Completely expected heartbreak: Iraqis don’t have al-Masri
posted at 7:02 am on May 9, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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Allahpundit said he remained skeptical, and for good reason — the Iraqis let their enthusiasm outstrip reality again. The US military told news agencies today that the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq has not been captured and is certainly not in American custody, as Iraqi government sources said yesterday:
Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the head of al Qaeda in Iraq, has not been captured, a senior U.S. military official told CNN on Friday.
Iraqi authorities said Thursday that al-Masri had been captured in Mosul.
U.S. military officials were surprised about the report of Abu Ayyub al-Masri’s capture — first reported by Iraqi media and picked up by The Associated Press. And intelligence officials said they were skeptical, even though Iraqi officials said al-Masri was already in U.S. military custody.
Al-Masri (”the Egyptian”), also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, took the reins of the Iraqi al Qaeda offshoot in June 2006 after a U.S. missile strike killed his predecessor, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Since then, Iraqi officials have reported his death three times, his capture twice and a mortal wounding once.
Last month, the rumor du jour had Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, AKA The King of Clubs, in Iraqi custody. That claim was harder to understand as a case of mistaken identity; al-Douri has red hair, not exactly a common sight among Iraqi insurgents. Before Abu Musab al-Zarqawi assumed room temperature two years ago, the Iraqis claimed to have captured him on more than one occasion as well.
Of course, there could be more than meets the eye to this maneuver, but it seems unlikely. Perhaps this was deliberate misinformation by the Coalition to expose parts of the AQI network. If so, one would have expected the deception to go longer than a few hours. It could also be that the US didn’t want the capture publicized, but I doubt they would deny it once it was; they’d be more likely to simply not comment on it.
We should applaud their enthusiasm, but consider these Iraqi claims as pledges rather than reality until CENTCOM confirms the capture or kill.
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It won’t make any difference, another one will emerge in any case. Keep the good fight America, George W. Bush is having a wedding to celebrate!
Indy Conservative on May 9, 2008 at 7:21 AM
Kudas to the US Military and Iragi’s just the same,
it would be nice if you had a satellite that could
read DNA.I’m sure that would cut down on the work
load,and help in tracking these errant Jihadys!
canopfor on May 9, 2008 at 7:49 AM
Isn’t this how Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed got started?
Limerick on May 9, 2008 at 7:52 AM
Sounds like Hillary… ;-)
Shivas Irons on May 9, 2008 at 7:57 AM
You know. It really p*sses me off that the Iraqis seem not to care about their country. We can’t keep playing wet nurse to them, and I’m very tired of their lack of understanding that Iraq is their nation, not ours. Their responsibility, not ours. Their financial burden, not ours.
I know what we are doing is noble. But like here at home with welfare cheats, if you don’t cut off the aid, there is no incentive to go about it alone and gain confidence.
Iraq. Step up or step off.
madmonkphotog on May 9, 2008 at 8:28 AM
Minor Heartbreak.
There is no more tenuous “job” in the world than leading insurgents in Iraq. It’s only a matter of time before this guy is trussed up and paraded before the cameras, or (more likely) scattered hither and yon, his identity confirmed using tidbits of flesh in a test tube.
The bright side if you’re a jihadi? Lots of opportunity for advancement.
Alamo on May 9, 2008 at 8:44 AM
Yeah, the Keystone Cops of Iraq deserve “kudas”. Kudos are reserved for actually accomplishing something.
corona on May 9, 2008 at 8:55 AM
There should be a rule.
Don’t start reporting a story until you Get the facts.
bridgetown on May 9, 2008 at 9:02 AM
Perhaps this was deliberate misinformation by the Coalition to expose parts of the AQI network.
That’s how we captured Tariq Azziz. Remember that guy?
After invading Kuwait in 1990 and facing the U.S. and the Allies in 1991: “My country does not want, uh, how you say? … How you say? Uh, uh, war.”
Tony737 on May 9, 2008 at 9:11 AM
Reminds me of the 2006 Lebanon/Israel war when the “daring Israeli commando raid” successfully captured Nasrallah. But it wasn’t the Nasrallah the Israelis were hoping for, but was actually Hasan Dib Nasrallah, an old Lebanese grocer. I guess it was an honest mistake, since Dib Nasrallah looks so much like the Hezbollah leader.
The story would have been hilarious if the Israeli incompetance had not led to the deaths of two Lebanese citizens. Maybe those two dead people have relatives or friends that joined Hezbollah as a result of the pathetic incident. Of course, those people would now be “terrorists.”
dave742 on May 9, 2008 at 9:18 AM
Damn, I’ll have to save my Ding Dong the Witch is Dead dance number for another day. =(
LT Nixon on May 9, 2008 at 9:29 AM
Oh well… the day will come.
maintenanceman on May 9, 2008 at 10:17 AM
Gloom, doom, and BDS. Rush and Reagan aren’t conservatives.
Keep it up, Evita.
misterpeasea on May 9, 2008 at 10:23 AM
Drat!
baldilocks on May 9, 2008 at 11:30 AM
“After further investigation it was revealed that the suspect was not al-Masri, the purported leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, but rather a teenager lighting a bag of dogshit on a neighbor’s porch. The Iraqi government regrets its error.”
Chuck Schick on May 9, 2008 at 12:26 PM
Better luck next time, guys! And there will be a next time.
cthulhu on May 9, 2008 at 12:26 PM
Most likely what happened is the Iraqi Politico’s in their self motiivated effort to look good (hey, that’s what politicians do) jumped the gun and made the claim before the criminalist at any of the 6 crime labs there could finish running the prints or DNA. (It ain’t like CSI and Gets resualts between commercial breaks ya know.)
opusrex on May 9, 2008 at 7:26 PM
I guess you haven’t met the Iraqis I have then…
I watch them fight for their country every day. I see their casualties too.
As for the money - Look up “FMS” or “Foreign Military Sales”. The Iraqis are doing more of this on their dime now. They are buying equipment, repair parts, ammo and such instead of having it handed to them. And they are buying it, primarily, from us. And they sure have the means, with oil over $120 a barrel!
As for the once again announcement of a capture by the IG…I dunno if it is deception or not - I doubt it, but then again, I am an advisor to the Iraqi Army, not a spy or intel guy.
major john on May 10, 2008 at 1:04 AM