Iraqi army boasts they squeezed out Number Two -- but did they remember to wipe?

Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, the Associated Press reports, had the flackery duty today in Iraq as he announced that "days ago," the Iraqi army had captured Hamed Jumaa Farid al-Saeedi. al-Rubaie holds the post of national security advisor and, if he works hard enough, he just might surpass Condi Rice's own laughable remarks when she held that post in the United States.

al-Rubaie maintains that Hamed Jumaa Farid al-Seedi is not only al Qaida, he's also number two. Something's hitting the fan.

al-Rubaie: "We believe that al-Qaida in Iraq suffers from a serious leadership crisis. Our troops have dealt fatal and painful blows to this organization.''

Now just a few months back, al-Zarqawi was supposed to be number one. That led to the first runner up being declared Miss Global Terrorist and, apparently, put al-Seedi next in line for the beauty crown. With the news that, if the trend continues, the third runner up may soon don the sash, we're guessing al-Qaida's ready to organize another beauty pagaent. We shudder at the thought of the swim suit competition.

The announcement is meaningless to all but those who miss the p.r. concocted playing cards of the supposedly most wanted and dangerous Saddam Hussein loyalists that were such a 'fun' story for the press back in the early days of the illegal war.

We're reminded of the Rolling Stones' "Laugh I Nearly Died" right about now. (Written by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, off the CD A Bigger Bang.)