Happy Dead Zarqawi Day! A phrase heard on talk radio and also on blogs like
Flopping Aces.
A Rose by Any Other Name echoes another theme from the "Wizard of Oz:" "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead." Let's remember these words from that song "[He']s gone where the goblins go, Below - below - below."
Elmer's Brother announces that "
The World Celebrates Zarqawi's Death" and links to the following
Video from Hot Air. Turn up the sound, watch, listen and ENJOY!
Some news reports suggest that perhaps Zarqawi may have still been alive when US troops arrived. Let's hope he had a good chance to see the faces of our troops before he went straight to hell.
All those who work for true peace, accompanied by freedom and justice can rejoice that this monster is no longer walking the earth. It's a great day for justice!
Statements by President Bush, Prime Minister Blair:
President Bush's statement, from
White House transcript:
THE PRESIDENT: ... Zarqawi was the operational commander of the terrorist movement in Iraq.... Osama bin Laden called this Jordanian terrorist "the prince of al Qaeda in Iraq."...
On behalf of all Americans, I congratulate our troops on this remarkable achievement.
...
Zarqawi's death is a severe blow to al Qaeda. It's a victory in the global war on terror, and it is an opportunity for Iraq's new government to turn the tide of this struggle.
Prime Minister Blair from
Number 10 transcript:
I would like to start by paying tribute to the new Iraqi government and to its Prime Minister, to the US, the UK and other allied forces, including those of Iraq, and to the intelligence services that are working so hard to allow the Iraqi people what they so clearly want and have voted for - democracy and the chance to prosper in the future, to escape both from the past legacy of Saddam and the present evil of terrorism.
...
The death of al-Zarqawi is a strike against Al Qaeda in Iraq, and therefore a strike against Al Qaeda everywhere. But we should have no illusions. We know that they will continue to kill, we know that there are many, many obstacles to overcome. But they also know that our determination to defeat them is total.
...
Their attack in Iraq has only ever been part of a wider attack that they have carried into conflicts and countries the world over, indeed there is barely a major nation in the world that has not felt the outreach of their evil. So defeat them in Iraq and we will defeat them everywhere.
Zarqawi was the third most wanted man in the global war on terror, but one's whose death is perhaps more important even than that of Osama bin Laden, or his deputy Zawahiri, whose activities have mainly been limited to sending out tapes from a cave in Pakistan.
Zarqawi personally beheaded his captives, which we witnessed in one instance with the video showing him slowly sawing off the head of a screaming Nick Berg. He intentionally directed bombings at innocent men, women and children and sought to incite and inflame sectarian violence that would cast Iraq into the abyss of civil war.
It's reported that his style, as compared to bin Laden and Zawahiri inspired young homegrown "Jihad Johnnies" like the gang in Toronto which planned, among other atrocities, to behead the Canadian Prime Minister.
His demise is without a doubt the greatest victory in the war since the fall of Baghdad and the subsequent capture of Saddam.
Iraqis Rejoice!
Knowing that another dark chapter in their sorrow-filled history is passed, Iraqis, like the old woman at right took to the streets to celebrate.Reporting from Baghdad, Tim Worstall sums up the feelings of many this way:
"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.”Jihadists Call For RevengeNot all Muslims share the democratic impulse described above. The Jihad community, represented here by
Global War praises the martyrdom of Zarqawi.
Perhaps by way of response,
Stuck on Stupid wishes that all of Zarqawi's virgins resemble White House reporter Helen Thomas.
American Reaction Hopeful, but MixedAndrew McCarthy writing at National Review Online calls Zarqawi's death:
A Crucial Moment...Simply stated, the killing of Abu Musab Zarqawi by U.S. forces in Iraq is more vital to ultimate success in the war on terror than would be snuffing out any other terrorist alive right now. Period.
...
It is a mission our brave men and women—again, the real American military—perform brilliantly, day in and day out, despite lethal danger to themselves and immense pressure to perform flawlessly. Yet, what we hear about back home is Abu Ghraib. What we hear about is Haditha—as to which the anti-war champion of the current fifteen minutes, Congressman Jack Murtha, is poised to accord our Marines a lot less due process than he and other members are extending to their radioactive colleague, Rep. William Jefferson.
But among the celebration and hope, those sour notes from Democrats who just can't bring themselves to be happy when good news comes along.
Instapundit has a great set of links including this note by
Tim Graham in "The Corner" at National Review:
It's sad that within minutes of announcing Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death, the network morning shows were already carrying criticism of the Bush administration. Not only did NBC invite Sen. Joe Biden so he could attack Bush incompetence (funny day for that!), ABC's Bill Weir reminded the audience that Zarqawi beheaded American Nicholas Berg, and then replayed Berg's left-wing dad saying at the time that he had no desire for his son's killers to be killed. Weir then reported that he spoke to Berg's father this morning, and he condemned the Zarqawi killing as part of an endless cycle of retribution.
And it seems that some elected Democrats just cannot help themselves. A report in
The Washington Times includes the following:
"This is just to cover Bush's [rear] so he doesn't have to answer" for Iraqi civilians being killed by the U.S. military and his own sagging poll numbers, said Rep. Pete Stark, California Democrat. "Iraq is still a mess -- get out."
Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Democrat, said Zarqawi was a small part of "a growing anti-American insurgency" and that it's time to get out.
"We're there for all the wrong reasons," Mr. Kucinich said.
Of course that's mild compared to some of the left wing lunacy we see elsewhere. Pajamas Media has an
excellent wrap up of the entire story, including this nugget of Dem insanity
reported by Michael Crowley in "The Plank" from The New Republic:
Wow. On the one hand there's Joe Biden. On the other, there's the guy who called into the "Diane Rehm Show" this morning and choked up with tears as he recounted, "I woke up this morning and learned my country had dropped a bomb on someone's head...." Meanwhile another caller wanted to know how many innocent civilians had been killed in the raid (not an unreasonable question, I hasten to add--but this caller, too, displayed roughly zero enthusiasm for Zarqawi's demise).
And the loony left's reaction goes downhill from there with the contributions from the
nit-wit brigade of Kos Kids. I refuse to dig too deep into that sewer of socialism and defeat, but the common thought seems to be that this is probably an effort to raise Bush's poll numbers. The ever hopeful among them expect Karl Rove to be indicted tomorrow (so much disappointment on that score thus far) and that this is just a ploy to distract from that. And they seem eager,
as one commenter implored, to "keep your eyes on the prize." The "prize" for these "Americans" is the propaganda value of the alleged Haditha massacre by Marines.
Pretty sick bunch. The "prize" is a massacre? Few of them seemed to give a hoot about the massacres that Zarqawi bragged openly about.
But let's leave bitter and hatefilled lefties to their dark worlds of defeat. The way they are acting you would think something really bad had happened, like, oh, I don't know... LOST A COUPLE OF ELECTIONS!
Celebrate this V I C T O R Y!!!- Right Truth has more wrap up of blog opinion, including our friend,
- Assorted Babble
- Palmetto Pundit, another of the South Carolina bloggers.
- Another of the SC bloggers, Michael Churchill, recently returned from Iraq has this to say.
- My favorite UK blog: A Tangled Web.
- Blogaholic Blue Crab Boulevard has three excellent posts.
- I can't leave Michelle Malkin off the list... She's been on top of the story from the start. Get some sleep Michelle.
- Anna's Clue Tank posts "Job Opening: Terrorist Leader." Reminds me of a Mike's America post last year, which included "Top Ten Job Requirements for Terrorists" (last item).
- Moonbattery has more left wing lunacy: "If there are any Americans left who believe that the death of Zarqawi is anything other than an orchestrated photo-op, then it's time to start scouting out apartments in Vancouver. " They all TALK about moving, but never do!
- Crush Liberalism takes the story up with the full resources of his Liberalism Objective World News Service (CLOWNS).
- City Troll posts the latest Cox & Forkum cartoon which paints a thousand words with one picture.
- Razor Sharp Claws sinks her claws in.
- Grizzly Mama shares the video with her readers.
- And we're all still waiting for Sparks From the Anvil to get off work and get up to speed.
