Al-Masri Flies the Coop

Things aren't working out so well for the Islamic State of Iraq: their network is ineffective, the insurgency has been described as pretty much over in Iraq, and now their fearless leader has fled to Afghanistan Sir Robin-style. From WaPo (h/t Jawa):

Abdullah al-Ansari, an al-Qaeda in Iraq leader in Fallujah, said in an interview with a Washington Post special correspondent that Masri had traveled to Afghanistan through Iran and designated Abu Khalil al-Souri, the pseudonym of another top leader of the group who came to Iraq in 2003, to run the organization in his absence.

"It's not known yet whether he would come back or not," he said, referring to Masri.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq is coming apart the seams as Iraqis reject their ridiculous ideology of establishing a caliphate by massacring innocent civilians. It should also be noted that Coalition Forces reduced the bounty on Al-Masri from $5M to $100K a few months ago because the dude had the managerial skills of a terrorist Lumberg. This is welcome news as the most vile of the insurgent networks has been severely hampered, and the number of U.S. casualties for the month of July is at an all-time low. Some background on Al-Masri and the terrorist network of the Islamic State of Iraq can be found at Jihadica. But don't forget about Afghanistan, which Gen. McAffrey has a depressing dose of reality with an AAR you should read.