"Trusted Lieutenant" Watch....

From the AP:

The American military Friday arrested a high-ranking member of al-Qaida in Iraq in the town of Ramadi, the U.S. Marines said.

Amir Khalaf Fanus, also known in the Ramadi area as "the Butcher," was wanted for criminal activities including murder and kidnapping, Capt. Jeffrey S. Pool said in a statement from the town, located 70 miles west of Baghdad.

Fanus was No. 3 on a most-wanted list for Ramadi drawn up by the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division.

"He is the highest ranking al-Qaida in Iraq member to be turned into Iraqi and U.S. officials by local citizens," Pool said. "His capture is another indication that the local citizens tire of the insurgents' presence within their community."

According to Pool, Iraqi and U.S. Forces "have witnessed increasing signs of citizens fighting the terrorists within Ramadi as the Dec. 15 National Elections draw nearer."

What do you do when you catch yet another Number Three, but the spin is getting old? That's when courier, gatekeeper, confidant, messenger, right hand man, executive secretary, Man Friday, or even the seminal "trusted lieutenant" just won't do. Thus, The Butcher! No matter that calling someone a butcher in Iraq these days is like calling someone "Jimbo" at a Nascar event on a hot Saturday in July. And, of course, we're now getting the obligatory "turned in by outraged local citizens" in each of these stories. Can't we save this stuff for the shills and plants we have on the payroll in the Iraqi media?

Truth doesn't need a Thesaurus. This ongoing ham-handed mendacity does nothing more than betray a lack of confidence in our mission on the part of those who continue to churn it out.