AQ head honcho is either dead or alive

By Libby

Surprisingly, it's the right leaning blogs that are expressing the skepticism this morning on the purported death of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the alleged leader of the AQ in Iraq and certainly the point is well taken that Maliki's government, who made the announcement, does not have a good track record for reliable reports on events of this nature.

In fact one wonders what the point of the announcement was at all, since they admit it's unconfirmed. Even the White House isn't trying to make hay with this one. And even if it's true, what does it mean in the greater scheme of the Iraqi sectarian conflict? Abu Aardvark gets it right on that point I think.

If it is true, it would be great in terms of getting rid of someone responsible for a lot of the worst outrages in Iraq. Politically, however, the most likely effect will be similar to the Zarqawi hit. Like Zarqawi, Masri has been increasingly divisive in the insurgency . . . If he’s gone, it may be exactly what the insurgency factions need to repair their frayed ties and to refocus on fighting the American occupation rather than each other.

Hardly what I consider a sign of progress. It seems to me that the WOT and war on some drugs have a lot in common. No matter how many individual players the government takes out, someone will always rise to fill in the new employment opening and the new guy is likely to be worse than the old one.