The BBC, Reuters, and Fox News are quoting an un-named U.S. official suggesting that Obaidah al Masri has died in Pakistan.

Senior al Qaeda planner Obaidah al Masri, considered a key suspect in the 2005 London subway and bus bombings and a foiled 2006 plot to blow up commercial airliners, is believed to have died, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

“The sense is that he is dead,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. McClatchy newspapers reported that Masri died of hepatitis in Pakistan. The official said Masri appeared to have died of natural causes.

“He was a major operational figure,” the U.S. official said of al Masri, a pseudonym.

He confirmed that Masri was suspected in the plot to blow up airliners over the Atlantic Ocean. The Washington Post in 2006 also said he was believed to be al Qaeda’s conduit to British-Pakistani cells that carried out the July 7, 2005, public transit bombings. The bombings killed 56 people. [Reuters]

FOX News notices that,

The news of al-Masri’s death comes just hours before the House Select Intelligence Committee is set to hold an open hearing on “Assessing the Fight Against Al Qaeda.”

[...]

Terrorism investigators are expected to present evidence showing that the terror organization’s network has weakened, according to prepared testimony obtained by FOX News. Experts will also discuss the hydra-like nature of Al Qaeda leadership in explaining the difficulty in fighting the terror organization, as new militants continually emerge.

That “hydra-like” nature is one of the key differences and challenges of the war against radical Islam and terrorism. Any good news regarding the death or capture of these so called leaders has to be tempered with the understanding that there are more cockroaches ready to crawl out from under whatever rock we turn over. Still, buh bye. Hope you like it warm.

Coffee is good for talent, but genius wants prayer. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy 1st Blogiversary to:
Ron’s Musings

If you have Ron on your blogroll, please update the link. It is now http://www.ronsmusings.com/

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) Afghanistan’s Turn

The real story is that Democrats do not have the stomach to fight wars to victory. They will eventually start undermining the war in Afghanistan the way they have in Iraq, issuing defeatist analyses to prove that we’re losing, that America cannot defeat its enemies, and that we should admit defeat and retreat to Okinawa, or perhaps even further away this time.

Michael Yon Online Drilling for Justice

Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) had tarnished its name here by publicly attacking and murdering children, videotaping beheadings, all while imposing harsh punishments on Iraqi civilians found guilty of violating morality laws prohibiting activities like smoking. The AQI installed Sharia court had sanctioned the amputation of the two “smoking fingers” for those who violated anti-smoking laws. In part because local sentiment was shifting against it, AQI synthesized with other groups and undertook an image makeover, christening itself “The Islamic State of Iraq.” But the new name was just lipstick on a pig here.

Michelle Malkin is liveblogging the “Shamnesty” bill on the Senate floor. Refresh for updates.

Coffee, according to the women of Denmark, is to the body what the Word of the Lord is to the soul. ~ Isak Dinesen

Happy 1st Blogiversary to:
Symblogogy
Happy 2nd Blogiversary to:
The Right Track

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) CAIR Named As Terrorist Supporter

Federal prosecutors have named the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as an unindicted co-conspirator in support of the terrorist group Hamas. CAIR joins Islamic Society of North America and The North American Islamic Trust as accused terror-supporting organizations in the case against The Holy Land Foundation’s officers, as well as 300 other individuals and entities:

As Ed says later in the post, this should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the actions of this group.

Ankle Biting Pundits (Bull Dog Pundit) Thoughts On The Democrat Presidential Debate

I’m going to share my thoughts in no particular order. But I will say it was a very useful and better debate than the first one. And when I say “useful” I don’t mean I agree with what was said, just that it helped to expose them a lot better than before. But if there was a “winner” (which in this case was like being the tallest midget at the circus) it was Joe Biden.

Don Surber Pork and nepotism

Democratic Congressman Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania had a great plan. He steered $10 million in federal contracts to his nephew’s company. In all 4 nephews and the congressman’s daughter were key players in this venture.

What could possible go wrong?

Nancy Astor: “If I were your wife, I would put poison in your coffee.”
Sir Winston Churchill: “And if I were your husband, I would drink it.”

Blogiversary Database Update

The Blogiversary Database has reached a new milestone. There are now 100 blogs incorporating the BDB display code on their sites! 221 blogs have added and confirmed their information (17 have not confirmed). Add your blog or find out more about the Blogiversary database today.

In The Bullpen (Chad Evans) American Muslim Group Backs ‘John Does’ in CAIR Suit

An American Muslim group I had never heard of before, the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, has pledged to raise legal fees for the ‘John Does’ listed in the CAIR sponsored suit of the six Imams who were ejected from a flight from Minneapolis.

Sister Toldjah Gore accused of violating Environment & Public Works Committee’s hearing rules (UPDATED)

Maybe in order to further accomodate Mr. Oscar-winner, they can provide him with two chairs to sit in. The other one will be for his gigantic ego, which has proved to be much more of a pressing issue than ‘global warming.’

Wizbang (Jay Tea) They don’t know Jack

Recently, Hillary Clinton caught a bit of flak after comparing herself to President Kennedy. Other candidates have also made comparisons, and it occurred to me that it might be entertaining to take a look at some aspects of our 35th president — and which current candidates might best embody them.

If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee. ~ Abraham Lincoln

My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (Martin) The Iraq Surrender Group must be obeyed!! — “The opinions of 9 old men and an old woman are no more likely to be the right prescription than mine. Less so. A camel is a horse designed by committee, and that’s what this report is.”

Blue Star Chronicles (Beth) Ahmadinejah tells West, Follow God or Vanish — “Ahmadinejah warns us once again that his intention is to have us convert to islam or die. As per his own words, there are no other choices. Still we don’t listen to what our enemies tell us over and over and over again.”

Confederate Yankee Just the Facts, Ma’am — “Kathleen Carroll, the Executive Editor and Senior Vice President of the Associated Press, just can’t seem to do the required legwork necessary to resolve the questions surrounding six immolations and four mosque burnings alleged in news reports by anonymous reporters working for her organization. She does, however, try her best to deflect criticism in her latest response to the emerging scandal this afternoon.”

Don’t forget to vote in the 2006 Weblog Awards.

Well, let’s have some coffee and then take a swim. ~ Johnny Weissmuller

Happy 2nd Blogiversary to
SmadaNek

Right Wing News (John Hawkins) The Return Of Conservative Grapevine — “In the latter part of 2005, I ran Right Wing News and a blog called Conservative Grapevine. Conservative Grapevine was a link blog dedicated to highlighting the best posts from around the right side of the blogosphere as well as covering articles about blogging. Unfortunately, the work load got to be too much for me on top of RWN and so after only 4 months, I decided to kill off CG.

Well, after a 14 month long hiatus, Conservative Grapevine is back, but this time, it’s not going to be a solo project.”

Flopping Aces (Curt) Responding To The New York Times — “The New York Times has a new article out tomorrow in which they skewer blogs for having the audacity to question them:”

Right Truth (Debbie) Palestinians threaten violence, I’m shocked! — “Actually the article headline is Israel and Palestinians threaten violence. As Israel continues to defend herself, Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Hamza said that Israel would be responsible “for any response in the coming hours” by Islamic Jihad. Translation, ‘we’re going to attack you, but it will be your fault’.”

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) It’s The Electability, Stupid — “Rumors have swirled around HIllary Clinton regarding her presumed run for the presidency in 2008, with some saying that a Barack Obama run will keep her out of the race and that she has not discovered the inner fire for the grueling campaign, a la Mark Warner. Now, however, she’s begun meeting with Democratic power brokers, indicating that she’s plowing ahead — but Democrats do not appear completely thrilled by the prospect.”

Many people are like instant coffee: the minute they get in hot water they dissolve. ~ Unknown

Blue Crab Boulevard (Gaius) Poisoned Defector Fights For Life — “Alexander Litvinenko, the man who was poisoned in Britain a few weeks ago is struggling to survive. His doctors are not sure what exactly was given to the man. Litvinenko, a former colonel in the Russian Federal Security Service, which succeeded the KGB was looking into the murder of a Russian journalist when the poisoning occurred. One toxicologist believes the poison used may have been radioactive thallium. That was a hallmark of the KGB back in the day.”

In The Bullpen (Chad Evans) Radicals Richer, More Educated Than Moderates — “Foreign Policy magazine publishes a fascinating survey conducted by Gallop World Poll of Muslims within Islamic nations. The poll results cut to the chase of what differentiates moderate Muslims and extremist Muslims.”

The Strata-Sphere (AJ Strata) Al Qaeda Revels In Democrat Election Win — “Al Qaeda is very happy with their propoganda success with the help of liberal democrats and the liberal media in the last US elections. I have said this many times but now regional experts have looked over publicized statements and videos from Al Qaeda and provide insight into Al Qaeda’s cheer:”

Brian at Iowa Voice has seen the light and come over to WordPress.

Nancy Astor: “If I were your wife, I would put poison in your coffee.”
Sir Winston Churchill: “And if I were your husband, I would drink it.”

Right Truth (Debbie) Man linked to Mohamed Atta opening flight school — “A German, Wolfgang Bohringer has been linked to Mohamed Atta, the lead hijacker in the attacks on New York and Washington in 2001 and he plans to build a flight school. No, this is not a joke. He planned to ‘build a resort and flying school on Fanning Island — an atoll without telecommunications or a functioning airstrip, but among the closest to Hawaii, 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) to the north’.”

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) A Familiar Refrain In Lebanon — “Once again, a politician opposed to Syrian hegemony in Lebanon has been assassinated, and again the victim hails from a family with a long history of supporting Lebanese independence. Pierre Gemayel, whose brother Bashir was also assassinated in 1982, died in a suburban hospital after a shooting:”

Ankle Biting Pundits (Bull Dog Pundit) Pelosi To Liberal Dems: Stay In The Closet – For Now At Least — “There’s an interesting article in today’s Boston Globe about how Nancy Pelosi is telling some of the far-left kooks in her caucus that they better not move forward with their moonbat agendas, because the controversy might distract from what Pelosi calls accomplishing agenda items which are “within reach” and on which the caucus is “unified”.”

Big Lizards (Dafydd) Ban it, Janet! — “Oh ho! Janet Reno — you remember her? — has gone to court, leading a bunch of lesser legal accolytes to make it look like a movement, to overturn the anti-terrorism Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA).”

The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce. ~ Oliver Wendall Holmes, Sr.

Iowa Voice (Brian) Huffington: Murtha Defeat Still A Victory — “Now, notice how this standard of leadership only applies to Democrats (again, that “Do as I say” mantra). Every single thing she wrote in these two paragraphs could easily be used to describe George W. Bush, and she ignores it. Doesn’t see the irony that what she has just said as glowing praise for Nancy Pelosi are the exact same things that the left (herself included) have done nothing but bash Bush over.”

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) Iranian Arrest A Harbinger? — “The American press hasn’t covered this story until now, but British intelligence has detained a former Iranian diplomat on terrorism charges at the request of the US. Newsweek reports that Nosratollah Tajik allegedly attempted to procure night-vision goggles for Hezbollah:”

Right Wing News (John Hawkins) Is The Murtha/Hoyer Election A Harbinger Of Things To Come? — “Make no mistake about it, with Nancy Pelosi running the show, liberal chairmen running the committees, and liberal activists demanding that liberal ideas be moved forward, the Democrats will definitely be pushing a liberal agenda over the next couple of years.

However, having a liberal agenda is one thing and getting it through can sometimes be quite another. In this case, replacing the more moderate Steny Hoyer with “Abscam John” Murtha didn’t work out so well.”

The Jawa Report (Dr. Rusty Shackleford) (Video) Exposed: The Extremist Muslim Agenda — “If you didn’t see Glenn Beck’s important documentary on the radical Islamist agenda, you need to.

No, I take that back. It is your friends and family that are still in denial. They need to see this video.

[...]

See the Glenn Beck “Exposed” video here.” [Take a look at the video. Send the links to others and encourage them to watch the video. Now. Jim]

Who had this to say?

“The American people have put their feet on the right path by … realizing their president’s betrayal in supporting Israel”

[...]

“So they voted for something reasonable in the last elections,”

[...]

Describing George W. Bush as “the most stupid president” in U.S. history.

[...]

“We call on the lame duck (Bush) not to hurry up in escaping the same way the defense minister did,”

[...]

“They are getting ready to leave, because they are no longer capable of staying,”

Any guesses? The (semi)surprising answer below.

Coffee falls into the stomach … ideas begin to move, things remembered arrive at full gallop … the shafts of wit start up like sharp-shooters, similes arise, the paper is covered with ink… ~ Honore de Balzac

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) The New Guru, Same As The Old Guru — “Now that the Democrats have won their Congressional majorities, they now have to govern for the first time in 12 years. They made a lot of campaign promises, especially regarding Iraq, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus wants to make sure those get honored. To that end, they have turned to a new guru on war — one who led Democrats to a massive defeat via his own defeatism in 1972:”

Blogs for Bush (Mark Noonan) Democrats Win, Desire to Surrender — “The 60 members of Congress McGovern is meeting with are the Congressional Progressive Caucus, so called because Congressional Communist Caucus didn’t poll as well in focus group testing. These 60-odd lefties are the worst of the worst – the real moon-bats; the people who really do think that President Bush caused 9/11 to happen so we could go to war for Big Oil and The Jews.”

In The Bullpen (Chad Evans) MI5 Head: Islamic Radicalization in England Growing — “The head of MI5, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, told an audience at Queen Mary College there are currently 30 top-priority terrorism investigations underway and there is an increased Al Qaida threat in England including an 80 percent rise in casework since January. Manningham-Buller also detailed teenagers were being recruited in England to “carry out suicide attacks and will use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons if they get the chance.” ”

Don Surber Mehlman out, Steele in — “Like Mehlman, Steele comes off as an articulate man who can hold his own against anyone. Mehlman will best be remembered for scaring off that loudmouth Dr. Howard Dean, who was so scared that he twice refused to appear on “Meet the Press” with Mehlman. If Tim Russert had any integrity, he would have told Dr. Dean, no joint appearance, then no airtime at all.”

ScrappleFace (Scott Ott) Chafee May Quit GOP, Divorce Britney Spears — “The dual announcements shocked both the political and entertainment worlds as leading experts in both realms had not previously known of either relationship that Sen. Chafee plans to sever.”

Well, let’s have some coffee and then take a swim. ~ Johnny Weissmuller

Right Wing News (John Hawkins) Big Government Republicans Are Part Of The Problem, Not The Solution — “The hot issues of the day? They come and go. But, getting control over spending is a conservative principle and eventually, if a Republican ignores that principle, there is going to be hell to pay — which is something that George Bush and the GOP in Washington are going to see later on this year. They’ve spent 6 years dancing with the devil on spending and in November, the check is coming due. All we can do at this point is hope that the tab isn’t so big that it costs them control of Congress.”

Blue Crab Boulevard Spending Spree — “The Washington Post has a report on what McCain-Feingold has brought about by limiting “soft money”. A virtual forest of 527 groups has sprung up all over the political landscape and is wreaking havoc with local races. Enormous amount of money are being pumped into local races at a record pace. Many of the groups doing this are quite shadowy on both sides of the political aisle.”

Blogs for Bush (Mark Noonan) Fatwa to Kill the Pope Issued — “There is a horrific monotony in this – our enemies are impervious to reason and so they must be killed or taken, but we’ve a divided country and a divided non-Moslem world. Too many people don’t seem to want to understand what is happening here and I hope that it doesn’t take the murder of the Pope or some equally horrific crime to wake people up to their peril.”

Happy 3rd Blogiversary and Congratulations to:

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) Three Years Of CQ — “When I first started this blog, I expected it to serve two purposes: an archive of my thoughts and important stories on current events, and a way to hone my writing skills and discipline. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect the success I have experienced. In fact, had I known it would get anywhere near this kind of attention, I would have used a different nom de plume. “Captain Ed” was a nickname well known to my friends and family, who were the only people I thought would ever read this.” [Captain's Quarters was one of the first blogs that I read on a regular basis, and is still one I read every day. Congratulations Ed! - Jim]

Sister Toldjah Happy 3rd blogiversary to the ST blog — “I don’t get the hundreds of thousands of hits that Instapundit or Malkin get daily, but I’m happy with the traffic I get everyday, and hope it grows. But if it doesn’t, I’ll still be here regardless, blogging about what I’m passionate about. I love doing this, and can see myself doing this for a very long time to come. Maybe one day, I can do something like this from home full time, so I can make the blog even better.” [Another stop on my daily blog travels, and always worth the trip. - Jim]