Headlines today are announcing the proclamation that the person believed to be the number two guy in the Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Apparently a web site used by Al-Qaeda denies this. I'm sure once they confirm it they'll change their tune and proclaim him a martyr and hero.

For a moment I was happy for our side, another hit to their leadership might help weaken things. Then I thought about how a hit to our leadership wouldn't change a thing. Well, not until the leadership decided to change our course of action to protect themselves.

This is at best like getting the VP of the US. Well, really more like getting the Deputy Govenor of your favorite state, since he's not Osama's number two, and we've declared him enemy number one. While it'd be a bad thing to off the second in command at some level, and I'm by no means trying to condone or suggest the action, there are rules in place for replacing our fallen leaders. In the case of the VP of the US, it doesn't even take an election, and I think it might not even take a confirmation; basically the President picks some one.

In the mind set of the Al-Qaeda, as we're being sold, I mean told, this will end up encouraging them more than discouraging them. Every time one of their heads is cut off, another one or more pops in to take over. It's like fighting the mythical hydra; maybe it'll take a Heracles to finally defeat them.

The only up side I can see to knocking off any one of their heads is the potential momentary disruption to their cells. If they truly operate in a cellular fashion, then the members of the cells know each other, and a few of them might have a contact up or down the chain. If the cells don't know who's in another cell, it might make them pause for a while until they figure it out. Of course, they will figure it out.

I'll cheer when Abu Musab al-Zarqawi or Osama bin-Laden is confirmed killed. Even though it'll probably be the same hydra thing, getting the actual leader might put a dent in the masses optimism. It doesn't seem to strike them that they should be a little ashamed that their leaders skulk and hide, like the vermin they are. You don't see George Bush or Tony Blair ducking and hiding. Sure, they've got security, but the address of each of their office's (and in Bush's case, home) is public record, and usually well illuminated at night.

Pussies.

Oh, and why aren't we kicking the shit out of all of the web sites used by Al-Qaeda? Sure, every goober like me has a blog and some of them mentions the war and related news from time-to-time, and we can't take them all down. But if "sources" can find these sites to note their disagreement with some news story, why can't our intelligence community find the servers that these are on, and start working backwards to find where the posts are coming from. At worst they'll find the bad guys aren't logging anything. At best they'll start eliminating some of the methods they use to spread their love and joy.

Everyone knows there's more on a web site than you can find by visiting a home page, right?