Coincidences happen and we have to accept it

Why can't we progressive bloggers realize coincidences happen? Silly us.

U.S. and Iraqi forces arrested one of Muqtada al-Sadr's ( top aides) Friday in Baghdad, his office said, as pressure increased on the radical Shiite cleric's militia ahead of a planned security crackdown in the capital.

Al-Sadr said in an interview with an Italian newspaper published Friday that the crackdown had already begun and that 400 of his men had been arrested. La Repubblica also quoted him as saying he fears for his life and stays constantly on the move.

The raid came as Defense Secretary Robert Gates began his second trip to Iraq in less than a month, arriving in the southern city of Basra to consult with British and other allied commanders.

Sheik Abdul-Hadi al-Darraji, al-Sadr's media director in Baghdad, was captured and his personal guard was killed, according to another senior al-Sadr aide.

And he is a very dangerous guy, of course.

The U.S. military accused the main suspect captured Friday of having ties with the commanders of so-called death squads, which have been blamed for many of the killings that have left dozens of bodies, often showing signs of torture, on the streets of Baghdad.

The suspect was detained "based on credible intelligence that he is the leader of illegal armed group punishment committee activity, involving the organized kidnapping, torture and murder of Iraqi civilians," according to the military statement. It also said he was reportedly involved in the assassination of numerous Iraqi security forces and government officials.

"The suspect allegedly leads various illegal armed group operations and is affiliated with illegal armed group cells targeting Iraqi civilians for sectarian attacks and violence," the statement read, adding he was believed to be affiliated with Baghdad death squad commanders, including Abu Diraa, a Shiite militia leader who has gained a reputation for his brutality.

However, he may not be who the US military claims he is.

‘We are angry. This is a kind of revenge. Sheikh Darraji deals with the media. He is not a military man’ said the group's spokesman.

So we have a top aide to Muqtada al-Sadr who is a scary boogeyman captured while Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in Iraq. Coincidence.

And the president's State of the Union Address is next week. Coincidence.

We are in denial.