Zarqawi Is Dead
For sure this time.
BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 8 — Al Qaeda’s leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in an American air strike on an isolated safe house north of Baghdad at 6.15 p.m. local time on Wednesday, top United States and Iraqi officials said today.
At a joint news conference with Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the top American military commander in Iraq, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., said Zarqawi’s body had been positively identified by fingerprints, “facial recognition” and “known scars.” He said seven of Zarqawi’s associates had also been killed in the strike.
The announcement of Zarqawi’s death, shortly before noon today in Baghdad, appeared to mark a major watershed in the war. With a $25 million bounty the United States had on his head, the Jordan-born Zarqawi has been the most wanted man in Iraq for his leadership of Islamic terrorist groups that have carried out many of the most brutal attacks of the war, including scores of suicide bombings, kidnappings and beheadings.
“Today, we have managed to put an end to Zarqawi,” said a beaming Mr. Maliki, who took office three weeks ago at the head of Iraq’s first full-term government since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. He said the death should be a warning to other insurgent leaders. “They should stop now,” he said. “They should review their situation and resort to logic while there is still time.”
Right on.
This is a tremendous blow against the terror insurgency in Iraq.
SA reader Carrick, commenting in another thread, pretty much nails what the left’s reaction will be:
Count-down commencing until some loon on DU accuses Bush of staging Zarqawi’s death to distract from Rove’s indictment, which, according to them, is still apparently imminent.
Of course, the fight isn’t over yet. I have a feeling that the Iraqis will be fighting these violent thugs for years to come, though I do believe that the intensity of the violence will begin to slacken as time goes on.
Our mission – as it has always been – is to leave Iraq’s democratic government in a position to defend itself and the citizens of Iraq from those who would see the country pushed back into violence and oppression. We don’t have to defeat the insurgency, the Iraqis do. We just need to leave them with the tools and training to do it.
Update:
Here’s video of Prime Minister Al-Maliki announcing Zarqawi’s death:
I see that the reaction from the Kossacks is “Where is Osama?” Well, was Osama in Iraq coordinating car bombings and chopping the heads off of hostages? Nope. Osama is marginalized in some cave somewhere, reduced to communicating with the masses through tape/video recordings.
It’d be nice to get him too, but he isn’t exactly capable of doing a lot right now. Tags: War On Terror
