ALL THUMBS

We've needed some good news from Iraq for a long time, and it sounds like killing Zarqawi was more than just a single victory: Information recovered from that safe house has led to hundreds more raids and dozens more dead Qaedists. They aren't the only terrorists in Iraq, of course, but they probably are the most intractable. On a tangent, read this and see if you wonder the same thing as I did:

Iraq's national security adviser [Mouwafak al-Rubaie] said Thursday a "huge treasure" of documents and computer records was seized after the raid on terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's hideout, giving the Iraqi government the upper hand in its fight against al-Qaida in Iraq. ...

When asked how he could be sure the information was authentic, al-Rubaie said "there is nothing more authentic than finding a thumbdrive in his pocket."

So, my question is: What's Arabic for "thumb drive"?

P.S. — I have but one complaint about how Zarqawi met his end: That I didn't put him on my death pool list this year. I had him last year, but for some idiot reason didn't include him this time around.

Another question, then: Does this mean I don't support the troops?

Delayed Update &mdash The Canard gets results! I knew my go-to guy on all things Arabic language, the man with two first names, would come through. Or close enough. A friend of his thinks either al-Rubaie would have simply said "thumb drive," but he might also have said "cart zakaera," the equivalent of "memory card."

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posted by WWB at 3:55 PM |