Zarqawi was a global terrorist with global aspirations. His demise will serve to end this terrible and unnecessary war. Unfortunately the war allowed his sick putrid mind to stew and ferment with all of the necessary ingredients to become a major player on the world terrorism stage. As sick it is to contemplate, Zarqawi enjoyed what he spewed and spread.
His actions were real and tangible, not those of a man made boogieman, the results clearly rendered via lost limbs, coffins, charred holes in the ground, and missing family members. He painted his own infamous legacy with the blood of hundreds. Zarqawi's legacy lives on via the scores of terrorists he trained in Iraq, but have left that battlefield with the anticipation of spreading bloodshed even further. Stopping him from providing on the job training to any more potential terrorists with Western targets (and Middle Eastern) in mind is a damn good thing.
I believe Zarqawi was a central powerful leader and his death will lead to a weakened insurgency organizational structure.
Furthermore, I do not believe his death was faked in any way. From what it has been reported so far, I see that there was an international operation to locate and either capture or kill Zarqawi, obviously with major help from Jordan. This was an effort not driven by political agenda, but by intense security driven fears and concerns. One day the international details of the intense search for Zarqawi will make for a fascinating book, maybe in 20 years or so when it's declassified.
There is potential for American troops to be withdrawn sooner with Zarqawi out of the picture. If the insurgency is hampered, Iraq becomes more stable, and American troops can leave the hell on earth they have inhabited for the past 3 years, then yes, Zarqawi's death is a good thing. I am under no illusions that there will be any immediate withdrawal, in fact I am certain US troops will permanently be a part of Iraq. However, I am hopeful and optimistic Zarqawi's death and the simultaneous filling of key posts in the Iraqi government is a turning point.
Did Zarqawi want to die a martyr? Did an F-16 provide exactly what Zarqawi had been seeking for 10 years? Judging by the last video of him hamming it up with a machine gun in the April videotape I saw a different man. I saw someone who's job was to become a terrorist. He liked his job, he did not want to die. Zarqawi had much bigger plans in store for Iraq, the Middle East and the West.
I am glad Zarqawi is gone for the sake of the innocent Iraqi's and all of the troops serving as sitting ducks for IED bombs planted by his trainees. Will his shoes be filled? That's the million dollar question. Osama is still out there. What will he do next?
the following article discusses some of my concerns and realizations.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/world/mi... June 11, 2006
Terrorists Trained by Zarqawi Went Abroad, Jordan Says
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN and SCOTT SHANE
AMMAN, Jordan, June 10 — At the time of his death, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was still trying to transform his organization from one focused on the Iraqi insurgency into a global operation capable of striking far beyond Iraq's borders, intelligence experts here and in the West agree.
His recruiting efforts, according to high-ranking Jordanian security officials interviewed Saturday, were threefold: He sought volunteers to fight in Iraq and others to become suicide bombers there, but he also recruited about 300 who went to Iraq for terrorist training and sent them back to their home countries, where they await orders to carry out strikes.
There have been scattered reports that Iraq had become a training ground, but Jordan's assessment was the first to offer firm numbers.
Of a range of intelligence experts in the United States, Europe and Jordan interviewed about Mr. Zarqawi's reach, only the Jordanians offered such detail.
Counterterrorism officials in the United States said that they, too, had seen a flow of terrorists into Iraq from other countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, seeking training under Mr. Zarqawi and his associates.
But they said that they believed the "bleed out" of people trained and sent home to await orders was probably significantly lower than 300.
More at link...
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