Blair and the Brigades

It's always fun to watch CSPAN's broadcast of Tony Blair undergoing questioning by the House of Commons. I particularly enjoyed this bit:

"It is worth reading the statement put out by the Abu Hafs al-Masri brigades of al-Qaeda last Thursday...I can put a copy in the Library. That statement indicates that the war on which al-Qaeda is engaged is not simply in respect of the issue of Iraq; it also mentions Afghanistan, Palestine and Kashmir. It goes on to say that it is right to kill innocent Jewish people in whatever country they happen to be, apparently for no other reason than that they are Jewish people."

Lest you fret that the Brigades are 40 minutes away from striking Britain, you should know that an increasing number of people think the Abu Hafs al-Masri brigades is a fictional organization.

Abu Hafs was a Bin Laden aide who died in November of 2001. He was nicknamed "al-Masri" -- the Egyptian -- because he came from Egypt. Since his death, a group taking his name has claimed responsibility for various terrorist acts, including the Madrid bombing and the most recent Great Blackout. As one blogger sarcastically added: "And The Meteor That Killed The Godless Saurians? We Did That, Too."

I still haven't figured out who these guys are or what their game is, but I'll repeat (or rather, slightly re-phrase) one of my favorite maxims: Fakes don't make themselves. In their most recent missive, the Abu Hafs lads showed a remarkable interest in U.S. domestic party politics. Perhaps that's a clue.