From the Washington Times:
BAGHDAD -- Abu Musab Zarqawi, al Qaeda's leader in Iraq who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings and kidnappings, has been killed in an air strike, U.S. and Iraqi officials said today, adding that his identity was confirmed by fingerprints and a look at his face. It was a major victory in the U.S.-led war in Iraq and the broader war on terror.This is a great day and a huge success for the Allied forces.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Zarqawi was killed along with seven aides yesterday evening in a remote area 30 miles northeast of Baghdad in the volatile province of Diyala, just east of the provincial capital of Baqouba, Mr. al-Maliki said.
Loud applause broke out as Mr. al-Maliki, flanked by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and U.S. Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told reporters at a news conference that "Zarqawi was eliminated."
In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Zarqawi's death "was very good news because a blow against al Qaeda in Iraq was a blow against al Qaeda everywhere."
National Review has President Bush's reaction.
Zarqawi was the operational commander of the terrorist movement in Iraq. He led a campaign of car bombings, assassinations and suicide attacks that has taken the lives of many American forces and thousands of innocent Iraqis. Osama bin Laden called this Jordanian terrorist "the prince of al Qaeda in Iraq." He called on the terrorists around the world to listen to him and obey him. Zarqawi personally beheaded American hostages and other civilians in Iraq. He masterminded the destruction of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad. He was responsible for the assassination of an American diplomat in Jordan, and the bombing of a hotel in Amman.Over at PajamasMedia they have a nice roundup of blogger reactions. All seem to agree that this is a great success and a huge blow not just to the insurrgency but to Al-Qaeda abroad as well.
Through his every action, he sought to defeat America and our coalition partners, and turn Iraq into a safe haven from which al Qaeda could wage its war on free nations. To achieve these ends, he worked to divide Iraqis and incite civil war. And only last week he released an audio tape attacking Iraq's elected leaders, and denouncing those advocating the end of sectarianism.
Now Zarqawi has met his end, and this violent man will never murder again. Iraqis can be justly proud of their new government and its early steps to improve their security. And Americans can be enormously proud of the men and women of our armed forces, who worked tirelessly with their Iraqi counterparts to track down this brutal terrorist and put him out of business.
This comes at a time when the American people could use some good news from the war front. It will be good for morale on the home front and will hopefully bolster the support of our troops overseas.
But be sure and watch the media coverage look for "This is a great success, but where is Osama?" or "This doesn't mean we have won". If it makes them start needing to slam the war effort again then we can be sure it is a good sign.
