Zarqawi's Rosebud Moment

The US Military had a chance to score big in the aftermath of Zarqawi's death, but they blew it. According to Reuters here is the time-line to events in Washington following the operation to take out al-Zarqawi:

Wed. June 7, 2006 3:45 p.m. White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley, who left congressional meeting for calls from Iraq, speaks with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad and is told Zarqawi believed killed.

Thu. June 8, 2006 7:31 a.m. Bush makes first public comment. "Zarqawi's death is a severe blow to al Qaeda. It's a victory in the global war on terror, and it is an opportunity for Iraq's new government to turn the tide of this struggle."


Fri. Jun. 9, 2006 before 11:00 a.m. Maj. Gen. Bill Caldwell, briefing military reporters at the defence department from his post in Baghdad, said he learned that al-Zawqari was alive after getting briefings on the military operation that netted al-Zarqawi and several others.


Why did the Military wait for almost 30 hours to divulge this piece of information, which must have been known at the time the first reports were dispatched to Washington?

According to the same report, Iraqi forces arrived at the scene followed shortly by US personnel. By that time al-Zarqawi was placed on a gurney (by Iraqi's according to the story). Caldwell added "He (al-Zarqawi) mumbled something but it was indistinguishable and it was very short," Caldwell said.

Now all of Citizen Kane's fans, conspiracy theorist and legend makers in the Middle East and the rest of the world will have a field day with the following questions: why did we wait over 40 hours to inform the public that he was briefly alive? And what did he say (in Arabic, I presume, while surrounded by Iraqi forces) prior to his final demise?