ISIS

I should always let the news age a few days, but the noise today is that Baghdadi, ISIS' nominal current leader, killed himself and 3 of his children when trapped by American forces. In Idlib. The news adds that the Russians were notified to stay out of the way.

But the area is also under Turkish control, and nothing has yet showed up about them being notified. "Age the news;" the whole story isn't out yet, and maybe never will be if the Turks did give permission for the operation. They've seemed to be pretty chummy with ISIS.

I'm trying to figure out what sorts of people will be likely to advance to be the new #1. People who unabashedly love power might think twice if they have reason to worry that US special forces will eventually find them--unless they have guarantees of protection from some powerful nation. Otherwise I think the candidates would be true believers, who don't worry so much about death--and would be less interested in negotiations with impure apostates and infidels.

Maybe we're all better off if, as seems likely to me, Turkey replaces Baghdadi with somebody of their own.

But "age the news."