[Dog]

No Dev.....this is major losing face time for AQ.

[No Blue States]

The developments came the same day that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Iraq for a one-day visit.

Maybe they didnt want tp piss Condi off.

[SevenMinusOne]

No Dev.....this is major losing face time for AQ.

I don't quite see it that way - These thugs al Qeade are killing scores of innocent people all across Iraq - Allowing this two-bit Governor to live (after we call an end to the operation) speaks volumes about "this Governor" not al Qeade.

And you can bet your bottom dollar he is under surveillance 24-7 now (we'll know every conversation he has over the next month).

As for the notion it wasn't "our Marines" in there fighting at that particular time within the city (ahh, I can't buy that, fact is, that high up the command doesn't exactly know whether forward units were still engaged or not)

[Coop]

this is major losing face time for AQ.

I don't know how you come to that conclusion. I'm with CR and Dev.