Treason against Woodward. They may be right.

Bob Woodward is a hack who made his name as a report simply by regurgitating information given to him by people who had it. Because "Deep Throat" told secrets to you don't make you a great investigator. It makes you a fucking stenographer.

And besides... isn't this what we're supposed to be doing in war? Winning it by killing bad guys?

[thekidslepthere]

I'm hoping for some crazy new space weapon. Maybe instead of a satellite that can see the letters in a newspaper they have one that can zero in and listen to a single person.

I think it has to be something like you said, he mention the Manhattan Project, that is the stuff of legend. I bet once a week someone on Coast to Coast AM talks about it. That and I think the Philadelphia project where the legends say they teleported a ship from Philly to Baltimore, something like that.

When I first moved to LA my old roommate got me a job working for this company that was doing the visuals presentations for something like FWS, "future weapon systems". There's these programs at MIT, Texas A&M, and one that involves Hollywood types that dream up weapon ideas.

Some of these videos we were working on had some incredibly lame ideas like a metal skateboard attached to a vehicle that could work as a shield and an escape tool, you know since everyone in the army can skateboard like Tony Hawk.

Then there were cool things that made sense and seemed viable, one was these tiny like dime size chips that could be dropped across a battlefield or town by the thousands. These chips mixed with satellites would set up a grid on a map on a computer, all of our soldiers/vehicles would have sensors so we knew what was ours, then we could also see all of the enemies on there.

I'm sure there was a lot more intense things we weren't allowed to see, most of the other stuff I saw seemed pulled from video games, like a camera on the end of a gun that is linked to an eye piece in the soldiers helmet so they could see around corners by pointing their gun.

But let's hope we have a team of robot ninjas who can teleport in star trek style and kill terrorists with the slice of a katana blade, that would make my child hood dreams come true, right up until the point that they turn on us, then my nightmares begin.

[Jimmy's Dignity]

I'm hoping for some crazy new space weapon. Maybe instead of a satellite that can see the letters in a newspaper they have one that can zero in and listen to a single person.

Holy shit, we finally fucking have the laser from Real Genius! :icon_eek:

[d0uche_n0zzle]

But let's hope we have a team of robot ninjas who can teleport in star trek style and kill terrorists with the slice of a katana blade, that would make my child hood dreams come true, right up until the point that they turn on us, then my nightmares begin.

They do, it's called Delta Force.

[thekidslepthere]

Holy shit, we finally fucking have the laser from Real Genius! :icon_eek:

We're killing them with popcorn, that's the big secret. Why do you think they call it Pop Secret?

[Jerry1]

Allegedly, Delta Force has teamed up with the SAS to go out and hunt down the bad guys. They've been ventilating them quite nicely, while minimizing civilian casualties.

Can't forget about these fellas...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/US_Navy_SEALs_insignia.png

[d0uche_n0zzle]

Can't forget about these fellas...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/US_Navy_SEALs_insignia.png

Very true.

Same goes for all the Special Operators from all branches of the military. They go above, and beyond.

[Stig]

Bob Woodward is a hack who made his name as a report simply by regurgitating information given to him by people who had it. Because "Deep Throat" told secrets to you don't make you a great investigator. It makes you a fucking stenographer.

And besides... isn't this what we're supposed to be doing in war? Winning it by killing bad guys?

We now know that Jimmy James was Deep Throat. And DB Cooper.

If we have guys sneaking around and murdering terrorists, that is the greatest news ever.

[Fr. Dougal]

We now know that Jimmy James was Deep Throat. And DB Cooper.

If we have guys sneaking around and murdering terrorists, that is the greatest news ever.

Jimmy James was a mystery... a mystery wrapped in an enigma... smothered in secret sauce.



Kudos for the NR reference!