The return of number two

There doesn't seem to be any such thing as a small victory when it comes to Iraq. Once again we see claims of catching a top terrorist leader, and once again the story isn't all it's cracked up to be. Apprehending people like this is a great thing, but always claiming you've practically ended the violence there when it just keeps getting worse is foolish and dangerous.

In a statement broadcast on national television, Mr. Rubaie said the second-ranking leader of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, Hamid Juma Faris Jouri al-Saeedi, was captured several days ago as he hid among Iraqi families in a residential building. He said Mr. Saeedi was operating near Baquba, north of Baghdad, in the area where Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born leader of the militant organization, had sought refuge before he was killed in an American airstrike three months ago.

Mr. Rubaie described Mr. Saeedi as Al Qaeda’s deputy commander in Iraq, serving beneath Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who took over the organization after Mr. Zarqawi’s death. If that characterization is true, it would suggest Mr. Saeedi is the most senior leader of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia killed or captured since an American F-16 fighter bombed Mr. Zarqawi’s safe house on June 7.

But a United States military official was more cautious in describing Mr. Saeedi’s place in the organization’s pecking order. While he was a “top-tier guy” who supervised those who carried out the Samarra bombing, “I’m not sure we are ready to put a number on him,” said the American official, who agreed to speak only without being identified because Iraqi officials had been designated to announce the capture. “It’s a very decentralized operation,” the official said.