Zarqawi the
inhuman monster is dead. May Iraq have peace.
Still, there appears to be an influx of concern trolls new users posting diaries trying to paint Daily Kos and it's readers as ignorant of the consequences of Zarqawi's death to the point of bemoaning the political gain this gives the President. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I'll quote President Bush on the death of Zarqawi:
"Zarqawi is dead, but the difficult and necessary mission in Iraq continues," Mr. Bush said, speaking somberly and betraying no elation. "We can expect the terrorists and insurgents to carry on without him. We can expect the sectarian violence to continue."
The insurgents and terrorists carry on without Zarqawi. The violence continues for Iraqis and Americans. That's President Bush's judgement, not mine. People of all political stripes are asking themselves today,
"What does the death of Zarqawi mean for our efforts in Iraq?" It's legitimate to debate the death of Abu Musab Zarqawi in the context of broader events in Iraq. It's legitimate to expect 'sectarian violence to continue' as President Bush said this morning. More on the flip...
Placing events in context is a sign of serious thinking. It's relevant when asking
"What does the death of Zarqawi mean for our efforts in Iraq?" to place the horrors attributed to
Zarqawi in the context of Iraqi sectarian violence, regional politics, and the historical record. Most people first heard the name Abu Mussab Zarqawi in Colin Powell's presentation at the UN in February 2003.
CNN, 2/5/03:
Speaking to the U.N. Security Council, Powell offered the most detailed explanation yet of possible links between Baghdad and associates of Osama bin Laden. At its center, he said, is Abu Mussab Zarqawi, a bin Laden associate who has traveled in Iraq.
Iraqi officials have steadfastly denied that they have any links to al Qaeda, insisting such charges are part of a U.S. disinformation effort to justify a military attack.
. . .
"Ambition and hatred are enough to bring Iraq and al Qaeda together," Powell said.
The bipartisan 9/11 Commission found no evidence of a "collaborative operational relationship" between the Al-Qaeda and Iraq or an Iraqi role in attacking the United States.
US military intelligence was tracking him far earlier. According to multiple reports the US failed to attack Zarqawi in late 2002 and early 2003. From MSNBC, 3/2/04:
In January 2003, the [Zarqawi] threat turned real. Police in London arrested six terror suspects and discovered a ricin lab connected to the camp in Iraq. The Pentagon drew up still another attack plan, and for the third time, the National Security Council killed it. Military officials insist their case for attacking Zarqawi's operation was airtight, but the administration feared destroying the terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam.
More recent reports have the US leading a public relations effort to increase Zarqawi's profile within Iraq as a figure all Iraqis could unite to oppose. From the Washington Post, 4/10/06:
Some senior intelligence officers believe Zarqawi's role may have been overemphasized by the propaganda campaign, which has included leaflets, radio and television broadcasts, Internet postings and at least one leak to an American journalist. Although Zarqawi and other foreign insurgents in Iraq have conducted deadly bombing attacks, they remain "a very small part of the actual numbers," Col. Derek Harvey, who served as a military intelligence officer in Iraq and then was one of the top officers handling Iraq intelligence issues on the staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told an Army meeting at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., last summer.
A monster is dead. People of all political stripes (including the President) are trying to figure out what effect it will have on the future in Iraq and beyond. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi killed Americans by the score and Iraqis by the thousand and Zarqawi's killing days have thankfully ended. I can't speak for anyone other than myself. I'm glad that Zarqawi, a killer of innocents, enemy of free people everywhere, has been destroyed.
What comes next?