Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Boxer (D-CA) issued the following statement after President Obama’s speech tonight on Afghanistan:
“I support the President’s mission and exit strategy for Afghanistan, but I do not support adding more troops because there are now 200,000 American, NATO and Afghan forces fighting roughly 20,000 Taliban and less than 100 al Qaeda.”
http://boxer.senate.gov/news/releases/record.cfm?id=320343
Where did she get these numbers from?
incarcerated
12-02-2009, 19:47
Where did she get these numbers from?
She is referring to the 100 that she knows personally...
Where did she get these numbers from?
She got them from her [deleted].:p
I kid, I kid.
As close as I can find thus far, the hearings in October before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations became a matter of bean counting: number of AQ plots, cells, networks, training facilities. (I think Robert McNamara would be happy.:rolleyes:) The testimony full transcript of the hearings is unavailable as of yet but prepared statements can be found here (http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/20091007_2/).
From these hearings and other discussions, I surmise that the number 100 AQ got put in the mix and led to the story below. Source is here (http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=9227861).
MOO, the Democrats are attempting, again, to frame GWOT primarily as a law enforcement issue. This iteration of the effort sees them reviving a tired political tactic from Vietnam and the Cold War--making the discussion about metrics rather than victory.President Obama's Secret: Only 100 al Qaeda Now in Afghanistan
With New Surge, One Thousand U.S. Soldiers and $300 Million for Every One al Qaeda Fighter
By RICHARD ESPOSITO, MATTHEW COLE and BRIAN ROSS
Dec. 2, 2009 —
As he justified sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan at a cost of $30 billion a year, President Barack Obama's description Tuesday of the al Qaeda "cancer" in that country left out one key fact: U.S. intelligence officials have concluded there are only about 100 al Qaeda fighters in the entire country.
A senior U.S. intelligence official told ABCNews.com the approximate estimate of 100 al Qaeda members left in Afghanistan reflects the conclusion of American intelligence agencies and the Defense Department. The relatively small number was part of the intelligence passed on to the White House as President Obama conducted his deliberations.
President Obama made only a vague reference to the size of the al Qaeda presence in his speech at West Point, when he said, "al Qaeda has not reemerged in Afghanistan in the same number as before 9/11, but they retain their safe havens along the border."
A spokesperson at the White House's National Security Council, Chris Hensman, said he could not comment on intelligence matters.
Obama's National Security Adviser, Gen. James Jones, put the number at "fewer than a hundred" in an October interview with CNN.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., referred to the number at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee in October, saying "intelligence says about a hundred al Qaeda in Afghanistan."
As the President acknowledged, al Qaeda now operates from Pakistan where U.S. troops are prohibited from operating. "We're in Afghanistan to prevent a cancer from once again spreading through that country," he said.
Intelligence officials estimate there are several hundred al Qaeda fighters just across the border in Pakistan.
An Obama administration official said the additional troops were needed in Afghanistan to "sandwich" al Qaeda between Pakistan and Afghanistan and prevent them from re-establishing a safe haven in Afghanistan.
"Pakistan has been stepping up its efforts," the official said.
"So the real question is will Pakistan do enough," said former White House counter-terrorism official Richard Clarke, an ABC News consultant.
"What if they take all the money we given them but don't really follow through? What the strategy then?" said Clarke.
With 100,000 troops in Afghanistan at an estimated yearly cost of $30 billion, it means that for every one al Qaeda fighter, the U.S. will commit 1,000 troops and $300 million a year.
al Qaeda's Ideological Influence
Other counter-terror analysts say the actual number of al Qaeda in Afghanistan is less important than their ability to train others in the Taliban and have ideological influence.
"A hundred 'no foolin' al Qaeda operatives operating in a safe haven can do a hell of a lot of damage," said one former intelligence official with significant past experience in the region.
At a Senate hearing, the former CIA Pakistan station chief, Bob Grenier, testified al Qaeda had already been defeated in Afghanistan.
"So in terms of 'in Afghanistan,'" asked Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., "they have been disrupted and dismantled and defeated. They're not in Afghanistan, correct?"
"That's true," replied Grenier. (My inner child needs either a can of doubleshot or a hour of therapy--the research for this post led me to an unexpected and unwelcome encounter with a photo of Senator Kerry.)
She must be talking about her personal staff.
Richard
Where did she get these numbers from?
She hopped on her broom and flew over to personally check it out. Dumb broad. :rolleyes: