THE TIMING

How astonishingly convenient: at the exact moment when Democrats are mounting their strongest challenge to Bush's foreign policy, a top al-Qaeda operative is captured! The exact moment!

Or, er, not, according to AP:

The Pentagon announced Friday the capture of one of al-Qaida's most senior and most experienced operatives, an Iraqi who was trying to return to his native country when he was captured.

Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said the captive is Abdul al-Hadi al-Iraqi. He was transferred to Defense Department custody this week from the CIA, Whitman said, but the spokesman would not say where or when al-Iraqi was captured or by whom.

A U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the Iraqi had been captured late last year in an operation that involved many people in more than one country....

And CNN quotes an intelligence operative as saying that he was captured sometime between September and the end of last year.

Oh, but there's no reason to question the timing of this announcement. The Bushies just wanted to keep it a surprise. They know we love surprises.