Biden discloses joint mission that killed top al-Qaida officials in Iraq

On Monday, Vice President Joseph Biden disclosed that a joint mission between Iraqi and U.S. military forces resulted in the death of two top al-Qaida officials outside of Tikrit.

The Vice President went on to describe the shooting deaths of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayub al-Masri as “devastating blows” to al Qaeda in Iraq; but, he had less to say about what this could spell for U.S. commitments to the region. For that the Takeaway turns to Jim Muir, BBC reporter in Baghdad, and Blake Hounshell, managing editor of Foreign Policy Magazine.