The Big Fish

As you've probably heard by now, Pakistan's security agency, the ISI, appears to have caught Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the 9/11 mastermind and quite possibly the single most dangerous terrorist in the world.

This is unquivocably good news, and I'm certainly not going to begrudge the administration its victory, even though the Pakistanis appear to have done much, if not most of the work.

To be sure, this will help Bush obscure the fiasco in Turkey and his deteriorating prospects at the UN. And I've no doubt the White House spin machine will churn like a hydroplane propeller to convince the media that Bush's "bold" leadership should get all the credit. But Mohammed's arrest does grievous damage to Al Quada, and could save hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent lives. That's all that matters.

But I do have to wonder: Does this mean Bush will give the Pakistanis a pass from the relentless pressure to vote yes on the Iraq resolution? Or is he going to piss all over them, like he's pissed on so many other U.S. friends and allies?

What do you think?

billmon

Posted March 01, 2003 05:09 PM | Comments (39)