CNN: Secret killing program is key in Iraq, Woodward says

[jpillian]

http://www.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 adviser 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.

One was the decision of militant cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to order a cease-fire by his Mehdi Army. 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 people's amazement."

While he would 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."

I love the last line!

So I wonder about this secret capability -- is it some sort of tracking system?

[twa]

Woodward needs to shut up

[SkinsHokieFan]

Woodward needs to shut up

Yup. And whoever is leaking this to him really needs to shut the hell up

This would be some great stuff to read 10 years from now. Not today

[jpillian]

Maybe, maybe not. Might be misinformation. Lending credence to a boogeyman that is already making the rounds in AQI circles.

Since he doesn't give any details, I could see this as being something that gives AQ pause as to how bad they want to be in Iraq :whoknows:

[Midnight Judges]

Woodward needs to shut up

You want him to shut up because he's hurting the Republican assertion that the 15% increase in troop levels is the sole reason for success in Iraq or because you think he's giving up secrets?

[Larry]

Woodward needs to shut up

While he would 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.

[Larry]

All opposed to the stunning news that the US military is targeting and killing terrorists?

[Slateman]

Yup. And whoever is leaking this to him really needs to shut the hell up

This would be some great stuff to read 10 years from now. Not today

Actually, whoever leaked this information needs to be thrown in to prison. They clearly can't be trusted to keep their mouth shut.

[roger waters]

I like the boogeyman theory as well and its good to hear how our military adapted and is killing these people. Let's make Iraq a model for the middle east for the decades to come, because when the oil dries up and we dont care about being there anymore, they will need diversified economies and education for real jobs. It can happen.

[Thiebear]

I'm a big fan of finding this out in 5 years.

If the details come out, the people need to go to jail...

Beit Leahy or anyone else.

[Koolblue13]

I'm a big fan of finding this out in 5 years.

If the details come out, the people need to go to jail...

Beit Leahy or anyone else.

I'm willing to bet we are finding this out 5 years later.

[Raub]

First rule of secret killing system: don't talk about secret killing system

[EersSkins05]

My guess is that it's some sort of satellite surveilance, but either way, cool news.

And the idea that the surge is not the end-all-be-all reason for the decline in the violence in Iraq is something that needs to be repeated every time McCain uses it to claim that his vote on the surge (and not Obama's) has led to victory in Iraq.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

I wonder if it's similar to the whole joint US and Colombia "Find and Kill Pablo Escobar Operation" back in early 90's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_escobar

[edit] Search Bloc and Los Pepes

See also: Los Pepes and Search Bloc

In 1992 United States Delta Force operators (and later Navy SEALs from SEAL Team Six) joined the all-out manhunt for Escobar. They trained and advised a special Colombian police task force, known as the Search Bloc, which had been created to locate Escobar. Later, as the conflict between Escobar and United States and Colombian governments dragged on and the numbers of his enemies grew, a vigilante group known as Los Pepes (Los Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar - People Persecuted by Pablo Escobar), financed by the Cali Cartel and Carlos Castaño (among others), carried out a bloody campaign fueled by thirst for vengeance in which more than 300 of Escobar's associates and relatives were slain and large amounts of his cartel's property were destroyed.

Some observers[5] claim that members of the Search Bloc, and also of Colombian and United States intelligence agencies, in their efforts to find and punish Escobar, either colluded with Los Pepes or moonlighted as both Search Bloc and Los Pepes simultaneously. This coordination was allegedly conducted mainly through the sharing of intelligence in order to allow Los Pepes to bring down Escobar and his few remaining allies, but there are reports that some individual Search Bloc members directly participated in missions of the Los Pepes death squads.[5] This brings into question the role the United States played in gathering intelligence on Escobar's organization, because some of this information was later used by the Los Pepes organization in its crusade of retributive executions.[5] One of the leaders of Los Pepes was Diego Murillo Bejarano (also known as "Don Berna"), a former Medellín Cartel associate who became a drug kingpin and eventually emerged as a leader of one of the most powerful factions within the AUC. Some have speculated that Murillo would have admitted to his organizations' potential connections to the U.S. if it were not for some unforeseen circumstances[citation needed].

They used radio triangulation to finally tracking him down in the end.

I imagine surveillance technology and techniques have to be much better then those used in 1993.

Couple that with local vigilante groups who are brutal and ruthless and can get intel easily from the populace and bam. No more terrorists.

Just speculating. I do think that the hunt for Pablo is the best example of the kind of operation we're talking about here though.

[SkinsHokieFan]

You want him to shut up because he's hurting the Republican assertion that the 15% increase in troop levels is the sole reason for success in Iraq or because you think he's giving up secrets?

That's ridiculous. The reason is knowing as many people as I have in the IC (and almost being a part of it) any mention of intel ops to me is a big big no no

No reason to mention it or talk about it or allude to it. Intel ops is supposed to be done in the shadows where nobody knows about it, except those who need to know

[Midnight Judges]

That's ridiculous. The reason is knowing as many people as I have in the IC (and almost being a part of it) any mention of intel ops to me is a big big no no

No reason to mention it or talk about it or allude to it. Intel ops is supposed to be done in the shadows where nobody knows about it, except those who need to know

Perhaps you could point out specifically what Woodward said that is putting anyone or any tactic at risk.

I've been reading these articles in the post for the last few days and all I'm seeing is "we're doing something different and it's working" -not a whole lot of detail. It's not anything the enemy doesn't already know and seeing as how they are dependant on being able to recruit people, this hurts their efforts and demonstrates their futility.

[jpillian]

I've been reading these articles in the post for the last few days and all I'm seeing is "we're doing something different and it's working" -not a whole lot of detail. It's not anything the enemy doesn't already know and seeing as how they are dependant on being able to recruit people, this hurts their efforts and demonstrates their futility.

I agree with this.

I can also see other's points (SHF, Twa) that the leaking of the information to Woodward in and of itself should be investigated and prosecuted. We don't need the intel community taking it upon themselves to leak information to authors, no matter their pedigree.

I think if we see no mention of any investigation of this, there is a good chance that the information was purposefully leaked to Woodward, with the approval of the chain of command, in order to further build up the "boogeyman" that AQI is already partially aware of. :2cents:

[Koolblue13]

If I can sit on my crapper and watch people in NYC ride their bikes down the street on my lap top.

I think the government might have a bit of an upgraded surveillance system attached to a weapon we really don't want to know about.

[Peeping Wizard]

If I can sit on my crapper and watch people in NYC ride their bikes down the street on my lap top.

I hear that works better than fiber...

[twa]

I agree with this.

I can also see other's points (SHF, Twa) that the leaking of the information to Woodward in and of itself should be investigated and prosecuted. We don't need the intel community taking it upon themselves to leak information to authors, no matter their pedigree.

I think if we see no mention of any investigation of this, there is a good chance that the information was purposefully leaked to Woodward, with the approval of the chain of command, in order to further build up the "boogeyman" that AQI is already partially aware of. :2cents:

The intelligence agencies and their leaks are becoming increasingly political related over the yrs....which is not a good thing at all.

[Predicto]

I like the idea of AQ leaders fearing for their lives.

I don't see any reason not to let potential AQ recruits know they might just blow up at any minute if they join. Sure, don't tell them how we do it. Just tell them that it is happening. Whoops, time to head back home and get a real job.

Why shut up about it? The goal is to defeat AQ, not to rack up the most secret kills.

[twa]

It is the person doing the leaking taking it upon themselves to release secrets...a matter well beyond their paygrade or responsibilities.

This is not probably, but will the next one be?

There are good reason for classifications of secrets.

[Mooney]

Sharks with friggin' laser beams.

[Raub]

This is obviously the weapon we saw in the movie Real Genius.

"And stop touching yourself Kent."

[Predicto]

It is the person doing the leaking taking it upon themselves to release secrets...a matter well beyond their paygrade or responsibilities.

That's a big assumption. I suspect that this "leak" was planned at the top.