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Length: 1:49
LOU DOBBS: The U.S.
military tonight is claiming a significant victory in
the battle against al Qaeda in Iraq. Military
commanders say troops captured the most senior Iraqi
in al Qaeda. He is the latest in a series of top al
Qaeda operatives to be captured or killed. But
successes so far have done little to end the
violence.
Michael Ware has our report from Baghdad -- Michael.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, the U.S.
military in Baghdad today just revealed that two
weeks ago, on July 4, while most Americans were
enjoying Independence Day, the military had a rare
success here in Iraq against al Qaeda.
The military has announced that it captured the
second most senior member of that organization. His
name is given as Khaled al-Mashhadani, and he is said
to be the most senior Iraq in what is a foreign-led
organization here fighting U.S. troops and Iraqi
government forces.
Mashhadani, according to the U.S. military, was a
former media chief for the al Qaeda organization and
later became a key conduit between the old-school al
Qaeda of Osama bin Laden, hiding out in Waziristan on
the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, and its fighters
here in Iraq.
However, while the military claim that this was a
spectacular catch -- and it certainly is significant
-- in the broader course of the war, the question is
just what impact this arrest will make. The simple
answer is that very little.
Numerous numbers two, threes, fours and fives of the
al Qaeda organization have been killed or captured.
And in the two weeks since Mashhadani's arrest, al
Qaeda attacks have continued unabated -- Lou.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Michael Ware reporting from
Baghdad.