Zarqawi Nearly Caught

Apparently, US forces in Iraq were almost able to catch Al-Zarqawi in Iraq, but he escaped before capture (reminds me of 24 from this week). Also, evidence in the car indicates he's been in communication with Bin Laden.

The noose is tightening. Anybody who paints a doom/gloom picture of Iraq at this point is missing the forest for the trees.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. troops nearly captured wanted terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi earlier this year in Iraq -- and instead netted a trusted lieutenant of Osama bin Laden, sources said Monday. U.S. forces captured the unidentified al Qaeda associate west of Falluja near Ramadi on February 20 when American troops were tipped off that al-Zarqawi might be in the area, two sources told CNN. At one point, U.S. troops chased down a suspicious vehicle and later determined that al-Zarqawi had been in it but had escaped. The bin Laden associate was seized in the same general area, sources said, and a computer was taken from the vehicle containing "a treasure trove of information" -- including direct connections to bin Laden. The sources said it's a significant find -- a clear indication that al-Zarqawi and bin Laden are in two-way communications and that bin Laden couriers are able to get into Iraq. Al-Zarqawi is a Jordanian-born terrorist whose group has claimed responsibility for numerous car bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq.