Abu Musab Al-zarqawi Killed In Iraq

[red states rule]

Fox News is reporting Zarqawi has ben killed in Iraq. If this is true, this is very good news for the US War on Terror and our troops
The little bastard has assumed room temp and is no longer a threat
The ant war peace niks must be very depressed over this good news

 

[Redhots]

I'm watching Gen. Casey give his speach right now. It seems they're sure they've killed him.

Anywho... it really means shit to me when this news is put side by side with the fact that OBL is still running around.

 

[Semper Fi]

I just saw this on NBC, they interrupted my Jay Leno for it.

Terror leader al-Zarqawi dead, Iraqi officials say

From Debra Krajnak
CNN
Thursday, June 8, 2006; Posted: 3:34 a.m. EDT (07:34 GMT)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted insurgent in Iraq, is dead, according to an aide to Iraq's prime minister.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was expected to make a public announcement of the death, the details of which are unclear.

Two Pentagon officials told CNN that the government is awaiting al-Maliki's announcement in Baghdad before commenting on the report officially.

One official says the Pentagon is not sure of how the death was confirmed and that there might need to be "additional forensics" done before they can be fully confident the terrorist leader is dead.

Officials could provide no further details at this time.

Terror mastermind al-Zarqawi had eluded U.S. and Iraqi authorities for years, often taunting them with recorded messages and videotapes, including one in which he is believed to behead an American hostage.

He and his followers had taken responsibility for or been accused of perpetrating or aiding suicide bombings, car bombings, beheadings and other acts of brutality.

Soon after Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled, the 39-year-old al-Zarqawi quickly became the face of the insurgency.

Militant Islamic Web sites instantaneously posted his messages, bringing terrorism to cyberspace and reinforcing his support among Islamists.

In one videotaped posting, al-Zarqawi was suspected of being the masked man who beheads U.S. hostage Nicholas Berg, as he lets out piercing screams.

"For the mothers and wives of American soldiers, we tell you that we offered the U.S. administration to exchange this hostage for some of the detainees in Abu Ghraib (prison), and they refused," the voice said. "Coffins will be arriving to you one after the other, slaughtered just like this."

In October 2004, al-Zarqawi pledged his allegiance to al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, and renamed his group al Qaeda in Iraq.

With the insurgency spreading, the United States grew more determined to catch or kill the Jordanian-born militant, and increased his bounty to $25 million -- equal to bin Laden's.

"This guy, Zarqawi, has sworn his allegiance to bin Laden. He's declared his intentions," President Bush once said. "This is an enemy with no conscience and they cannot be appeased."

Al-Zarqawi gained recognition in February 2003 when then-Secretary of State Colin Powell appeared before the U.N. Security Council to make his case for the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Iraq, he said, was harboring al-Zarqawi's terrorist network, a "collaborator of Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda lieutenants."

Two years later, a man thought to be al-Zarqawi said his group had "declared a bitter war against democracy and all those who seek to enact it," and declared all Iraqi candidates and voters enemies of Islam.

Al-Zarqawi fled to Iraq after the U.S.-led attack in Afghanistan and soon made a name for himself as one of the insurgent leaders. In one attack, his network was blamed for the 2003 suicide bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad that killed Sergio Vieira de Mello, the U.N. envoy to Iraq, and 21 other people.

There was an upsurge in car bombings in Iraq in late April 2005, after the transitional national assembly chose a new Cabinet. It was the worst spike of attacks since the U.S.-led push against militants in Falluja the previous fall.

Counterterrorism and intelligence officials believe Al-Zarqawi has forged links with terrorist groups in many other countries, including his native Jordan, where he admitted to the Nov. 11, 2005, triple hotel bombings in Amman that killed 60 people and injured scores, mostly Jordanians.

Jordanian courts have convicted and sentenced al-Zarqawi in absentia.

In December 2005, he was sentenced to death by hanging for a failed suicide bombing at the al-Karama border crossing between Jordan and Iraq. In March, he received 15 years in prison for a plot to attack the Jordanian Embassy in Iraq.

A court handed him a death sentence for the October 2002 assassination of Laurence Foley, with the U.S. Agency for International Development, and convicted him in a December 1999 "millennium" plot against Jordanian hotels.

Al-Zarqawi was born in Zarqa, Jordan, as Ahmed al-Khalayleh. He created his nom de guerre from the name of his hometown, one of the poorest communities in Jordan that is home to Palestinian refugees and Bedouins.

Al-Zarqawi's father, a Palestinian, fought the Israelis in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War that established the state of Israel. The son didn't excel academically, and by his late teens had developed a reputation as a petty thug.

In 1989, he joined the mujahedeen, the loosely aligned, U.S.-backed opposition groups fighting to oust the Soviet army from Afghanistan.

There, al-Zarqawi met a spiritual mentor, Abu Muhammad al Maqdisi, a Kuwaiti-born jihadist leader intent on overthrowing secular Arab governments. The two reunited in 1992 in Jordan, where Al-Zarqawi was jailed for having explosives and plotting against the Jordanian kingdom.

When he was released in 1999, he was described as a committed radical.

While his wife and four children remained in Zarqa, he returned to western Afghanistan, where he oversaw a terrorist training camp in Herat, became an authority on chemical and biological weapons and met bin Laden. The camp was destroyed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and al-Zarqawi fled west, to Iraq.

Al-Zarqawi has proved to be slippery prey.

# In November 2004, U.S.-led troops raided the insurgent stronghold of Falluja, only to find that many insurgent leaders, perhaps even al-Zarqawi, had bolted before the attacks.

# In February 2005, U.S. troops received a tip that al-Zarqawi might be heading to a meeting in Ramadi, west of Falluja. Although his vehicle was under surveillance by a Predator spy plane, and checkpoints were set up, the vehicle eluded them, and the militant escaped.

# In April 2005, U.S. troops raided a hospital in Ramadi in the hope of capturing al-Zarqawi -- but struck out. "He was taken to a hospital. When we got the news, we rushed there, but he was out of there," said Iraqi Lt. Gen. Nasser Abadi months later.

# In December 2005, Hussain Kamal, Iraq's deputy minister of interior, admitted that Iraqi security forces had al-Zarqawi in custody in 2004, but released him because they didn't know who he was.

Although al-Zarqawi touted many successes in the insurgency he heads, a senior U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad contended in December 2005 that the militant was "struggling."

"He's struggling because we've taken away a lot of his leadership. He's struggling because we've taken away a lot of his munitions. He's struggling because we've denied him safe havens across Iraq. He's struggling because we've taken away his freedom of movement," said Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch.

"But he's still out there with the same stated objective."

 

[red states rule]

The US military has carried out the sentence.

 

[manu1959]

I'm watching Gen. Casey give his speach right now. It seems they're sure they've killed him.

Anywho... it really means shit to me when this news is put side by side with the fact that OBL is still running around.

well i guess that says it all

 

[LuvRPgrl]

I'm watching Gen. Casey give his speach right now. It seems they're sure they've killed him.

Anywho... it really means shit to me when this news is put side by side with the fact that OBL is still running around.

OBL, bid deal, just a figure head anymore. He cant do much cuz he is so sought after.

GLORY BE ! GLORY BE ! THEY KILLED HIM< Yahoooooooooooooooo !!!!!!!!!

Everyone should fly their flags tomorrow to celebrate yet another victory of freedom loving Americans over tyranny and evil.

 

[red states rule]

OBL, bid deal, just a figure head anymore. He cant do much cuz he is so sought after.

GLORY BE ! GLORY BE ! THEY KILLED HIM< Yahoooooooooooooooo !!!!!!!!!

Everyone should fly their flags tomorrow to celebrate yet another victory of freedom loving Americans over tyranny and evil.

Wuill the Jersey Girls, Cindy "Crackpot" Sheehan, and the peace niks send flowers to the funeral?

Who will be the first Bush hater to lash out at the troops because they denied him a fiar trial?

 

[Adam's Apple]

We can all stand this bit of good news! Getting killed in an air strike was too good for this son of Satan. Too bad he didn't get his head cut off while he was alive, like he was so fond of doing to others.

 

[red states rule]

We can all stand this bit of good news! Getting killed in an air strike was too good for this son of Satan. Too bad he didn't get his head cut off while he was alive, like he was so fond of doing to others.

Did you know Zarqawi had dandruff? They found his head and shoulders

 

[Annie]

I was so glad to see the headline this morning!

 

[red states rule]

I was so glad to see the headline this morning!

Another win for the good guys

Lets here the Bush haters say now we are NOT winning the war on terror and the war in Iraq

 

[Annie]

I'm watching Gen. Casey give his speach right now. It seems they're sure they've killed him.

Anywho... it really means shit to me when this news is put side by side with the fact that OBL is still running around.

It would be just if a Shia got him. I believe it was just last week that he called for the Sunnis to slaughter them.

 

[Annie]

Looks like we took him out, no doubt based on tips from Iraqis:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/iraq_al_...NtX6GMA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi killed in air raid

By PATRICK QUINN, Associated Press Writer 34 minutes ago

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida'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 Thursday, 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.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said al-Zarqawi was killed along with seven aides Wednesday evening in a remote area 30 miles northeast of Baghdad in the volatile province of Diyala, just east of the provincial capital of Baqouba, al-Maliki said.

Loud applause broke out as 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 "al-Zarqawi was eliminated."

In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said al-Zarqawi's death "was very good news because a blow against al-Qaida in Iraq was a blow against al-Qaida everywhere."

The announcement came six days after the Jordanian-born terror leader issued an audiotape on the Internet, railing against Shiites in Iraq and saying militias were raping women and killing Sunnis and the community must fight back.

Al-Maliki said the air strike was the result of intelligence reports provided to Iraqi security forces by residents in the area, and U.S. forces acted on the information.

A Jordanian official said that Jordan also provided the U.S. military with information that helped in tracking al-Zarqawi down. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was addressing intelligence issues, would not elaborate, but Jordan is known to have intelligence agents operating in Iraq to hunt down Islamic militants.

Some of the information came from Jordan's sources inside Iraq and led the U.S. military to the area of Baqouba, the official said.

Baqouba has in recent weeks seen a spike in sectarian violence, including the discovery of 17 severed heads in fruit boxes. It was also near the site of a sectarian atrocity last week in which masked gunmen killed 21 Shiites, including a dozen students, after separating out four Sunni Arabs.

"Those who disrupt the course of life, like al-Zarqawi, will have a tragic end," al-Maliki said. He also warned those who would follow the militant's lead that "whenever there is a new al-Zarqawi, we will kill him."

"This is a message for all those who embrace violence, killing and destruction to stop and to (retreat) before it's too late," he said. "It is an open battle with all those who incite sectarianism."

Khalilzad added that "the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is a huge success for Iraq and the international war on terror." He also gave a thumbs up and said it was a good day for America.

Casey said the hunt for al-Zarqawi began in the area two weeks ago, and al-Zarqawi's body was identified by fingerprints and facial recognition.

Al-Zarqawi, who is believed to have personally beheaded at least two American hostages, became Iraq's most wanted militant — as notorious as Osama bin Laden, to whom he swore allegiance in 2004. The United States put a $25 million bounty on al-Zarqawi, the same as bin Laden.

U.S. forces in Iraq said the killing was a major victory.

"We killed him, and it's always great when you can remove someone that has caused this much harm," said Maj. Frank Garcia, public affairs officer for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. "We're one step closer to providing stability to the region."

Iraqis had mixed reactions.

Thamir Abdulhussein, a college student in Baghdad, said he hopes the killing of al-Zarqawi will promote reconciliation between Iraq's fractured ethnic and sectarian groups.

"If it's true al-Zarqawi was killed, that will be a big happiness for all the Iraqis," he said. "He was behind all the killings of Sunni and Shiites. Iraqis should now move toward reconciliation. They should stop the violence."

Amir Muhammed Ali, a 45-year-old stock broker in Baghdad, was skeptical that al-Zarqawi's death would end the unrelenting violence in the country, saying he was a foreigner but the Iraqi resistance to U.S.-led forces would likely continue.

"He didn't represent the resistance, someone will replace him and the operations will go on," he said.

In the past year, he moved his campaign beyond Iraq's borders, claiming to have carried out a Nov. 9, 2005, triple suicide bombing against hotels in Amman, Jordan, that killed 60 people, as well as other attacks in Jordan and even a rocket attack from Lebanon into northern Israel.

U.S. forces and their allies came close to capturing al-Zarqawi several times since his campaign began in mid-2003.

His closest brush may have come in late 2004. Deputy Interior Ministry Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal said Iraqi security forces caught al-Zarqawi near the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah but then released him because they didn't realize who he was.

In May 2005, Web statements by his group said al-Zarqawi had been wounded in fighting with Americans and was being treated in a hospital abroad — raising speculation over a successor among his lieutenants. But days later, a statement said al-Zarqawi was fine and had returned to Iraq. There was never any independent confirmation of the reports of his wounding.

U.S. forces believe they just missed capturing al-Zarqawi in a Feb. 20, 2005 raid in which troops closed in on his vehicle west of Baghdad near the Euphrates River. His driver and another associate were captured and al-Zarqawi's computer was seized along with pistols and ammunition.

U.S. troops twice launched massive invasions of Fallujah, the stronghold used by al-Qaida in Iraq fighters and other insurgents west of Baghdad. An April 2004 offensive left the city still in insurgent hands, but the October 2004 assault wrested it from them. However, al-Zarqawi — if he was in the city — escaped.

 

[red states rule]

I bet Michael Moore will do a film saying it was a clone made by the Bush Administration, and the real Zarqawi is alive and well in Iran

 

[CSM]

Hard to tell what the impact of this is going to be but it sure is NOT bad news. I have no doubt that some of the propaganda will portray him as martyr and hero....

 

[Annie]

Note this was written yesterday, around this time:

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2006/06/zarqawi-says-hizbullah-is-cover-for.html

Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Zarqawi Says Hizbullah Is a Cover for Israel

Of course! How could we be so blind?

By the sound of his latest bizarre internet recording, it appears that Al Zarqawi has lost his head. Maybe all of that savage killing has finally done this butcher in.

The following is a Iraqi American Haider Ajina's translation of a headline and article from the Iraqi newspaper Iraq Shabab on June 6th, 2006.

"Zarqawi attacks Hizbullah and entices sectarianism in Iraq"

An audio recording claiming to be Zarqawi (head of Al Qaeda in Iraq) calls on Sunni Muslims to refute any reconciliation with Shiite Muslims. In this recording (transmitted on the internet on sights used by Iraqi terrorist groups) the speaker (appears to be Zarqawi) says, "Oh you Sunnis wake up and deflect the poisons which bite you and numb you by torture since the occupation of Iraq till today. Stop calling for non-sectarianism and national unity."

The speaker on the tape attacked the Shiite reference Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, who was described as "leader of sinners & heretics". Zarqawi believes there is a conspiracy between Iranians and the USA to open the Iranian-Iraqi border to change the demographics of Iraq.

In a different part of the tape (which was a series of speeches and ramblings called "Have you heard the opposition talk?") Zarqawi attacked Hizbullah (the Iranian backed Shiite Lebanese group) as being a cover for Israel. (My thoughts, this man is off his rocker)

Haider Ajina comments:

These are the continuous ramblings by Zarqawi. He is trying to entice Muslim against Muslim, and seeking to divide Iraqis. These ramblings are a sign of his lack of success and loss of support amongst the Iraqis. The best evidence of that is the Tribal meeting in Fallujah on June 5th. Out of this tribal meeting came a joint statement declaring the tribes of the Fallujah area are banded together and are pooling their resources to kick out the terrorists of the town and province. Most of these tribes are Sunni. This meeting shows the endorsement and support of these tribes of the new government in Iraq, and of their support for security operations.

Further the militant organization, Islamic Caliphet Army, Al-Mujahedien Place, Twentieth revolution corps, Islamic Army (Sunni militant groups) declared a non-cooperation compact with Al Qaeda or Zarqawi. This is evidence that the foundation of support for Zarqawi in Iraq is crumbling.

Our effort, the Iraqis efforts and the fact that Iraqis are taking over more and more responsibility for cities and provinces is causing this decline in support. Months of training are paying dividends and a multi year elected Iraqi government is beginning to flex its power against terrorist in Iraq. This is happening while the rule of law is respected. This is evident by the release of over 2000 arrested suspects who have not been charged just yesterday. Now, what other countries in the region treat arrested suspects this way?

Regards,
Haider Ajina
McKinleyville CA

Aljazeera has this strange accusation from Zarqawi's tape:

He suggested that Shia themselves were behind the February bombing of a Shia shrine and other attacks which touched off a wave of sectarian killings and revenge attacks.

"The attacks were a charade ... that revealed their (Shia) hatred of the Sunnis," the speaker said.

The Strategy Page offers this on Zarqawi today:

Given that Zarqawi has become a loose cannon and that his actions are handicapping Al Qaeda's efforts, it seems reasonable to expect that an accident may befall him at some point in the near future. If handled right it can be made to look like he went out in a blaze of glory fighting American troops or that he was foully murdered. Either way, al Qaeda gets rid of a problem and gains another "martyr."

Meanwhile in Jordan, Al Zarqawi's cousin was charged with "Terrorism" today along with 11 others for plotting against American and Israeli targets.

Update: (1020 PM CST) Funny, as Michel Totten reports... It's mutual, Hezbollah hates Zarqawi!
(via Glenn Reynolds)

"Is it just me, or is the Middle East a lot like 7th Grade with RPGs?"

posted by Gateway Pundit at 6/07/2006 05:32:00 AM

 

[Annie]

Austin Bay. Lots of links:


http://austinbay.net/blog/?p=1156

6/8/2006
Zarqawi “terminated” in air raid/live blogging President’s Report
— site admin @ 5:30 am

The news is on tv– Zarqawi was killed in an air raid on a farm house. The Iraqi government said Zarqawi was “terminated.” Fingerprints have confirmed his death; however, DNA analysis is now underway.

This is a major political victory for the Iraqis– not necessarily a military victory. IEDs will continue to explode.But the War on Terror is a war of ideological and political attrition. This is not a turning point– in wars of abrasion there are few turning points, only long trends. The trends in Iraq are amazing news– an emerging democracy in the heart of the politically dysfunctional Arab Muslim Middle East. This is a psychological boost for the Iraqis and the US–and a definite boost for the new Iraqi government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The new Iraqi government is building a political process. Removing Zarqawi forwards that process. Maliki has also promised the Iraqi people he will improve the internal security situation. Maliki can use Zarqawi’s death to help heal sectarian (Sunni-Shia) rifts in Iraq.



Check out this prescient post that appeared ons StrategyPage this week (a post written by Jim Dunnigan).

THE WAY THINGS REALLY WORK: Zarqawi Scheduled for Martyrdom

June 7, 2006: The relationship between terrorist leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi and and the mainline al Qaeda leadership continues to deteriorate. Zarqawi’s recent audio messages have not only attacked the U.S. and the Shia-dominated government in Iraq, but also Iran. He’s even claiming that the U.S., Iran, and Shia in general, are in cahoots to destroy Islam. He has also called for continued attacks against Shia.

Except for his verbal attacks on the U.S. and the Iraqi government, he is almost totally distanced himself from the central leadership. Other al Qaeda leaders have been trying to down play anti-Iranian and anti-Shia rhetoric, and have been strongly discouraging attacks on civilians.

Given that Zarqawi has become a loose cannon and that his actions are handicapping Al Qaeda’s efforts, it seems reasonable to expect that an accident may befall him at some point in the near future. If handled right it can be made to look like he went out in a blaze of glory fighting American troops or that he was foully murdered. Either way, al Qaeda gets rid of a problem and gains another “martyr.”​

What led to Zarqawi’s aleination? Killing Muslims in the middle of the Middle East. His actions “attrited” Al Qaeda’s appeal. This is one strategic reason we had to have a battlefield in the “middle of the Middle East.”

Liveblogging the president:

6:30 AM CDT: President Bush is now on tv. Special Forces directed the raid at 6:15 Baghdad time. “The prince” of terror in Iraq is now dead. Bush is saying Zarqawi sought to divide Iraqis and incite civil wa– sectarian civil war. “Iraqis can be justly proud of their new government and its early steps to improve their security.” Bush says killing Zarqawi is a victory in the War on Terror. Bush says he and Iraqi PM Maliki have talked and that Iraq now has a new minister of defense and minister of interior. (Maliki has completed his cabinet.) (End of live report).

Zarqawi’s death is good news. Special ops was looking for him in 2004 when I served in Iraq. A friend of mine in Special Forces told me finding Zarqawi was a tough mission, but “eventually we’ll get him.” They certainly did.

UPDATE: From The Christian Science Monitor. Fox is reporting thatr Al Jazeera is showing the video with Zarqawi failing to fire a US weapon (in which he looks like a fool).

 

[Rico]

This is indeed good news. Wish I could piss on his grave. Wonder how the Bush hating left will try to twist this one. Hopefully this is the domino that starts the fall of the "insurgency" (actually it is, and has been for a while, a civil war by the Sunnis to try to retain the power their minority group had over Iraq under Saddam). Heh I'm watching video of the bombing at the live press conference. Good job Air Force!!! They dropped two 500 lb. bombs on his ass.

 

[theHawk]

WOW.

Wooowhooo AIR FORCE comes through again!
AIR POWER!!!

 

[jasendorf]

I'm going to have to agree with President Bush on what Zarqawi's death really means to the war:

"Zarqawi is dead, but the difficult and necessary mission in Iraq continues," Mr. Bush said. "We can expect the terrorists and insurgents to carry on without him. We can expect the sectarian violence to continue."

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/middle_east/jan-june06/zarqawi_06-08.html

This is great that he's gone... but it isn't quite time to break out the punch bowl. Raising some false expectations that troops can start coming home now will only damage an already waning public support.