Zarqawi

Sat down to read the news (online, of course) with my morning cup of (wonderful Pannikin) coffee this morning, and the first thing I read was:

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is dead! Confirmed!

Oh, man, that’s a nice way to wake up. Is there a man on this earth who more deserved to be killed? I think not…

In addition to removing an evil and dangerous player from the world’s stage, this event also has tremendous symbolic value. For the Iraqis, it’s a concrete, tangible, and much-needed victory in the bitter war they’re fighting. For all the supporters of al Qaeda, worldwide, it’s an equally concrete and tangible defeat that can’t possibly be spun as anything else. One can also hope that al Zarqawi’s removal represents a significant and irreplaceable loss to al Qaeda’s leadership; only time will tell on that one.

This is one of those moments when I almost wish I was a religious man. I’d like to believe — better, to know — that al Zarqawi was roasting on a spit somewhere for all eternity. It galls me to know that his radical Muslim supporters believe that he’s now enjoying his 72 virgins and a beer. But in the end, I’ll settle (quite happily) for just taking great satisfaction in knowing that SOB is dead.

Congratulations to all of those men and women (from the news, I understand that contributions came from Americans, Iraqis, and Jordanians) whose service made al Zarqawi’s death today possible.

Almost lost in the glare of the al Zarqawi news is that Iraqis have another reason to celebrate today: their prime minister has finally announced agreement on the final cabinet ministers, including the all-important defense minister. The Iraqis finally have a democratic government all their own. That infant democracy now has a team in place that can make a go at self-government. We Americans have a lot riding on their success — not just the obvious issue of Iraqis taking over their own defense, but also the strategic value of a successful representative democracy in the Arab Middle East. We need the new Iraqi government to be capable, honest, and effective just as much as the Iraqis themselves need it…