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A Pakistani local Taliban shoots a kidnapper in Rahim Kor village near the Mammad agency, some 60 kilometers from Peshawar on April 27, 2008, a day after they captured him with three kidnapped persons during an operation in the area. Pakistani tribal Taliban executed a person under the Islamic principle of Qisas on the charges of killing one of their comrades.

Where In the World Is Osama bin Laden?, a documentary by Morgan Spurlock -- the man who ate McDonald's cuisine for 30 days straight for Super Size Me -- took on the task of finding al Qaeda's leader. As Spurlock explained in a Seven Questions interview with FP last week, sometimes a comedic film can get an audience to pay attention to a serious topic.

This week, Harold and Kumar -- those two guys from Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle -- take on the subject of Guantánamo Bay, though their purpose doesn't seem to have anything to do with prompting serious discussion about the controversial prison. In Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, debuting this Friday, the pair board a flight to Amsterdam with a bong. That gets them sent to Gitmo. The duo make a wild escape, of course. Politically incorrect humor is abundant.

Some reviews say the movie falls short of White Castle's charm, but it currently has a 78 percent on the tomatometer. So, if you need something to do this weekend, you have two choices: Gain a bit of enlightenment with Spurlock, or lose a few IQ points with Harold and Kumar.

Dog bites man. A Commentary magazine blogger slams Jimmy Carter for meeting with Hamas leaders.

But there's more. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) says it turned down a meeting request from Carter, whom the terrorist group accused of "carrying an American-Israeli agenda." (Funny, most of Carter's critics would say he's carrying water for the Palestinians.) Commentary's Eric Trager says the incident "should finally shatter Carter's credibility as a peacemaker." He explains:

While PIJ shares many of Hamas' militant features–including its coordination of terrorist activities, calls for Israel's destruction, and theocratic aims–PIJ lacks Hamas' social and political significance. It does not have the social welfare network on which Hamas has built its popularity, while PIJ's refusal to participate in the 2006 parliamentary elections points to its minimal public authority among Palestinians.

There are many valid reasons to meet with Hamas, most notably because no peace process can possibly succeed if the Islamist movement is outside the tent trying to blow it up. Carter is right about that, and many Israelis know it. But if it's true that the former U.S. president wanted to meet with the odious PIJ as well, then it shows he hasn't learned a whole lot about politics in his 83 years. To say the least.

This is sure to provide fodder for conspiracy theorists in the Middle East:

The Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv on Wednesday reported that Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu told an audience at Bar Ilan university that the September 11, 2001 terror attacks had been beneficial for Israel.

"We are benefiting from one thing, and that is the attack on the Twin Towers and Pentagon, and the American struggle in Iraq," Ma'ariv quoted the former prime minister as saying. He reportedly added that these events "swung American public opinion in our favor."

It amazes me that despite the fact that Osama bin Laden has admitted multiple times that he ordered the September 11th attacks, there are still plenty of people -- especially in Arab countries -- who believe otherwise. Netanyahu just gave those folks a huge gift.

Back in September, Rand analyst Seth Jones helped us put together a list of senior al Qaeda leaders who were still at large. The list included senior commander Abu Obaidah al-Masri who, it was announced this week, died about two months ago. I spoke with Jones today about the implications of al-Masri's death for the al Qaeda leadership. He stressed that it's a mistake to think of the organization as a bureaucracy where specific offices are filled after they are vacated:

People get moved around quite a bit based on their competencies. Less-informed people talk about al Qaeda leadership in terms of numbers, as if someone was "number three or number four." I don't think the command and control structure works that way. There's a range of people who go through the different positions. There is not one job that any of these guys do. 

But this is not to say that al-Masri's death is insignificant. He played a major part in several high-profile operations and, as Jones noted, it can be hard to find someone with his particular skillset:

He played an important role both on the international front in the [2006] transatlantic plot, and was involved in a couple of other plots that European government are investigating. Recently he also played quite an important role with the Afghan insurgency. It takes time to replace competent senior al Qaeda operatives.

Uganda is being held in suspense right now as Lord's Resistance Army commander Joseph Kony continues to delay signing a peace agreement that would bring an end to one of the world's longest-running conflicts.

Current TV just put up an amazing short documentary on the conflict that includes an interview with a former top LRA commander who says he has no regrets about his actions:

It's probably safe to say that if Kony operated in the Northern Hemisphere, he'd be considered the world's most dangerous terrorist. Throughout the LRA's 22-year rebellion, it has killed more people than al Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah combined, and abducted thousands of children to serve as child soldiers or "wives" for top commanders.

Kony ran the LRA like a religious cult, aimed to create a government based on the 10 commandments and consulted regularly with a "spirit council" that included a dead Chinese general. He's also just one of the zealots and hate-mongers profiled in this week's FP list, "The World's Worst Religious Leaders."

Here's hoping this dark chapter in African history is finally coming to an end.

So says veteran New York Times correspondent (now London bureau chief) John Burns. He and colleague Dexter Filkins chatted with Charlie Rose about the remarkable security progress the surge has created in the country -- and the still difficult political road ahead. Watch the entire segment:

(Hat tip: TPM)

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I find it very interesting that Fars, the Iranian state news agency, is accusing Saudi Arabia and not the Great Satan of masterminding the hit on Hezbollah commander Imad Mougniyah.

According to Fars, the Syrians believe that Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi national security advisor and former ambassador to Washington, ordered the assassination. They didn't want to say anything before the Arab League Summit in Damascus, but they are going to go public with their allegations soon.

Of course, the Syrians aren't about to let Israel off the hook. They believe Israel was behind the whole operation, according to Fars.

Previously, I speculated that the Saudis might have been involved in Mougniyah's killing. The Saudis have long sought revenge for the 1996 Khobar Towers attack, which they blame on Mougniyah and Iran. Plus, Bob Woodward reported in 1987 that the Saudis had arranged for a group of Lebanese Christians to kill Hezbollah's spiritual leader, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, at the behest of then CIA Director William Casey. Prince Bandar was allegedly involved then, too, so either he's still at it or the Syrians are simply grasping for the most plausible storyline.

If the Syrians do go public, it will be interesting to see if their allegations derail Iran's recent back-channel discussions with the United States about Iraq.