The Black Republican

Has anyone else noticed the increased use of the big 500lb bombs by our forces recently? Two separate and specific attacks that I count. And has anyone else picked up on the fact that General Kimmitt, in a departure from his traditional "we'll let you know in a few weeks what the after actions report says" or "we believe the strikes were successful, but we'll have to get more intel" type statements, his pronouncements about these recent strikes have been absolute!? I saw the daily press conference the day of the first bombing and the change in General Kimmitt's demeanor was striking... he was absolutely positive that the bombing was successful! And this only hours after the bombing had occurred! My spidy sense began tingling!

"All of our post-strike intelligence continues to confirm that this was a safehouse with significant amounts of ammunition stored there," Kimmitt said. "I will say more accurately that these were key personnel in the Zarqawi network."

One thing I know for a fact - generals get to be generals not so much because they are good soldiers, but because they are good logisticians, tacticians and politicians. Generals are very measured and reasoned people. How is it all of a sudden then, that General Kimmitt feels so confident and, more telling, in public... in front of the media? How is it that we now have so much (and presumably accurate) actionable intel on the whereabouts of Zarqawi and his aides to justify a bombing in the middle of a residential district? Could it be, dare I say it (alert the Liberal media, it's their favorite subject!)... Abu Ghraib?

I can hear the "Say what!" coming from all of you as I type... but just follow me for a sec.

It is a well know and oft used tactic of police and prosecutors in this country to employ snitches, preferably close associates, to help them gain information to help them snag the really big fish. This is used with low level drug dealers all the time to help the authorities get to the suppliers. It was also used with great affect to help take down the mob. But you couldn't just ask a guy to be a snitch, you needed to have something on him... threaten him with 20 years in prison and offer to reduce it to 3 as long as he helps... that sort of thing.

So, let's say the cops pop some guy and get him to agree to roll on his bosses, you just can't cut him loose! You have to make it look plausible... like the cops had let him go due to a snafu on their part or some such ruse. Whatever the reason, the entire setup depends entirely on getting this guy to assimilate back into the group without being suspected. Now it would seem to me that, in order to make the release of this guy as believable as possible and thereby give your plot the maximum chance of success, the worse you have to make yourself look in the process.

Now remember Abu Ghraib... and think James Bond!

WOW... now I really hear the chorus of "You're out of your flipping mind!"

I know I skirt the edge of "tinfoil hat" land with this proposition, but what if the prisoners we have released over the past few months due to the Abu Ghraib kerfuffle were, shall we say 'enhanced' (without their knowledge, of course) to allow us to track their movements? I know we posses the technology to do this. I mean how hard would it be to drug a prisoner and make him ingest or surgically embed a transponder of some sort? I would say, in a controlled environment like a prison, not too hard at all! And since it would then appear to many in the world that we were just releasing individuals in an attempt to lessen the bad press the prisoner abuse has caused, we could essentially release hundred of ignorant snitches onto the streets of Baghdad, Mosul, Baqouba, Ramadi, and Fallujah... and into the waiting and open arms of our enemies.

Now I'm not saying that the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib was intentional (though if it was, with this as their goal, I would have a new found respect for our intelligence agencies) but what if some enterprising agent saw an opportunity and capitalized on it. Taking lemons and making lemonade as it were! I mean, any intelligent person would know that the Abu Ghraib story would create a firestorm of controversy, especially with our liberal press so anxious to find a chink in GWs armor! And any intelligent person would also surmise that such scrutiny would probably force us to release individuals we would rather not release. I believe that someone intelligent enough to know those things would see the opportunity to enlist - overtly and covertly - operatives that could and would aid our cause.

It's just a passing thought I had... I know, probably just gas! But I just think it's curious, especially since the Military faces we see on TV - General Kimmitt, et al - after having been so hesitant in the past to confirm or deny any action in Iraq, are now so willing to speak with such assurance. Could it be that they know for a fact that they got at least one "key personnel in the Zarqawi network" because they put him there?

Hmmmmm... I wonder!

BTW... you may well be saying "well if this is true you just let the cat out of the bag!"

But did I?

Having a mole with a transponder in the midst of the enemy camp would only be marginally better than for an already paranoid and suspicious enemy to believe that everyone in their camp had a transponder embedded in them!