reports of al-Qaida in Iraq leader's death

Asked if the reported death of al-Qaida leader al-Masri is true, US Department of State Spokesman Sean McCormack said today that he cannot confirm this, but if true then this "means that you have a member of their senior leadership that is taken out of the game. And that doesn't mean that the threat goes away or that the organization won't generate another leader, but what's important, as you've heard from many people involved in the fight against terrorism, counterterrorism officials, you hear from them is that it's important to degrade the experience level of their leadership, the capabilities of their leadership. That doesn't mean that they regenerate. But it -- what it means perhaps they start to operate at a less effective level because they don't -- their leadership isn't as good. But it doesn't mean that the threat goes away."