We have been reading about so many Al Qaeda members killed or captured here and there every single day since the attacks on September 11, 2001. I mean EVERY SINGLE DAY. Please be my guest and check out the headlines from today, yesterday, the day before yesterday, last week . . . Go ahead and check the headlines for every single day for the last ten years. You see what I mean?
This from Tuesday’s headlines:
US Drone Raid Kills 8 Al Qaeda Militants in Yemen
This from last Month:
17 Al Qaeda Militants Killed in Air Strike
This from last year:
Air Strike Killed Al Qaeda Figure, Says NATO
This one from 2008:
Top Al Qaeda Operatives Killed in Pakistan
Look, I can give you a similar headline for every single day. But you all know what I am talking about here. You’ve been reading these headlines every single day as well. In fact, it is so frequent and canned that you don’t notice them after all this time. It has become a regular permanent news fixture. Don’t you agree?
What none of these government mouthpiece media channels ever mentions is how these killed and or captured Al Qaeda Figures’ identities are established. What you never get to read, I mean ‘NEVER,’ is how these killed figures’ Al Qaeda membership was verified. Never. NEVER. It just doesn’t happen.
So, do you ever stop and think how one goes about identifying Al Qaeda members whether before shooting them down-blowing them away, or, afterwards staring down at those corpses and engaging in body-counts? Do you? Because I do. Every single day. Every time I read these headlines giving these supposed Al Qaeda body counts. I do. I really do. Then, I wonder. I wonder how these Al Qaeda targets and later, al Qaeda corpses are identified as Al Qaeda. It may sound stupid, but here are the questions I ask out loud:
Do these Al Qaeda guys carry around with them their Al Qaeda membership cards?
You know, something like card-carrying NRA or ACLU members having an actual card indicating their proud membership of any particular group or organization. What do you think? Do these Al Qaeda guys carry formal cards identifying their membership and affiliation with this so-called Al Qaeda organization? Because that would be one way for our Pentagon guys to so very confidently identify their corpses. Just bend over each corpse, pat them down, pull out that AQ (aka Al Qaeda) membership card, and yell out to their PR follower or embedded journalist ‘Yo, we’ve got one more card-carrying AQ man here. Add that up, buddy!’
Do these Al Qaeda guys wear headbands and other clothing items with an AQ logo and banners to proudly announce their affiliation?
You see, our satellites and drones are hovering above, searching for these human targets called ‘Al Qaeda.’ They must (we naively hope!) have some way to identify these AQ men. No? I mean we wouldn’t just zoom in, press our ‘kill button,’ and fry the hell out of a bunch of innocent men below. Would we ever?! So, there must be a way for our military and black ops men to identify these guys below as AQ. Wearing glowing clothing items indicating, no, actually advertising, their AQ membership may be one way these guys land themselves on our ‘shoot & fry’ targets.
Are these Al Qaeda members registered officially with some kind of a census bureau, counted and thus easily locate-able?
Considering how confidently our Pentagon and their MSM PR machine provides us with an estimated population of Al Qaeda operatives and affiliates, considering how they do the math for us by providing how many estimated AQ have been killed-, and how many estimated AQ members are left to ‘shoot & fry,’ I’d say there must be some sort of reliable international census bureau there. I can see it. Can’t you? This borderless census bureau counter-identifier goes around the deserts, jungles and mountains periodically, knocks on some caves or Bedouin tents, goes inside with their paper and pen, and counts each cave’s/tent’s occupants and their status, ‘Let’s see, we’ve got an AQ husband, non AQ wife, three AQ kids, 4 non AQ kids, and 2 undetermined.’ Of course, this borderless census promptly and regularly faxes/texts/e-mails their AQ data to our Pentagon, and the Pentagon readily and promptly gives it to its MSM PR guys.
Do Al Qaeda operation cells operate in caves or tents carrying the AQ logo and name outside(or at the entrance), and proudly wave the AQ flag on top?
Come on people, considering the repeated and daily claims of AQ active cells around the world, our guys must have a way to identify and establish the existence of these ‘cells’ somehow. One minute we hear about sophisticated and technologically savvy AQ. The next minute they tell us about inconspicuous operations carried out with falcon messengers and donkey carriers. They constantly boast about identifying and neutralizing cells.
Come on people, from now on do as I do: every single day, when you read the flashy headlines giving you an Al Qaeda body count, search for verification. I assure you, you won’t find any. Then, ask as I do: Who says these men-women-kids were AQ members or affiliated? How did they determine that? Can we please see the recovered identification cards? Would you please send the evidence including AQ-specific uniforms and headgear? Could you please handover your census bureau’s latest count?
Trust me, once you start doing that you’ll graduate to the next level, the higher level questions: What the hell is Al Qaeda? Who are these so-called Al Qaeda? Do they really exist? Why do they sound like some kind of aberration? Is there such a thing called Al-Qaeda? Or is it a brand? A fable? Maybe the closest thing we’ve had to fire-spitting dragons.
©2012 Sibel Edmonds’ Boiling Frogs
Sibel Edmonds is the founder and president of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding national security whistleblowers. She has appeared on national radio and TV as a commentator on matters related to whistleblowers, national security, and excessive secrecy & classification, and has been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and in the New York Times, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The American Conservative, and others. Her just released memior is Classified Woman.
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