Noted in passing

ABC News breathlessly reports that

American soldiers killed the alleged No. 2 leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, a Moroccan who trained in Afghanistan, recruited foreign fighters and ran operations in northern Iraq where Sunni insurgents remain a potent threat, the U.S. military said Wednesday. ...

The death of such a senior al-Qaida leader will cause a major disruption to the terror network, particularly in northern Iraq, where the movement remains active, the military said.

Isn't this like the 50^th "No. 2 leader of al-Qaida in Iraq" that we've killed? And isn't it like the 100^th "major disruption to the terror network?" Just how the hell many "No. 2 leaders" do those folks have, anyway?

Footnote: I know I've been MIA on Iraq recently; I hope to correct that very soon.