David F. Mayer said:

"We need to extirpate the LEADERSHIP of Al Qaeda. If we can succeed in doing that, the rest will either give up and quit or lose effectiveness."

Osama is evil but not stupid. Osama knows that the propaganda value of his remaining alive as a free man is far more important to islamic fascism than continuing as an effective leader. Al Qaeda loses big time if Osama ends up dead, missing or on public display in an American prison. Zarq got a lung full a shrapnel and almost caught because he tried to directly manage al Qaeda's operations in Iraq. Zarq's replacement will probably be smart enough to know when to retire from active operations and manage events from a far through trusted middle men.

Gary