Most wanted not necessarily most dangerous
From Brian Todd
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- By simple count, it appears to be a success. Of the coalition's 55 individuals on the Pentagon's "Most Wanted Iraqis" deck of playing cards, 43 have been killed, captured or have surrendered, including Saddam Hussein and his sons.
But that means 12 remain at large, described by Coalition Spokesman Dan Senor as "the Baathist die-hards that are looking to wreak havoc in this country."
But some intelligence analysts say the deck of cards has become almost irrelevant.
With most of the most-wanted out of the picture, the insurgency has actually grown.
No one on the list has been captured since February. And analysts say that with the June 30 handover approaching, U.S. forces don't want to engage in major battles and may not be trying very hard to get these men.
"They are not the highest priority. And as a result the real resources that are available in Iraq need to be focused on things like getting this new Iraqi government established, dealing with security and providing basic services to Iraqis," says Ken Pollack, director of research at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.
A spokesman for U.S. Central Command told CNN it's ludicrous to think the coalition is not actively pursuing those wanted men -- including Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, leader of Saddam's Revolutionary Command Council, and Hani abd al-Latif al Tilfah, a relative of Saddam's who directed his special security organization. One intelligence analyst says al Tilfah is like someone from the S.S., Gestapo and Murder Incorporated, all rolled into one.
Al Tifah is not on the list -- because he's not from Saddam's regime.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is a militant with alleged ties to al Qaeda, suspected of masterminding several major terrorist attacks and now believed to be hiding in Fallujah.
"Arguably Zarqawi is not only the most dangerous person in Iraq. He's arguably the most dangerous terrorist in the world today in terms of actual operations," says CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen.
