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)
I think that the release of the 'governor' unharmed is very revealing. If he was in any way on OUR side he would have been killed for sure, so we can reasonably estimate that he is not exactly an enemy of the terrorists. Whether he is actively on their side or merely tries to co-exist with them, he has to be treated by us with extreme suspicion. At the very least, he has not been helping to solve the problem for us, else they would have killed him in a heartbeat!!