U.S. airstrike kills another senior Al Qaida commander. Are these strikes really making that much of a difference anymore?

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 08:44:52 -0400

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Friday that a U.S. airstrike recently killed a senior al-Qaida operational commander in eastern Afghanistan.

The airstrike killed Abu Khalil al-Sudani on July 11, Carter said in a brief statement given to reporters traveling with him in Iraq.

Carter called al-Sudani a senior shura member and head of al-Qaida's suicide and explosive operations, and said he is directly linked to plots to attack the United States.

He said al-Sudani also directed operations against coalition, Afghan and Pakistani forces, and maintained a close association with Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaida.

Carter added that two other "violent extremists" were killed in the airstrike. He did not name the two others.

The strike was in the Bermal district of Paktika province, which borders Pakistan.

A U.S. military official in Kabul said that al-Sudani had also been close to Osama bin Laden before his death, and had fought alongside bin Laden in the 10-year anti-Soviet war that followed the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The official spoke on the condition that he not be identified because he was not authorized to provide the information.

"Al-Sudani was directly linked to external attack plotting against the United States and directed operations against the coalition, Afghan and Pakistani forces," the official said.

"The death of al-Sudani will further degrade al-Qaida command-and-control operations across the globe," he said.

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2015/07/24/carter-us-airstrike-kills-senior-al-qaida-commander/30608067/

Carter: US airstrike kills senior al-Qaida commander

IRBIL, Iraq— U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Friday that a U.S. airstrike recently killed a senior Al-Qaida operational commander in eastern Afghanistan.

Response by SFC Everett Oliver made Jul 24 at 2015 8:46 AM

SFC Everett Oliver — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 08:46:46 -0400

Just how many Senior and Top commanders do they have?

Response by Cpl Jeff N. made Jul 24 at 2015 8:50 AM

Cpl Jeff N. — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 08:50:02 -0400

I have always supported Obama in the use of drone strikes so I am good with using them. They will not, however, be effective at defeating ISIS/AQ etc. They would be one tool in a very large tool box. Look how many senior commanders on our end Obama has taken out and they are still functioning.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 24 at 2015 8:53 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 08:53:15 -0400

Al Qaida is like an afterthought right now, do the same with isis and then we can talk

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Jul 24 at 2015 8:54 AM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 08:54:36 -0400

We need an intensive campaign to rid the world of the evil people. ISIS and their ilk must be eradicated.

Response by MSgt Manuel Diaz made Jul 24 at 2015 9:10 AM

MSgt Manuel Diaz — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 09:10:55 -0400

Well it's like practicing for an important urgent kill, was it a pilot or a pilotless shot

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Jul 24 at 2015 9:22 AM

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 09:22:05 -0400

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad I believe they are definitely disruptive for a certain period of operations and let's al-Qaida and other groups know that their days could be numbered. It’s a short-term solution to a much greater problem. Strategically it is only a short-term distraction because someone new has already been groomed to fill his shoes! We need a strategy that compliments the training of the Iraqi Army that really focused on the root cause of these groups and the reason there such a hatred for Westerns and those that align themselves with Westerners. I don't know what this is and don't know if they’re ever really be a solid solution that can stop the violence and the terrorist acts

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 24 at 2015 9:23 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 09:23:10 -0400

Without getting too much into this as far as politics go, I will point something out.

A war cannot be won by a marginally interested party (US in this case) who will not wage "total" war, when the other party (Insert here, in this case Al'Qaida) is fully committed and willing to die to the last man to achieve their aim (total war).

Wars can't be "won" without boots on the ground, or at least the REAL threat of boots on the ground when the enemy knows we will not nuke them.

So are the air strikes affecting our enemies and helping our cause? Sometimes. Will they finish this out? Never.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 24 at 2015 9:32 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 09:32:24 -0400

A many headed hydra. The only way to make a true impact at this point is a coordinated attack, many sites with multiple targets. Otherwise, it's a matter of if the replacement is more or less lethal than the one we took out.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jul 24 at 2015 12:25 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 12:25:18 -0400

Sends a Hell of a Message. You don't want to get "Promoted" in that Organization!

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 5 at 2015 6:41 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 18:41:49 -0400

The sniper in the sky is not built for massive engagements.

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Aug 5 at 2015 8:17 PM

LTC Bink Romanick — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 20:17:17 -0400

AQ is still a potent and robust terror threat. Any weakening is positive, but they have a bench of replacements. If we can manage to weaken them by drone strikes that's very positive .

The real goal would to kill Zawahiri.

ISIS/Daesh has morphed into a mobile conventional Army that uses terror to frighten adversaries much as Genghis Khan did. Different tactics and technology will be required to defeat them.