Maybe.

The question is, if they’re finally getting actionable intelligence, will there be any action?

Austin Bay says that we’re winning in Iraq (and really have been all along, despite the media’s body-count-driven narrative).

Jonathan Chait has some words of caution for his fellow Bush haters.

Let’s hope so:

The end of Saddam was the end of a major financer of the Global Islamic Jihad Movement. His money no longer flows through Rahman into the madrassas and terror training camps. The stress of losing Saddam and his wealth, plus being soundly defeated in Iraq and Afghanistan, has caused the terrorist leaders alliance to crack. Add to that the loss of support from the UAE and Libya, and the financial cost to al Qaeda has been enormous. Not only has al Qaeda been defeated on the battlefield, funding has become a challenge for the Global Islamic Jihad Movement.

But the separation of Hekmatyar from the Taliban is not the only indication that the movement has fractured. Asia Times reporter Syed Saleem Shahzad has written this week that the relationship between al Qaeda and the Taliban has faltered. If it is true (his reporting before has been insightful) this is one of the most significant developments in the war on terror. Divide and conquer still applies as a useful maxim.

I never fail to be amazed at people who seriously believe that it would have been a good idea to leave Saddam in power.

I’ve never been a big Ted Koppel or Nightline fan, but unlike many of his fellow Democrats (that’s an assumption, but I think a reasonable one), he understands that we are at war (it may help that he’s Jewish), and have been for a quarter century, even if many of us didn’t figure it out until five years ago. Unfortunately, many remain in denial.

Looks like we’re getting some new neighbors here in south Florida. From France:

There are no official U.S. government figures on the number of French Jews here, but officials in U.S. Jewish organizations said it could be anywhere from 2,000 to 4,000 in South Florida — mostly Miami-Dade.

”I would say they’re in the thousands now,” said Mendy Levy, a rabbi at The Shul synagogue in Surfside.

”There is no question of an increase in the number of French Jews in South Florida, and there’s an expectation that that rate of increase will accelerate,” said Jacob Solomon, executive vice president of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. ‘French Jews see the handwriting on the wall and say, `We’re not going to wait until it’s too late.’ ”

They’re sending in the Sioux. I wonder if they’ll count coup? I assume that taking scalps is against the Geneva Convention, though.

In light of growing evidence that “the surge” is working, that even Brian Williams couldn’t ignore, Robert Kagan asks an interesting question.

Looks like a major capture in Iraq:

Al-Baghdadi, also known as Abu Abdullah Rashid al-Baghdadi, has been identified in statements posted on Islamic extremist Web sites as the head of the Islamic State, which was proclaimed last year after the death of the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraqi, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Al-Baghdadi was said to have headed the Mujahedeen Shura Council, an alliance of Al Qaeda and other jihadist organizations, which was set up last year to downplay the role of foreigners in the Iraqi insurgency.

Hard to see how this is bad news. For either us or Iraq.

Looks like a major capture in Iraq:

Al-Baghdadi, also known as Abu Abdullah Rashid al-Baghdadi, has been identified in statements posted on Islamic extremist Web sites as the head of the Islamic State, which was proclaimed last year after the death of the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraqi, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Al-Baghdadi was said to have headed the Mujahedeen Shura Council, an alliance of Al Qaeda and other jihadist organizations, which was set up last year to downplay the role of foreigners in the Iraqi insurgency.

Hard to see how this is bad news. For either us or Iraq.