By US airforce strike.
Roundups at Instapundit and Pajamas Media. They are hosting a podcast of “Richard Fernandez of the Belmont Club interviewing Omar from Iraq the Model – direct from Baghdad.”
Comments open for celebration.
From the comments, this – On the CBC 6:00 a.m. radio news, the commentator called this an “alleged victory”.
Well, to be fair – not everyone is celebrating.
More reaction from Iraq, IraqPundit
Iraq improved today, though true peace is obviously still far off. There are already reports of more deaths at the hands of terrorists who are now killing only for the sake of murder. Zarqawi’s death is another setback for a campaign that is only about death. The Zarqawi movement has failed to achieve any of its goals. Obviously, it has failed to stop the (often painful) development of Iraqi democratic institutions. Yes, there has been much sectarian violence, more than enough to satisfy those vultures who have been circling what they hope is Iraq’s corpse. But that violence was far from what Zarqawi’s band of killers sought to foment. Indeed, the last time we heard from Zarqawi, in an audiotape released this month, he had been reduced to pleading for an all-out civil war, ordering Iraq’s Sunnis to kill Shiites. But it’s Zarqawi who is dead. Iraq lives. As the Baghdadi man said from his heart, “It has to.”
About time. Few tears will be shed over this. The Taliban, Saddam, Zarqawi, hopefully bin Laden next – the sooner Dr. Frankenstein destroys all the monsters he’s created, the better.
Have heard two commentators so far say (paraphrasing): “he wasn’t really that important…it won’t make much of a difference”
Shouldn’t the liberal left and their media friends at least wait, oh I dunno, a day, before they revise history.
Good riddance. No doubt others will spring up in his place but this is a big step forward.
June 2006, and a Good news weekI
Ann Coulter taking on the Dems in the U.S.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Killed.
Was that on 6-6-06 by any chance?
Chuck Guite in prison in Canada , waiting for the wheeels of justice to bring him his political masters as cellmates, Alfonso, Jean, Paul?
Homegrown terrorists put on the run!
Hapers’ss budget passed unanimously!
Wow!!
Hope they got him with a pork bomb. Burn in hell, scumbag.
Mitch,
How do you know that those 2 commentators weren’t conservative rightists that were showing good judgement?
Lumping all lefties together and painting them with the same brush shows logic akin to islamo-fascists.
It’s a very important step. I also accept Mark Steyn’s view that Bin Laden is dead. We haven’t seen him for several years; the voice videos are easy to fake.
And, we have difficult but emerging democracies in Afghanistan and Iraq. It’s important to sustain them, for their effect will move into the ‘holdouts’ against democracy: Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia…
And, we have, finally, Europe starting to wake up from its multicultural slumber, which is another name for ‘head-in-the-sand’ and starting to acknowledge that not all ways of life and belief are viable in a modern industrial world.
And now, in Canada, we are starting to talk about the serious flaws of multiculturalism. About time.
AND – moderate Muslims are starting to speak up about the need for reform of the Islamic religion and a rejection of the extremism. That’s also a first.
I don’t think any of these changes have reached threshold level where we can sit back and say that the ‘tide has turned’. There’s more to come.
It’s too early; we could yet have another cartoon fiasco. But, the West has to say ‘No; you can’t dictate to us’ and ‘If you want to live in the West, you can’t live within multicultural tribalism’. And, democracy has to be the ‘modus operandus’. Tribalism won’t work.
Check news website headlines this morning if you still have any doubts about the varying world views of the MSM.
A few examples… National Post and affiliates, and the Washington Times headline the killing of this TERRORIST, while CBC, NY Times, and the Washington Post avoid such a judgmental word.
The CBC seems particularly desperate – one can only use the words “militant” and “insurgent” so many times in a piece without rendering them meaningless – isn’t that one of the arguments against the dreaded T word?
Tentative first prize: An NRO reader claims to have heard the word “assassination” used to describe the event on National Public Radio this morning, the CBC-wannabe in the U.S.
Robert Fisk will now be able to, justifiably, say that Zarqawi doesn’t exit.
I heard (a BBC reporter?) down-playing the importance of this, that there will be plenty of others. The reality-challenged left just hates to se success.
You get commentators from both sides saying he was but one cog in a wheel…you hear that about Bin Laden from Bush.
It is true, Al Queda etc has prominent actors and prime movers but it is not a cult of one. This isnt like killing Bonnie and Clyde….in their case their particular crimes stopped and they were isolated actors.
Al Queda and what it represents is a larger issue. This helps, dont get me wrong…and I look forward to the creation of more martyr’s to the cause…..but one person isnt everything but one person can make a difference.
I suspect that there will now be fights amngst his followers as to who picks up the leadership. If none then it will be the beginning of the end of the insurgency.
What has been forgotten, evidently, is that they have taken out his “immediate underlings” one by one in past months. Don’t assume there are a lot left out there capable of resuming where he left off.
Good riddance and no vigrins for you, Zarqawi!
. . .
In line with what Kate wrote about not assuming there are hordes of underlings waiting to fill Al-Zarqawi’s smoldering shoes, it has to be incredibly demoralizing to know that the coalition forces are capable of hitting those assumed to be unreachable and, contrary to what the liberal media hoped, DO possess the patience and courage to bring that about. The imbicile on the verge of assuming leadership of the Iraqi terrorists surely has second thoughts, no?
This is a great day if only in that this one murderous bastard and his spiritual adviser were finally tracked down and eliminated. Kate you are right that his immediate underlings have been taken out over the last months. However, this group has proven itself in the past to be like a hydra and every head chopped off seems to be replaced with depressing regularity. Undoubtedly each of those underlings had an apprentice only too willing to take over the reins and continue to wreak more misery on the Iraqi people and those in that hell trying to help them.
Sadly, I see nothing but more of the same for some time to come. It’s going to take the Iraqi people, both Sunni and Shiite, to stand up and start turning the terrorists in or better yet stringing them up from lamp posts themselves for any real really effective change to occur.
What I find most interesting is that intel provided by Iraqi citizens was key to locating and eliminating Zarqawi.
Similarily, intel from within the Canadian Muslim community appeared to have played a role in the surveilance and capture of the Toronto 17.
Both cases bode well for the war on terrorism. The silent majority of Muslims both in the middle east and in the west need to become more vocal. Given the nature of this war an arguement could be made that they have the most to lose.
Apathy and fear must be overcome in the defense of liberty. The mad mullahs and islamofacists must be challenged at every turn by common Muslim folk.
Syncro
I think the most important thing, aside from Al-Z’s death, was the little side report noting that US forces raided a large number of suspect sites right after they got him, netting a ‘treasure trove’ of intelligence information.
Look for some other action soon. Much intel taken in this manner must be acted on right away, before the bad guys have a chance to reorganize. Other stuff can be helpful in the long haul.
Another “Small Dead Animal”…
Osama, if you are still out there, you’re next!
Daniel
What I found most interesting was the footage from the news conference in Iraq, where Iraqi government announced that Al-Zarqawi had been killed. The Iraqi journalists immediatedly began clapping loudly and excitedly, with some even cheering. Those who appeared Western (excuse the racial profiling) sat motionless, before a few slowly and half-heartedly put their own hands together.
Newsworld seems to have stopped using the terms “so-called war on terror” for today and subsituted it for the “Us-led war on terror”. Are the accepting that it is in fact a real war, the day the leader of the “insurgents” in Iraq is killed?
“MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!!!”
Thank you U.S. troops…great work!!!!
This is an unqualified victory. The only way to win this war on ISLAMIC JIHAD is to blow every leader of the movement to smithereens. Sure, there are countless junior throat-cutters out there who are drawn to this movement – but human nature states that people love winners, and slink away from losers. Nazism in Germany, for the most part, died in 1945, even though hundreds of active Nazi die-hards survived.
When we show that Islamic Jihad is a dead-end and a recipe for destruction, we will win. Only total victory through the high-profile destruction of symbolic leaders like Zarqawi will allow this to happen.
Saddam should have been shot on sight.
Correction to above: “hundreds of THOUSANDS OF active Nazi die-hards…”
Thankyou to the troops. Today an important piece of terrorism has been taken out with the garbage.
The reporters are the loser. The people that live in North America understand how important this is.
No Virgins!
Mitch, we’ll see how important he was. I suspect not very.
“”alleged victory”.”
Remember the last time the President alleged he had victory? Sure it’s good he’s dead, but it’s naive if anyone thinks it’s a serious and lasting blow to the insurgency.
As with the Soviet Union,when Stalin died there were people to take his place and the evil empire didnt die right away but no one had the blood thirst of Stalin and therefor it slowly disintigrated.So it will be with EL quida when the maniacle leaders are gone.
Rest in pieces Zman.
Now we can go ahead and forget how to pronounce this grease spots name.
This is good news, but it is also worthy to note that apologists in Canada are blaming the US for the Toronto – 17. Is this the Canada I grew up in? I don’t think so…
I think saskboy has a point (it does remain to be seen what the impact of this will be), but I expect that the use of the term “alleged victory” had much to do with a cautious approach to swallowing the next big story whole. It’s natural that the CBC would be a little “gun shy” (pardon the pun) in their reporting given the 2 recent media embarrassments (stories on Iran’s yellow badge policy and the Canadian soldiers being kidnapped). Honestly, nobody at the CBC would feel that al-Zarqawi’s demise is anything but great news. If you don’t believe that, I would say that you’re torturing yourself with delusions.
What we can hope for out of this is that there will be a scramble amongst the insurgents to seize the top spot; this would doubtless entail various coups and internal blood-letting, all of which are, ahem, devoutly to be wished for.
And, pace Kate, as numerous lieutenants have been killed or captured in the last year, one could presume that the skill and intelligence levels of the leadership must be falling, which should make it easier to thwart their efforts, capture their troops, and put a damper on their recruiting.
Not that I’ve seen it reported, but I’m assuming this guy was an Islamist…
Expect no congratulations from the Liberals, only ,spin ,spin ,spin.
Besides; if they acknowledge that the Death of Zarqawi is a good-thang then that would indicate they were pulling for America , and Lord knows we can’t have that.
Here’s hoping the US troops bury that terrorist demon facing away from Mecca. Prior to covering his open grave I hope the coalition troops have a kegger is his honour, pi$$ on his bloated corpse, cover him in hog fat and let the maggots feast on his remains.
Good riddance to this incompetent hypocrite in running shoes who couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. If he was the “brains” of the operation hopefully the job’s half over at the very least.
Most Wanted Terrorist In Iraq Dead
nealenews headline….
just above the head pic of the late Z-man (cursed be he) :eyes shut permanently.
Long Live Free Iraq. +
Terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted man in Iraq, was killed in a coalition airstrike near Baquba, jubilant U.S. and Iraqi authorities announced Thursday. Iraqi reporters cheered…Dancing in the streets…Democrats Irked Over Zarqawi’s Death…
I wonder if this will affect the war in a positive way as much as capturing Saddam did.
“Sure it’s good he’s dead, but it’s naive if anyone thinks it’s a serious and lasting blow to the insurgency.” saskboy
Wow. If I had this insight I certainly wouldn’t be posting under an alias.
Saskboy, do you not realize the CBC will pay big bucks for this kind of spin?
Over the years we kept hearing media reports that Zarquawi was the ring leader etc. etc. and that he was the man responsible for the success of the militants in Iraq. Now that Zarquawi has been eliminated the apologists are out saying it’s no big deal, someone will replace him etc. etc. This is a major coup for the allies but the fight is not over but at least we don’t have to worry about this butcher anymore.
Weasel words from AFP: “allegedly beheaded”. Who/what is “AFP”? AFP is Agence-France Presse.
AFP – Home
Claiming to be the world’s oldest established news agency, this worldwide multilingual and multimedia…
http://www.afp.com/ – 2k –
Nick Berg’s Father Weeps for Zarqawi
The father of Nick Berg is a tool of MoveOn.org and International ANSWER, and he responds in predictable moonbat fashion to the death of the man who decapitated his son: Father of Zarqawi victim draws no comfort from his death.
NEW YORK (AFP) – The father of Nick Berg, a US businessman allegedly beheaded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, said Thursday he regretted the death of his son’s murderer and warned of an upsurge in violence in Iraq.
“The death of every human being is a tragedy,” Michael Berg said in a statement.
“The death of Mr. Zarqawi means a continuation of the violence and revenge that took the life of my son,” he said. “This will mean an increase in violence and resistance to the occupation of Iraq by the US military.” via LGF
A lot of people who don’t usually celebrate someone’s death are making an exception with this one. Hey, me too!
Maybe it takes an Iraqi citizen to truly put this in perspective for Iraqis themselves:
“A Shia friend may have said it best, “Zarqawi would not listen to ballots, today there is no mistaking that he listened to the bombs.”
Charles at LGF has video of the bombing that did in the son of a pig and monkey.
Drago: Saddam’s capture did nothing because it was he was taken alive, not dead. If they were smart, and blew up that spider hole instead of crawling in after him, things would be much different today.
This will help greatly. Saddam’s eventual execution will help greatly. Destruction of every inspirational Jihadist leader is our only road to victory.
Holy jihad be damned–we got one. I am no war monger but I know certain people need to be “addressed”, and this was one bad dude. I feel for the people of Iraq and all those who live daily with violence all around them. Perhaps with his death will bring them some hope that this ungodly war will end before their lifetime is up.
I noted that a woman and her child were also killed in the blast. How long before we here Libbers and Dippers bemoan the slaughter of innocents?
Nancy Wilson is interviewing some expert on the mid-east, and they are trying their best to downplay this as a major event. Wish all cbc talking heads would quit smiling when they talk about the so called war. My question is. There was a 25million reward for this guys capture. It appears he was turned in with help from Iraqis. Who will get the money, and lets hope it isn’t a fundraising event to give to OBL. This is a major win for the US troops and Iraqi troops. It might send a message to other wannabe terrorists in Canada that their hero is dead and friends are in jail. Will the people of TO take the plot a little more serious when they find out that food courts, and malls were targeted. The cbc is having a hard time avoiding the word Terrorist. I also think OBL has been dead for many years. Too bad clinton didn’t get him when he was offered him by the PM of Pakistan years ago. How that clown maintains his popularity amazes me. Now we have gore out there trying to scare us. When the world is still here in 10 years people will wake up to the fool he is. O/T. Poor layton lost his chance to get an NDP budget this time. Talk about being asleep at the switch. How many libs were in the House when this passed. How will the media spin this next election. Loved it when the finance minister thanked the House for passing his budget without debate, unanimously.
“A lot of folks at CBC will be glad he’s dead.”
BWAHAHAHAHA
Surely you jest!
This will be like a kick in the teethe for that seething mass of hard-left slime infesting the place. There’s nothing more pleasing to the CBC hordes than seeing BushHitler/Harper smacked around using any means possible. (nudge-nudge, wink-wink)
Kate,
What wind blew all the cockroaches into the commet section the last week?
I think it’s time for a major fumigation.
A man died today, along with many innocent civilians. Yes, he was an extremely bad person, and (likely…so we are told) masterminded and/or was involved in many killings.
Is this really a “victory”? Is this “justice”, as the american president loves to tout in every single one of his speeches?
From the Daily KOS news headlines: “…any hopes the Jordanian-born terror leader’s death would help stem the violence in Iraq were dimmed hours later when a car bomb exploded in a Baghdad market, killing 19 and wounding 65.”
These were likely civilians, going about their daily routines or business. There have already been two suicide bombings since al-Zarqawi died. What will be the end result of this attack by the U.S.? More attacks by the individuals involved in terrorist groups? More suicide bombings?? It is obvious to me that we cannot continue down this path…”fighting terror” with terror!! Why give these individuals, most of them idealistic young people, a martyr??!
One Saskatchewan radio announcer stated this morning that this can only be viewed as a victory” and is one of the best things to happen lately (paraphrased). Sir, today’s news is NOT viewed as a very good thing by everyone, likely including family members of people killed today in one of two (already) suicide bombings. There will only be more idealistic young people to replace Mr. al-Zarqawi, who is now another one of their idols.
Prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, how many suicide bombers were there? How many are there now? I don’t believe this has been a victory by any stretch of the imagination. This is not “justice”.
– Justice is “FAIR treatment and due reward in accordance with HONOUR, standards, or law”.
– Victory “refers especially to the FINAL defeat of an enemy or opponent” (taken from http://www.dictionary.com).
I don’t believe that this has been a final defeat, and “justice” has not been served.
(Just the opinion of a very-first-time blogger…)
V for Victory: … –
V for Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
V for Sir Winston Churchill.
V for Free Iraq. … –
Iraqis Celebrate Zarqawi’s Death
Sweetness & Light | June 8, 2006 | N/A
Posted on 06/08/2006 8:40:35 AM PDT by Sam Hill
Our one party media has done such a good job convincing us of the popularity of the “Iraqi insurgency” that I have to admit to being a little surprised to see Iraqis celebrating the death of al-Zarqawi:
Pics here:
Iraqis celebrate after hearing that Al-Qaeda militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a joint US-Iraqi raid on the outskirts of the restive city of Baquba. US and Iraqi officials hailed Zarqawi’s demise as a major blow again
Iraqi police officers and an elderly woman fire guns in the air to celebrate the news that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida’s leader in Iraq who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings and kidnappings, has been killed in an air raid north of Baghdad, in the Sadr City area of Baghdad, Iraq Thursday, June 8, 2006. One of the police officers gave his pistol to the elderly woman, whom he knew, so that she could join in the celebrations by firing in the air with them.
Of course it makes all the sense in the world.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/browse
Nick Berg’s father (Nick Berg, the beheaded journalist) is saying that the death of Al-Zarqawi will only lead to more deaths…interestingly, though, and unsaid, NOT having him die would lead to more deaths, too. Perspective is a funny thing, isn’t it.
The real question would be…will there be more or less killings as a result of Al-Zarqawi’s death and WHO will be killed? Though I agree that this is not a “final” victory and it may not necessarily be “justice”, I believe that it was a necessary battle won in the war. Any death is unfortunate (in the grandest scheme of things), but I believe that the world is better off now that he’s dead than if he were alive.
Let’s not REJOICE in his death, but we should be allowed some sense of minor temporary “relief” (not quite the right word, but good enough).
His death was a step forward, and the indignant howls from the Kos crowd are the icing on the cake.
Geez Kate, I almost hurled my breakfast at the dailykos.
That link needs a warning.
The following is a guide to the Dems new “platform” from a post on dailykos./s
“Zarqawi was quite probably a psy ops job in the first place, so what does that make his “death”?
Keep your eyes on the prize:
Gay marriage?
Haditha.
Flag burning?
Haditha!
Brangelina?
HADITHA!
Zarqawi?
HADITHA!!!”