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Top Al-Qaeda Commander Killed by U.S. Drone in Pakistan

Jun. 4, 2011 11:08am Scott Baker

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — A top al-Qaida commander and possible replacement for Osama bin Laden was killed in an American drone-fired missile strike close to the Afghan border, a fax from the militant group he heads and a Pakistani intelligence official said Saturday.

Ilyas Kashmiri’s apparent death is another blow to al-Qaida just over a month after bin Laden was killed by American commandos in a northwest Pakistani army town. Described by U.S. officials as al-Qaida’s military operations chief in Pakistan, the 47-year-old Pakistani was one of five most-wanted militant leaders in the country, accused of a string of bloody attacks in South Asia, including the 2008 Mumbai massacre, as well as aiding plots in the West.

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His death was not confirmed publicly by the United States or Pakistani officials. Verifying who has been killed in the drone strikes is difficult. Initial reports have turned out to be wrong in the past, including one in September 2009 that said Kashmiri had been killed. Sometimes they are never formally denied or confirmed by authorities here or in the United States.

But a fax from the militant group he was heading — Harakat-ul-Jihad al-Islami’s feared “313 Brigade” — confirmed Kashmiri was “martyred” in the strike at 11:15 p.m. Friday in South Waziristan tribal region. It was sent to journalists in Peshawar.

“God willing, America, which is the ‘pharaoh’ of this, will soon see a revenge attack, and our real target is America,” it said. The statement was handwritten written on a white page bearing name of the group, which has not previously communicated with the media.

The Pakistani official also said Kashmiri was among nine militants killed in the strike. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with his agency’s policy. On Friday night, officials said several missiles hit a compound. The official Saturday said the men were meeting in an apple orchard near the house when the missiles hit.

Kashmiri’s name was on a list of militants that the United States and Pakistan recently agreed to jointly target, officials have said. The successful strike could help repair ties between the two countries that were badly damaged by the unilateral American raid, especially if Islamabad helped provide intelligence leading up to the attack.

Said to be blind in one eye and missing a finger, Kashmiri was one of the country’s most accomplished — and vicious — militants. He was so close to al-Qaida’s central command that he had been mentioned as a contender for replacing bin Laden, though many analysts thought the fact that he was not an Arab meant he was unlikely to get the post.

Indian officials have alleged he was involved in the 2008 Mumbai siege that killed more than 160 people. He has also been named a defendant in an American court over a planned attack on a Danish newspaper that published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in 2005.

In an ongoing terror trial in Chicago, testimony from an American-Pakistani militant has alleged that Kashmiri helped plan the Mumbai siege and wanted to attack U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Kashmiri had been angry over U.S. drone attacks inside Pakistan and wanted to target the company, David Coleman Headley testified.

Kashmiri has most recently been linked to last month’s 18-hour assault on a naval base in Karachi. He is also accused of masterminding several bloody raids on Pakistan police and intelligence buildings in 2009 and 2010, as well as a failed assassination attempt against then-President Pervez Musharraf in 2003.

The U.S Department of State says he organized a 2006 suicide bombing against the U.S. consulate in Karachi that killed four people, including an American diplomat.

American drones began firing missiles at al-Qaida and Taliban targets along the border in 2005, but the attacks picked up pace in 2008 and have risen in frequency ever since. Pakistani army officers and politicians publicly protest them, too weak to admit to working with the ever unpopular America in targeting fellow Pakistanis, but the country’s intelligence agencies have been known to occasionally provide targeting information.

Opposition to the strikes grew this year after a CIA contractor shot and killed two Pakistanis in the street, triggering ever more intense anti-American anger. After the bin Laden raid, which was seen by many here as an outrageous violation of the country’s sovereignty, the parliament issued a declaration calling for the attacks to end.

Pakistani leaders were not immediately available for comment on Friday’s attack. Kashmiri was accused of killing many Pakistanis, including police and army officers, so their public reaction may be muted.

The United States does not acknowledge the CIA-run program, though its officials have confirmed the death of high-value targets before, including the head of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, in 2009 — a strike welcomed by many Pakistan officials because he too was a sworn enemy of the country.

Washington says the strikes are accurately killing militants and are disrupting plots against the West as well as planned attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

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Comments (129)

RightPolitically
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:38pm
These evil bastards are being sent to their just reward…….HELL!

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- Newsjunki
  Posted on June 6, 2011 at 3:15pm
  Amen to that!
  
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alcostotle
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:35pm
Holy crap! They killed Zack Galifina…galefu…That dude from the hangover!

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Its Gonna Getcha
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:28pm
Hopefully the trove of digital information we captured will be the exact negative of all holy books.

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Bernard
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:17pm
This is a huge victory for America. Ilyas Kashmiri is one of two leaders who has been actively engaged in the Afghani war since it’s incept. He is well known in that part of the world and this blow along with the assassination of Osama Bin Laden will surely assure a major terrorist attack either within the US or US interests abroad.

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Liberal Media Dropped Ball On Nine-Eleven
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:13pm
Dig those rose tinted glasses. Sure that ain’t Peter Fonda behind the beard?

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TMan2020
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:12pm
Good job! Next…

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ronmorgen
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:07pm
Now, how about dropping a big one right in the middle of Islamisdad?

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- ronmorgen
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:13pm
  I meant Islamisbad. Bad Islam.
  
  Report this comment
- ronmorgen
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:17pm
  Correction Islamabad. Islam – Bad.
  
  Report this comment
tomloy
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:07pm
Ding dong the witch is dead! This brings to mind an old song. The title I believe was “Another one bites the dust.”.

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progressiveslayer
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:00pm
I like the use of drones to kill our enemies,there’s no risk of our guys getting killed so what’s the downside? One minute the cockroach is walking around and all of a sudden boom dead cockroach,it’s great keep it up.

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liberalsarealiens
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:58am
Buuh Byeee!

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MoreC02
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:54am
This is all Bush’s fault!

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- Steelhead
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:35pm
  yes it was Bush’s folly. Thank God for Obama and his leadership
  
  Report this comment
TheGreyPiper
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:51am
” many analysts thought the fact that he was not an Arab meant he was unlikely to get the post.”

Hey, where’s the ACLU to sue al qaida for RAAAAAACISM???

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His Lamb is Satanic
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:47am
Another bad lamb slaughtered. Good shooting! An atomic bomb would work well, and save a lot of time and American lives.

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BlesstheJews
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:44am
We’ve been killing “Top Al-Qaeda Commanders” for the past 10 years. How many top commanders do they have?

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- Bushie
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:51am
  Rats breed in masses.
  
  Report this comment
wordweaver
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:43am
If our presence in the region is to continue much longer, then this is how we should fight the fight. Let’s use our superior technology to confound terrorists and minimize risk to our brave troops. I don’t think many Americans truly understand what a forbidding territory this is to operate ground troops. God bless them over there, but let’s keep putting those drones in the air. They work!

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Bushie
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:42am
It’s a wonderful day in the neighborhood.

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BONETRAUMA
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:41am
Add your comments

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- The_Rev_In_Co
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 5:29pm
  No Comment!
  
  Report this comment
ED4237
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:35am
A dead Alqeda is a good Alqeda. The more gone the better.

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Southernguy
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:29am
One down…………40 million to go ;)

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Seabee79
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:27am
I hear they rub a pork chop over the nose of the missiles.

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- OhSuzieQ
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 9:54pm
  My post was for Fairy…
  
  Report this comment
saviorammo
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:25am
By the way, did you all pick up on the last name. Trace it back, all the way back to where it comes from. And follow the trail to our true enemy!

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tifosa
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:17am
Uh uh uh, another one bites the dust! Obama2012! :)

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- travlman77
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:28am
  Sorry but giving Obama credit for this is like giving Ronald McDonald credit for getting a great burger.
  It’s the men and women at the front lines not the clown at the top!
  
  Report this comment
- Exrepublisheep
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:41am
  Advantage Obama
  
  Report this comment
- mossbrain
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:35pm
  Men and women at the front lines? What a bunch of bull. We never should have sent our military over there to be slaughtered. Why should we kill our men in hand to hand combat when we can send over the drones?
  
  Report this comment
- IMPEACHBHO
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:58pm
  Please. BHO didn’t even want to take out OBL – just look at his ugly mug in the situation room. BHO had NOTHING to do with this, little fairy. A dead skunk could get more votes the the traitor in chief in 2012
  
  Report this comment
- riseandshine
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 4:12pm
  Drones will be flying over a city near you in the not so distant future….under the auspices of security
  
  Report this comment
- sissykatz
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 5:03pm
  Travelman77
  
  I LOVE IT !!!!!! YOU ARE RIGHT. I love the analogy.
  
  Report this comment
- OhSuzieQ
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 9:49pm
  OMG!! No Way!!
  
  Report this comment
- tifosa
  Posted on June 5, 2011 at 10:13am
  The Commander-in-Chief, President Barack Obama, gave the order on the Friday before the attack. period. Much as rw ideologues try to say otherwise, and lies are spun, that’s the fact jack. :^)
  
  Report this comment
LittleLordFauntleroy
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:16am
Ok, That is great news.

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travlman77
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:13am
One snake head at a time, until one day no one will dare to step up.

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- saviorammo
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:24am
  Too bad the head is right here in America!
  Why is MSNBC on this story?
  Why do we even need to publicly display any of these maggots?
  
  Arrogance will just continue to stir the pot with the hard liners. Egypt and Lybia are doing enough damage. Either unleash the hounds or get the hell out. Or just admit it’s all about the drugs, oil, and minerals.
  
  Truth, shall always set you free.
  
  Report this comment
- RLTW
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:33pm
  We’ve killed the #3 guy so many times now it’s ridiculous, at this point there’s only about a billion more ready to step in.
  
  Report this comment
- avenger
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 4:29pm
  I knew there was some use for these stupid kiddie video games. wow, I am loving it !
  
  Report this comment
Sam Brown
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:12am
I wonder if Washinton would straighten up if we had a drone flying over them?

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- heavyduty
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:16am
  No, they are just like the ones killed already with drones. They just aren’t smart enough.
  
  Report this comment
- silentwatcher
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:21am
  tough break
  
  Report this comment
- Edct
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:21am
  Praise God (the real one, not the satanic false little g god alla) for the death of another pig sucking infidel muslim terrorist murderer.
  
  Report this comment
- Support Israel
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:27am
  SUPPORT ISRAEL
  
  PEOPLE, it’s happening again. This time we cannot say we didn’t know
  
  Report this comment
- CatB
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:28am
  @EDCT
  
  Amen! to that!
  
  TEA!
  
  Report this comment
- joe conservative
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:33am
  Great job! Now we need to get all the Muslim Brotherhood nuts. This is going to be the top terror organization in the near future. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcRU63qCJkw And this video shows how the liberal media is helping.
  
  Report this comment
- Obama Bin Lying
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:40am
  According to Pakistan, he wasn’t in their country. Same as Bin Laden, same as Al Zawahyri…so on
  
  WHy does Washington insist on giving them money we don’t have???
  
  Report this comment
- The_Almighty_Creestof
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:43am
  Time to que up “Another One Bites The Dust” by Queen : )
  
  Report this comment
- CultureWarriors
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:54am
  Another one bites the dust …
  
  Tough business to be in.
  
  Report this comment
- Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:18pm
  One more now has gone to join UBL, Kevorkian and the 72 smiling goats awaiting the martyrs of the radical ideals…we salute the soldiers on the line for defending this nation. May God keep you safe til you can come home, and help us here to keep the nation safe from the enemies of DC until you do.
  
  Report this comment
- Professional Infidel
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:22pm
  BooHoo, step up, who’s next??
  
  Report this comment
- mossbrain
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:31pm
  How come Bush didn’t kill any terrorists with drones? Why?
  Here’s why;
  
  http://www.slate.com/id/2117535/
  
  Report this comment
- Now this is Art
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:40pm
  awesome…kill ‘em all.
  
  Report this comment
- pavnvet
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 1:01pm
  They must realize that at some point they will run out of virgins…perhaps they already have….what a pity.
  
  Report this comment
- kryptonite
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 1:25pm
  Hey Mossbrain, Obama did worse, so that’s not why:
  http://norunnyeggs.com/2009/04/barack-hussein-obama-bows-to-his-master/
  
  Bush’s use of drones was measured, because the Pakistan people — and by extension the Pakistani govt.– would have become hostile, as they have done with Obum. Now they have sided with the Taliban/Al-Qaeda, and see us as their enemy. They hate Obum’s guts, and they are a Muslim nation with nukes. Does that sound like good policy to you? Obum has played a major role in the Islamization of Pakistan, so who cares if one hairy jihadist is smoked by an Obama drone. There are ~1.6B Muslims on the planet, and a significant percentage of them get radicalized every year.
  
  “The first strike under the new administration occurred just three days after President Obama’s inauguration. Fifty-three drone attacks have been reported just in Pakistan in 2009 — more than during the entirety of the Bush presidency.” …when innocents are inadvertently killed, drone strikes can foment public anger and increase the popularity of militants. “Every one of these dead noncombatants represents an alienated family, a new desire for revenge, and more recruits for a militant movement that has grown exponentially even as drone strikes have increased.” http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-tortured-logic-of-obamas-drone-war
  
  Read the whole article. It’s not even Repub, and shows what a hypocrital POS Obum is. Get a clue about who you support.
  
  Report this comment
- tower7femacamp
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 2:42pm
  Practice for Patriots
  
  Report this comment
- riseandshine
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 3:34pm
  I guess his usefulness had expired.
  
  Report this comment
- Classical Liberal
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 3:49pm
  I noticed the article mentions how this killing repairs ties with Pakistan damaged by the usage bin laden killing. It makes it sound as though we should be more sorry for killing bin laden than they ought to be for him hiding under their noses. I am not impressed by obamas drone attacks or his weak foreign policy.
  
  Report this comment
- avenger
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 4:19pm
  you bet..
  
  Report this comment
- Sheepdog911
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 4:28pm
  Nice to see another Porker fried. Pigs all.
  
  Report this comment
- D0ntTread0nMe
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 5:13pm
  well that’s one less son of a, to worry about. wow if only this administration was as good at shrinking the size of government as they are at blowing up terrorists, I would be able to get back into the stock market.
  http://www.mythoughtsfromthemiddle.blogspot.com
  
  Report this comment
- UPSETVET
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 5:37pm
  Two down and a lot more to go. Osama-bin-Laden and LLyas Kasmiri arrived at the “Muslim Martyrs Paradise” expecting something like Club Med with 72 virgins waiting for each of them. What a surprise to discover there’s no “paradise” for murderers, only hell, flame and pain and it’s FOREVER !
  
  Report this comment
- chazman
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 5:44pm
  Ha, ha! Killed by a U.S. drone! Ha, ha! Burn in hell you muslim murderer! No ALLAH where yer goin’! Just SATAN!!
  
  Report this comment
- Thevoice
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 6:28pm
  WOW ….Another needle in the hay stack found…I can see it now….The HR department down in al-Qaida central … putting up the new positions open list on the employee bulletin board in the lunchroom. …And a group of dirty sandal wearing Islamic ba$tards ..Looking it over ..Hussein says to Mohammad look they got more openings in the US for full blow weapon jadiaests …Barrack says to Mohammad Yea my cousin got his US visa right away and got in right away, with the other dirty ba$tards they sent in from Africa ..My cousin was sent in and they sent him up to Minnesota ..Then they gave him work training and he is now a cross country truck driver. Boy the Americans are so stupid ..My other five cousins are working in meat and poultry plants …How stupid are the Americans….Then the other Mohammad steps up ..My family took the move to repopulate Detroit …There is a big community of future Al Qaida there, the pay isn’t as great as Afghanistan or Pakistan but you are safe from drone attack…Mohammad says look they are still taking application for the top spot ..It says you need video type personality ..you get free hide away and goats and two wives …
  
  Report this comment
- v-vet1968
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 6:45pm
  maybe got his 72 virgin pigs?
  
  Report this comment
- ramburner
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 7:59pm
  Where was this “leader”? Hmmmm, sounds like a pattern to cover the terrorist group to me! Perhaps ALL of our effort should be in Pahquistaan (correct pronunciation Obbummer)? The USA should get out of the world police business and back into assuring our national interests ONLY.
  
  Report this comment
- BJColter Country Music Iconoclast
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 8:19pm
  Do you think if the drone had a Muslim Terrorist Seeker Obama would have to hide in his bunker? So, O claims to have killed another bad guy, yet has just given permission for all the other bad guys to run Israel into the ocean, has instigated, armed, and financed these bastards, and he’ll take the credit for this one little hit. OBAMA IS OSAMA. Here’s a tune I wrote about it.
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqdufoUASMc
  
  Report this comment
- jzs
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:16pm
  Seems like you guys are having trouble reconciling the death of Osama Bin Laden and this guy with your belief that the President of the United States is soft on terrorism. Limbaugh says President Obama is in league with Al Qaeda. Most of you believe President Obama is really a Muslim.
  
  But the US government keeps catching and killing the bad guys. Hard to reconcile the talking points with the reality isn’t it? It’s called “cognitive dissonance.”
  
  Report this comment
- RepubliCorp
  Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:42pm
  JZS They don’t vote Demorat……… simple
  If they bordered our country it would be a different story.
  
  Report this comment
- kryptonite
  Posted on June 5, 2011 at 7:33am
  JZS,
  Obum’s a Muslim all right, just not a practicing one. If anybody suffers from cognitive dissonance, it’s Barack Obama. He doesn’t know where to stand on any given issue. He has flip-flopped back and forth on almost everything related to national security, but ultimately he just wants to be left alone, first because he only cares about himself, and second, because he doesn’t have the brains to deal with the 3AM call.
  
  Unfortunately, there’s the Muslim extremism thingy that keeps him from enjoying a regal life to the fullest. So he bows to the Muslim world hoping that appeasement will work, but like the good commie that he is, he also tortures by proxy and launches drone attacks against anybody who poses a real threat to his Marxist utopia. That makes him a hypocrite as well.
  
  Report this comment
- Devil Dog 7175
  Posted on June 5, 2011 at 8:22am
  Damn… This one didn’t last long at all… NEXT!
  
  Report this comment
- docvet
  Posted on June 5, 2011 at 12:59pm
  Revenge on America, huh? OK, bring it on! They have already lost 2 countries, how many more, starting with Pakistan?
  
  Report this comment
- jzs
  Posted on June 5, 2011 at 8:36pm
  kryptonite, there’s a simpler explanation than yours. Obama is going after the extremists who would do us harm, and he’s trying to make peace with those who won’t. Sounds like a good strategy to me.
  
  Some wise person said “blessed are the peacemakers.”
  
  Report this comment
- kryptonite
  Posted on June 6, 2011 at 2:02am
  You’re such an ideologue, JZS. How is someone who instigates revolts across the Muslim world, invades Libya, drone-bombs Pakistan like crazy and polarizes the freest nation in the world a peacemaker? Hand me that NPP, pls. I need to wipe my ****.
  
  Is “trying to make peace” your euphemism for appeasement? Give me ONE instance where it has worked. Even those cool raping mobs he inspired to depose Mubarak hate us — and him. Pooh!
  
  Report this comment
- jzs
  Posted on June 6, 2011 at 11:15am
  Kryptonite – killing terrorists is not “appeasement.” I think you need to look that word up before you try to use it again.
  
  Report this comment
- Secret Squirrel
  Posted on June 6, 2011 at 6:18pm
  ..
  “Quick, call Achmid, we’re running out of virgins!”
  
  Report this comment
- kryptonite
  Posted on June 7, 2011 at 1:50pm
  JZS, I spoke of TWO different policies. Back to my first comment:
  
  “So he bows to the Muslim world hoping that appeasement will work, but like the good commie that he is, he also tortures by proxy and launches drone attacks against anybody who poses a real threat to his Marxist utopia.”
  
  You conveniently relabeled the appeasement policy above as “trying to make peace,” and called that warmonger a “peacemaker.” I challenged your use of the latter (with examples) and asked you to produce ONE instance where his supposed “trying to make peace” has worked. Still waiting…
  
  Report this comment

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