[MikefromOhio]

. Why is the White House involved? I want to hear what the military has to say.

I'm hoping the issue will be raised at a DoD briefing tomorrow (assuming that there will be one tomorrow).

Errr ummm ok. The White House is involved because Iraq is their baby as well. This is a big moment if it is true, so it makes PERFECT sense for the press corps to ask the WH about this story. AS for DOD, you will be waiting for a while. Any answer you will get here for the next couple days is "We are still testing. WE will release the results whenever we have an answer." They aren't going to say anything else until they have something definitive.

[JWojack]

I understand that Bush is the Commander-in-Chief, and that obviously, what happens in Iraq greatly interests the White House :-), but the White House is far removed from specific events in Iraq. The only way that they could know is if the DoD told them so.

But don't you find it the least bit strange that Duffy didn't say that tests are ongoing, or refused to comment on it? In the previous times when Zarqawi was reportedly killed, I don't recall the White House saying that it was very unlikely to be true. It seems like the White House is trying to lower expectations. Which is what you want if Zarqawi was in fact killed, because you want to see if his other associates try to contact him, before you announce his death.

Let me just say that that White House spokespeople deceive the American people frequently. I'm taking this more as spin than a real evaluation of the situation in Mosul.