How Many Al Qaeda Fighters Are In Afghanistan

Counting al Qaeda: Leon Panetta’s Numbers Aren’t To Be Trusted. -- Weekly Standard

When CIA director Leon Panetta declared on a Sunday talk show in late June that “we’re looking at maybe 50 to 100” al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan, “maybe less,” some commentators took this as a political turning point. British journalist and author Stephen Grey commented via his Twitter account, for example, that the statement “could change the whole war debate.”

No doubt the 50 to 100 figure will be repeated by officials and pundits for some time to come; given the paucity of available information, it will factor heavily in debates over America’s strategic interests in Afghanistan. This is unfortunate, as every available indicator suggests that Panetta’s figure is unreliable. Worse, it may be evidence of a lack of rigor within the U.S. intelligence community.

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My Comment: Bill Roggio and Daveed Gartenstein-Ross blow away CIA Director Panetta's assertion that there are only 50 - 100 Al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan in this post. Kudos to them for doing their homework.

As to CIA Director Panetta .... I wonder if Director Panetta was deliberate in making these remarks to create a certain impression on the Afghan War, he misspoke, or .... his intelligence advisers told him that these were the actual (and clearly wrong) numbers.

Either way .... with no follow up or correction on the Director's remarks from the CIA .... I must confess that the CIA does not look "bright and all knowing" from where I am standing.