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Got'em

Al-Qaida’s man in Iraq, al-Zarqawi, is now being attended by scores of virgins in heaven. He was reduced to his present estate, according to recent reports, as a result “of intelligence reports provided to Iraqi security forces by residents in the area” and Jordanian assistance.

According to an Associated Press report,
A Jordanian official said that Jordan also provided the U.S. military with information that helped in tracking al-Zarqawi down. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was addressing intelligence issues, would not elaborate, but Jordan is known to have intelligence agents operating in Iraq to hunt down Islamic militants.

Some of the information came from Jordan's sources inside Iraq and led the U.S. military to the area of Baqouba, the official said.

Baqouba has in recent weeks seen a spike in sectarian violence, including the discovery of 17 severed heads in fruit boxes. It was also near the site of a sectarian atrocity last week in which masked gunmen killed 21 Shiites, including a dozen students, after separating out four Sunni Arabs.

"Those who disrupt the course of life, like al-Zarqawi, will have a tragic end," al-Maliki said. He also warned those who would follow the militant's lead that "whenever there is a new al-Zarqawi, we will kill him."

That fact that al-Zarquai was ratted out by locals suggest a turning point of some kind. Anti-war operatives at DailyKos are reviewing the matter to see how it will impact the Lieberman/Lamont race in Connecticut.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Lieberman caught a huge break by appearing on Imus in the Morning right after the Bush press conference. Much of Lamont's support does come from Fairfield County libs who have forgotten the neighbors they lost in 9-11. Might take some sting out of the Q Poll today.
Don Pesci said…
Catching a break is a nice way to put it. But Lieberman cannot depend on things breaking his way – either in Iraq or at home. Politicians make their own breaks. At some point it may be useful for Lieberman to confront Lamont directly; part of Lamont’s seeming strength is the result of a perception that Lieberman has been fatally wounded in the matter of Iraq. This may not be true. Lieberman has to remember that both in law and campaigning silence signifies consent. When his judgment has been so successfully called into question, it will not be enough for him to rest comfortably on the notion that people in Connecticut are savvy enough to perceive distinctions between himself and Bush.

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