Is he or isn't he?

Yesterday afternoon Twitter was buzzing with news that the tubby American traitor Adam Gadahn, aka Abu Al-Babee Fhat (OK, not really, but I like the name) among other aliases, had been captured in Karachi, Pakistan. Then came the buzz-killing news that maybe it wasn't Gadahn who'd been captured, after all.

This morning, ABC is carrying an article that seems to claim conclusively that the captured terrorist isn't Gadahn. Well, sort of.

A Taliban leader who goes by the name Abu Yahya, just like American-turned-al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn, was picked up in Karachi in recent days, but that person is not Gadahn, a senior Pakistani government official told ABC News.

But there are conflicting reports about whether it is notorious Adam Gadahn.

Reports of the capture of an American-born al-Qaeda member by Pakistani authorities gave rise to speculation over whether it was Gadahn, the 31-year-old California-born Muslim convert who has been wanted since 2004.

The official told ABC News the leader who was arrested was possibly Abu Yahya Mujahdeen al-Adam, said to be another American member of al Qaeda, but the Pakistanis have yet to make that identification positive, the official said.

Dawn, an English-language newspaper, reports that Abu Yahya Mujahdeen al-Adam is an Egyptian-born U.S. citizen from Pennsylvania who helps command foreign militants fighting in Afghanistan and coordinates activities from Dubai.

I dunno...seems fishy. Granted, these guys claim more names than they do wives so there's sure to be some overlap. But to have two upper-echelon guys so similarly named? Possible, I guess.

Still, this is exactly the way I'd play it if I were the US intel guy on the spot and the captured figure was Adam Gadahn, given that Gadahn is a US citizen with a federal treason indictment.

He was captured by the Pakistanis and is in their custody subject to their interrogation, and Pakistani intelligence can squeeze the guy in ways we can't. So the US and Pakistan can play the yes-he-is, no-he-isn't game for a while and let Pakistani authorities get whatever intel they can, and then turn him over to US officials. At that point, as a wanted US citizen, he'd rightfully be turned over to the federal criminal justice system and have the right to shut up and get a lawyer.

Well, here's to hoping, anyway.

Stupid affectations

Every time I hear Barack Obama or some other poseur say "PAHK-ee-stahn" I cringe a little bit. If you speak American English, it's "PACK-ih-stan". But in an effort to sound like someone with a broader worldview, these idjits can't resist saying "PAHK-ee-stahn" in a herniated effort to sound more culturally aware by pronouncing the country's name the way a Pakistani would say it.

You never hear these phonies pronounce "Afghanistan" the way an English-speaking Afghani or Pakistani would say it. They'll say "Afghanistan" the way you or I would say it because to pronounce it as an Afghan or Pakistani would say it would sound too contrived: "Ahf-GWAN-ee-stahn".

Gawd, I can't stand poseurs.

Update: I rest my case...

Hold elected officials accountable for security leaks

Last Friday, Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-California Alpha Centauri, remarked casually on the source of unpiloted drones used with great effectiveness to launch missiles against al Qaeda and Taliban targets in lawless areas of Pakistan.

The disclosure by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, marked the first time a U.S. official had publicly commented on where the Predator aircraft patrolling Pakistan take off and land.

At a hearing, Feinstein expressed surprise over Pakistani opposition to the campaign of Predator-launched CIA missile strikes against Islamic extremist targets along Pakistan's northwestern border.

"As I understand it, these are flown out of a Pakistani base," she said.

Un-fucking-believable. As pointed out in the first quoted paragraph, Feinstein chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee. Surely she knows that such tidbits of information are classified? Has she never heard the term "OPSEC"? If this had been a military member letting slip such information, he'd lose his security clearance and be brought up on charges.

Is it any wonder that the majority of military members don't trust Democrats with affairs of national security?

'Many sons, and a lot of guns'

Via my brother Chuck.

Ever wonder how it is that every swingin' dick in Pakistan and Afghanistan is armed to the teeth? Well, wonder no more. In the Durra province of Pakistan's ungoverned (and apparently ungovernable) tribal areas, they're cranking out a thousand weapons a day. By hand.

Fascinating (and scary) stuff.

NATO logistics depot hit in Pakistan

Some 160 trucks and other vehicles at a logistics depot in Pakistan were destroyed in an attack by "militants".

Militants blasted their way into two transport terminals in Pakistan on Sunday and torched more than 160 vehicles destined for U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan, in the biggest assault yet on a vital military supply line, officials said.

[ ... ]

The attackers fled after a brief exchange of fire with police, who arrived about 40 minutes later, Khan said.

The nine other guards who were on duty but stood helplessly aside put the number of assailants at 300, Khan said, though police official Kashif Alam said there were only 30.

Why do I get the feeling that Pakistan's being less than helpful?

A news parody comes to life

Via Hot Air.

Muslim students in Islamabad, Pakistan turned out in droves for a street protest over the Mumbai terror attacks. Er, to clarify, the protests were over India's reaction to the Mumbai terror attacks, not the attacks themselves. India's reaction, I hasten to add, has been limited to (accurately) naming Pakistan as the country of origin of the murderers.

Exit question (to once again pilfer a certain Hot Air blogger's shtick): If the "tiny minority" of Muslims who are bloodthirsty extremists is "only" around 8%, what percentage of Muslims are avid spectators?

I ask you, could The Onion have done any better than this?