Our military has captured the leader of Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) :
Not quite as sweet as capturing the leader of AQI, but given that ISI is the umbrella group for Salafist jihadists in the country, it’s the next best thing. His name is Khalid al-Mashhadani, a.k.a. Omar al-Baghdadi, a.k.a. phantom caliph of the nascent Islamist paradise the Salafis are trying to form in Iraq.
I love starting the day with good news. So far I haven’t seen a news story stating how we captured him (were we tipped off etc).
More:
The Senate Iraq Slumber Party Fiasco results in Reid taking the ball home in a huff. Also, possible quote(s) of the day from Senator McCain:
From Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo:
“First off, the capture took place two weeks ago but was not announced until today. Hmmm, have we seen that before? And the detainee just happened to confess to a greater level of coordination between AQ in Iraq and Osama bin Laden’s global AQ, right in line with the official White House line that AQ in Iraq and AQ are one and the same.”
As for me, I’ll believe this is a significant development if the level of terrorist activity in Iraq goes down.
Comment by rmwarnick — July 18, 2007 @ 9:22 am
Shocka, the left ‘questions the timing’.
Typically, our forces do keep quiet for a few weeks after a capture. This is nothing new.
We would be stupid to immediately blurt out that we have a high value target (especially as it may take a while for a positive ID), and tip off their co-conspirators that their leader is gone and may be on our way to their location. It is much better to keep quiet until all leads are exhausted and information garnered from the target. After all, we want to disrupt their networks as much as possible.
Comment by utahrattler — July 18, 2007 @ 11:27 am
Well, obviously everything the Bush administration announces is politically well-timed and in accordance with the party line. This is no exception, and it worked– on CNN’s homepage, it totally eclipsed the historic Senate debate on the Iraq occupation.
Comment by rmwarnick — July 18, 2007 @ 13:21 pm
LOL!
Seriously, the entertainment factor here just skyrocketed.
Comment by utahrattler — July 18, 2007 @ 14:05 pm
What’s entertaining is that two weeks ago they nabbed this guy few people have ever heard of, and it will have no effect on the situation in Iraq. Yet the media play this story as if it were breaking news.
Comment by rmwarnick — July 18, 2007 @ 14:14 pm