Does he ask how many troops might get killed trying to arrest the creep (the Al-Qaeda guy, not Fisk)? Nope. They're only Americans, so they don't count.
Though a reasonable person would assume that Abu Ali al-Harithi wasn't going to just come along peaceably after being assured of being allowed to ring his lawyer, I admit I have no statistical analyses on the question handy. However I do have a recent pertinent datum:
In December, attempts by the Yemeni army to force militant Islamic tribal forces on the border with Saudi Arabia to turn over al Qaeda suspects ended in disaster, when Yemeni forces lost 13 soldiers in a series of battles.
But hey, what is the life of some Yemeni soldier to that of these sublime freedom fighters? (Datum courtesy the spouse, who remembers where he read things better than his bettered-half.)
Agreed. Al Qaeda and Bin Laden declared war on Americans by a fatwa explicitly calling for the deaths of American civilians and military personnel alike. These guys deserved "arrest" no more than the a Japanese soldier on Okinawa did. Doubtless Mr. Sjostrom made the same points, but I'm tired of "fisking", "misting" etc too.
Another minor point: they weren't on a grocery run, there were traces of explosives in the wreckage. (I wasn't at the lab, but I'm assuming they're non-missile-related explosives).
Posted by: Thomas Nephew on November 09, 2002
as far as mr fisk and friends go...fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.
Posted by: skip gulledge on November 09, 2002
Just today (11/9/02), the Israelis tried to take a terrorist captive, and he died fighting. I'm sure Fisk, if he mentions the incident, will find something to object to.
Meanwhile, nice going, CIA!
Posted by: Stephen M. St. Onge on November 09, 2002
TN:
I can't find where I read this, but apparently one reason there was so little left of the car and its occupants is that there was a large secondary explosion. That means they were either carrying explosives (where to, and for what purpose?), or extra gasoline, or both. The latter would be very handy for crossing the desert in a country without a lot of gas stations, but if, as you say, investigators found "traces of explosives in the wreckage", that pretty well settles it. As the Israelis have found, it's very difficult to arrest someone who's loaded with explosives, willing to die, and eager to take someone with him. Remember a few months ago when the Israelis had to send a robot to disarm a wounded suicide bomber?
Posted by: Dr. Weevil on November 09, 2002