al-Zarqawi's Death Will Have Little Effect

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, reputed leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, has been killed. An American F-16 dropped two 500 lb. bombs on the house in which al-Zarqawi was having a meeting with 6 others. The terrorist leader was identified by fingerprints, scars, and facial recognition. DNA evidence is currently being shipped to the FBI lab in the United States for further verification. Of course, Georgie declared this to be a "significant victory in the war against terror".

I would love for this to really be significant in the fight against terrorism, but I believe it'll have very little effect on the war [either in Iraq or against terrorists]. The only real value this death will have is political/psychological. Georgie can boast and America can feel good because this bad guy is out-of-commission.

Why will this not have a huge effect on the war in Iraq? First, you have to realize that there are two kinds of rebels - those who follow a leader, and those who follow an idea. Those who follow a leader form a kind of cult of personality. If the leader is killed, the movement is also killed. An example of this is Charles Taylor in Liberia. Once he left, his supporters just melted away. But al-Qaida is not that type of movement. Whether we agree with them or not, we must realize that al-Qaida is built on a religious idea. They are all true-believers. It would not matter how many leaders we kill, the organization will go on. The only way to deal with this type of group is either to negotiate or to destroy the entire group. Our government seems to be too incompetent to do either.

Don't get me wrong, al-Zarqawi was a pitiful excuse for a human and I'm personally glad the military got him. Just don't expect this to put us on the road to victory in Iraq.

In other Iraqi news, CNN has reported that 1,398 people were killed in Baghdad in May of this year. Around 400 could not be identified and will be buried by the government. In the first five months of 2006, 6,025 people were killed in Baghdad [an average of 1200 a month]. If this continues, last year's record total of 10,150 deaths will be easily surpassed. Remember, these figures count only those who died in Baghdad. Death's in other parts of the country are not included. I'm glad they're not in a civil war - that could be dangerous!

As if the Haditha massacre wasn't enough, it now looks like marines may have committed murder in Hamdaniya. They supposedly shot a man in his home and then drug him outside, where they posed him with a shovel and an AK-47, trying to pass him off as a terrorist.

Isn't it time to get out of Iraq and bring our soldiers home?


NOTE - Blondesense is reporting that the FBI says they have no hard evidence linking Osama bin Laden to the 9/11 tragedy. By the way, where is Osama?