More on al-Douri

But from Channel News Asia, not an American site.

Thanks to Rev. Day-Bu, we can add an additional report to the news of the surrender of the currently highest ranking member of the deck. It's still not a confirmation, but adds some weight. Stand by.

The correspondent said on air that "the information is not confirmed and is confusing."

He said that according to the information, Duri had given himself up on Tuesday morning and that no more details were available.

An official at Kuwait Television later told AFP that the station's correspondent was quoting Iraqi sources that had told him Duri had surrendered.

Thanks for the link, Rev.

And here's the cosmic wink that says he is indeed a prisoner: he's number six on the list of most-wanted.



Where am I?   In the Village
What do you want?   Information
Whose side are you on?   That would be telling . . . We want Information
You won't get it.   By hook or by crook . . . We will
Who are you?    The new Number Two
Who is Number One?   You are Number Six
I am not a number . . . I'm a free man!

(or could that have been: "You are, Number Six" !??)

Gotta use all the information you get! You know there is no such thing as coincidence.

Is it early, or am I coming down with the flu?


Okay, here's another article with yesterday's date and some interesting information.

[Self proclaimed al Qaida operative Daleel] Almojahid contended that (sic), "The (real) war with America did not start yet. The mojahideen are moving with certain planes. The timing of the start of the war will be decided (by) the mojahideen themself; but we can promise you that Bush and Blair and a lot of the crusaders don't know yet who al Qaida really is, but they will soon. The coming strike will turn the table upside down and we promise all Muslims in the word that god's victory is very near if you just know. We will issue a demand letter after the first strike and we advise America to answer all our demands right away."

Almojahid's contention about forthcoming strikes was also echoed by the latest press release from al Muhajiroun, a radical Islamic group based in London. The group has been linked to the British suicide bombers in Israel and has also issued calls to overthrow the British government.

A writer for the group commented, ..."The U.S. cannot blame Saddam anymore for the many attacks by the Mujahideen, as he is now in custody. Though in order to save face, they have resorted to blaming Saddam's number two aide, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, who they claim is still at large."

That's a reason to keep the news of a surrender secret. (The U.S. military often says that Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, his son, Ahmad, and Hani Abd al-Latif Tilfah might be the main organizers behind the resistance.   article) As soon as we get them all, then our work will be done in Iraq, and there will be no more strikes against U.S. forces. Or, in the alternative, we can get the hell out. Whichever comes first.

The same release even speculated that Hussein was actually arrested some time prior to last Saturday....

Al Muhajiroun suggested that the reason for the recent announcement about Hussein's capture was that "the Bush administration decided to capitalize on the political impact of his arrest now."

Which, of course, is a fairly universal thought.

Attempting to explain his rationale, the writer commented that some hours before the announcement of Hussein's capture, President Bush had approved economic and political sanctions against Syria over its failure to act against terrorism.

That action, the release writer commented, "prompted calls from the Democrats in the U.S. to claim Bush was ‘in over his head' and slammed his administration's foreign policy in Afghanistan and Iraq as ‘cowboy diplomacy.' Much was made of the fact that neither weapons of mass destruction had been found, nor had ‘terrorists' like Saddam or Usama been captured."

Cowboy diplomacy. It works.

President Bush's problems were compounded, the writer claimed when in a video aired Thursday by the Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (leader of the armed opposition Hizb e-Islami group inside Afghanistan) warned there would be no peace in Afghanistan under U.S. occupation and vowed to continue to fight the U.S. forces there.

Cowboy Codpiece's problems are of legendary proportions these days. The joker is in the hole now.