Redstate

and US forces planted his body there before the bombs were dropped

A little more good news from Iraq and we'll see the comeback of the "I voted for the war before I was against it".

 

if I simply link to the NYT or the WaPo online editions? I am sure everything you listed can be found on both front pages by now.

Intrepid journalist Matt Lauer just had Tim Russert, brilliant political analyst and close friend to Mary Matlin and James Carville, on the electronic version of the NYT. The topic turned to how this may hurt the president. Yes, of course.

In the real world, thank you, Special Ops and all the forces in Iraq.

Just link to Daily Kos and Democratic Underground and you're guaranteed to hit all the references above.

his authorization vote and full support for the troops will be emailed to the gullible nationwide in the next few minutes.

and it came from CNN of course and the reporter is no surprise. Read on....

"Over the last several months there has been a perceived waning of his influence with the bulk of the insurgency really being carried out by Iraqi nationalists --whatever grouping you want to call them, Saddam loyalists, people who just don't to deal with the current situation in Iraq."

Here is the link to the whole story:

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/08/iraq.zarqawi.amanpour/

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/08/iraq.zarqawi.amanpour/index.html

beating me by seconds like that.

I even stopped to get a cup of coffee before I posted it. Sorry.

Ok, so I have two articles. The lead article:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-zarqawi8jun08,0,7316320
.story?coll=la-home-headlines

which isnt bad in what it has but in two other things. Notice how skimpy the article is, as if the writer just couldnt bear to write any more, and of course, they didnt mention the applause and cheers. A lot less adjectives and adverbs than if it were bad news.

But here is the doozie! Compare the length and style of the lead article to this one in the "related to this article" section on that page called "Zarqawi Took Familiar Route Into Terrorism".

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-zarqawi2jul0204,0,29309
99.story?coll=la-home-headlines

This is an apologistic puff piece about how Zarqawi was just a misunderstood youth who got good grades.

pathetic.

"What about bin Laden?" should be added to your list.

that Zarqawi died due to Global Warming, right?

-only 10 percent of the insurgency was under his control

-a small part

-a momentary, symbolic victory

-not much impact on the insurgency against the occupation

I like the headline:

Analysis: Threat will outlive Al-Zarqawi

Here is the link:

http://www.localnewswatch.com/skyvalley/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&a
mp;id=193118

I will stop at two and see if others can find more. It is almost too easy to find this take on the killing. Thankfully there are some that are also writing that it is a good thing too. At least there are those.

His death will cause, or at least increase global warming. The explosive used, you understand.

It's Bush'sFault!

I had to post this one!

Nick Berg's Dad says that Zarqawi's death is a tragady!

"I think the news of the loss of any human being is a tragedy. I think al-Zarqawi's death is a double tragedy," he said. "His death will incite a new wave of revenge. George Bush and al-Zarqawi are two men who believe in revenge."

...the ever-popular "Great, X has happened, can we run away now?"

Usually not in quite those terms, though.  :)

but we need a claim that Zarqawi getting killed will make the insurgency stronger. Should be easy to find by now, he's been dead about 12 hours.

"Was Zarqawi wounded, pulled from the rubble an summarily executed in violation of the Geneva Convention?"

Given a number of the questions from reporters at the press conference, this may be swirling around soon.

I think my father would feel just a little different.  We need to forgive Al Qaeda and al-Zarqawi, what can we do to be liked by them.  Wow.  By the way, he's running for Congress as a Greenie from Delaware.

"I don't think that Zarqawi is himself responsible for the killings of hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq," Berg said in a combative television interview with the U.S. Fox News network. "I think George Bush is.

"George Bush is the one that invaded this country, George Bush is the one that destabilized it so that Zarqawi could get in, so that Zarqawi had a need to get in, to defend his region of the country from American invaders."

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyI
D=2006-06-08T125618Z_01_N08295664_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-ZARQAWI-BERG.xml&pa
geNumber=1&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticleP
age1

This one is from Newsweek/MSNBC:

"ZARQA, Jordan - In the bleak Jordanian city where Abu Musab al-Zarqawi grew up, shocked relatives mourned the al-Qaida in Iraq leader's death as a loss to Islam and prayed for 1,000 "Zarqawis" to fight the Americans in his place."

It is simply amazing!

Al-Qaeda isn't that big of an organization in Iraq, so Zarqawi's death doesn't matter much?

Experts we talk to all the time tell us to be very careful with the way we describe Al Qaeda in Iraq. They say they are the ones that get the most attention, especially from the U.S. media, the western media, but tell us there are many small insurgency groups in Iraq that are more powerful than Al Qaeda, the Zarqawi group.

http://newsbusters.org/node/5746

The Chicago Tribune already posted that this was no big deal, since Zarquawi was just a figurehead.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-zarqawi-analysis,1,47
05369.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

Okay...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/08/iraq/main1692753.shtml

For starters it didnt take long into the article when you get this:

But any hopes the Jordanian-born terror leader's death would help stem the violence in Iraq was dimmed hours later when a car bomb exploded in a Baghdad market, killing 12 and wounding 65.

on page two you get this:

But CBS News terrorism analyst Michael Scheuer, a former CIA officer, cautioned that al-Zarqawi's death may not stem violence in Iraq.

"In some ways this is very good news for al Qaeda, because al Qaeda's forces in Iraq will now focus more on Americans and the Iraqi government, than on simply killing Shias because they're heretical people," Scheuer told CBS News' The Early Show.

From Daily Kos per Michelle Malkin in the next to last paragraph.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/6/8/33449/30287

This link provides a host of comments.  A couple are below and the rest at the link...

LONDON-BASED ISLAMIST EXPERT YASSER AL-SIRRY:

"Zarqawi's death, if confirmed, will have little effect on the jihad in Iraq."

"He made clear several times that he is the leader of one faction that is fighting under the Mujahideen Council umbrella. I expect no let up in the jihad, maybe even an escalation as his followers wage retribution killings."

NADIM SHEHADI, ASSOCIATE FELLOW AT CHATHAM HOUSE'S MIDDLE EAST PROGRAMME IN LONDON

"I don't see it at that significant. Other Zarqawis will soon spring up. If we were talking about the death of the head of a tightly structured organisation then maybe it would be more significant, but we're not. The Iraqi insurency is a very loose organisation and I don't see how the decapitation of it will have such a great impact."

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L08136889.htm

I honestly don't believe that there are people who write this stuff!

Here is a clip:

"Hebheb is an agricultural town with Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish residents, and has not witnessed sectarian conflicts. Witnesses in the town said Wednesday evening's airstrike targeted two adjacent buildings, one of which was said to be occupied by a family recently moved to the area from Baghdad.

Witness accounts said one man and two women were killed, with three others injured. Prime Minister al-Maliki had earlier said 'seven aides' died along with the terrorist leader."

Here is the link to the story:

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/article_1171076.php/Terror_le
ader_al-Zarqawi_killed_in_Iraq

Wouldn't be able to find the good news in the fact it rained hundred dollar bills.

They couldn't quite find the dead babies yet, but they sure could innuendo it:

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060608/D8I41K780.html

"Two young members of the crowd held up a child's sandal, a backpack with a teddy bear on it and a stuffed animal."

So there you have it.  We killed babies again.

Earth to Michael Berg: Zarqawi didn't defend "his" region of the country from American invaders. Zarqawi is Jordanian, and neither George W. Bush nor any other American president has invaded Jordan. If Zarqawi really wanted to defend his country, why did he blow up his own countrymen at a wedding in Amman?

Somewhere in Heaven, Nick Berg is probably thanking God for the American military preventing other innocent victims from meeting his fate, and wondering how the father he loved could put his son's killer on the same level as his son.

Michael Berg and Cindy Sheehan--trying to use their sons' deaths for political gain. Sickening!

he will be his own category

hinted at it to stall for time until they are able to find a fake photo to fit the article.

And you are right: John Murtha deserves his own category. I expect something along the lines of, "when you shoot indiscrimnately at men, women and children you are bound to bag a terrorist now and then." Or something even more vile.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5058534.stm

Popular reaction

Al-Iraqiyah TV was first to go out onto the street in Iraq to assess the popular reaction to the killing.

All of those interviewed expressed joy at the news

"We consider this a great delight to the people because good has got to prevail," said one.

"We congratulate the Iraqi government on this great achievement because it has cut off the snake's head," said another.

There was also anger from one elderly man who said that "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi deserves to be cut into pieces because he hurt, killed the people and slaughtered the Muslims."

In spite of this, the MSM will no doubt find some Iraqis who will say that the U.S. is worse than Zarqawi...

that was also in the la times article i cited:

Seven other people were also killed in the blast, including two women.

Not how they dont mention that they were his aides and that the two women may also have been aides:

http://www.redstate.com/comments/2006/6/8/73645/80176/6#6

has already said the Bush "made" Zarqawi one of the worlds great terrorists.  Poor Zarqawi, he would have been a nurses's aide helping the sick if it wasn't for Bush.

 Added: Thursday, 8 June, 2006, 13:56 GMT 14:56 UK

"Lest we forget, if it were not for George W. Bush there would never have been an Al-Zarqawi."

Henry, Montreal

the quote above came from a poster at the BBC website....sigh...and he probably blames Bush as well for the terrorists who were just arrested in Toronto....

http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=2085&&&edi
tion=2&ttl=20060608151410

I have to give a disclaimer. I found it in Al Jazeera.

Here is a clip:

"Speaking to Aljazeera on Thursday, Abd al-Bari Atwan, editor of Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a London-based Arabic newspaper, said he thought the killing of al-Zarqawi was timed to boost the new Iraqi prime minister.

"I think the Americans planned for this operation a long time ago, which helped them find information about al-Zarqawi's location and lay siege to it."

Here is the link to the whole story:

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/391DEB60-34D8-4139-8388-C3A64C0F4474
.htm

It is almost pathalogical!

that also covers the "what about Haditha" angle, no?

Our press thinks our army can't tie its own shoes. The Arab press thinks they're magic.

There was a similar sentiment that Bin Laden had already been captured or killed and the Prez was waiting until late October 2004 to roll out the news.  It is nonsense.  Bush has been sagging in the polls for months.  If he knew where Zarqawi was be would have removed him from the face of the earth into fifteen seconds.  Additionally, I doubt it took Presidential authorization to drop those two 500 pound bombs.  The Prez is a powerful man, but he is not omnipotent and omnipresent.  He was not jerking the dog chain or ascending the human pyramid at Abu Ghraib.  He did not don body armor and bark out orders at Haditha.  And to argue that he has the ability to keep the lid on the capture, death, or even location of the most wanted man in Iraq is fanciful.  

I suspect that Murtha's first comment won't be published, but it involved profanity.

So did the initial reaction of Dean, Pelosi, Kerry, Gore, and the White Witch.

News of his death has apparently reached the mental institutions...

"The evidence suggests that Zarqawi was part of a Pentagon  disinformation campaign launched in 2003. which was initially intended to jusitfy the US led invasion of Iraq. This central role of Zarqawi as an instrument of war propganda was recently onfirmed by leaked military documents revealed by the Washington Post.  The Pentagon had set up a "Zarqawi program". Military documents confirm that the role of Zarqawi had been deliberately "magnified" with a view to galvanizing public support for the US-UK led "war on terrorism"

See the full text in the link from the Center for Research on Globalization

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHO2006
0608&articleId=2604

As global warming is really due to solar activity, a couple of hurricanes aint nothing !

1.  Re:  Haditha

Psy Ops

Zarqawi was quite probably a psy ops job in the first place, so what does that make his "death"?

Keep your eyes on the prize:

Gay marriage?

Haditha.

Flag burning?

Haditha!

Brangelina?

HADITHA!

Zarqawi?

HADITHA!!!

2:  Re: Zarqawi killing violated Executive Order forbiddig assassinations, or Geneva Conventions.

Justice  

Bush's idea of justice is bombs falling out of the sky?

3:  Re:  Insurgency will be stronger

The right way to handle this would have been to say nothing ... "bombing attack killed some insurgents ..."

And, in coming months, have side conversations about 'boy, odd isn't it that we aren't hearing anything from him ...'

On the intel side, use the terrorist / insurgent communications about 'what is going on' ... 'was he really killed' ... such to help find / track others ...

Instead, this foolish glee will help make him a martyr ... and, yet again, we have a 'major milestone' ... 'major step forward' ... and such which may  -- or may -- not have real impact on what is going on in Iraq.

Did Zarqawi really matter as individual ... or will there be a Spartacus-type moment with tens now stating "I am Zarqawi ..."  

With his patented Rove-o-stat, powered by Halliburton!

said the 500-pound bomb.

"...Still awaiting a John Murtha comment, preferably something about this could having been done from "over the horizon..."

Something undeniably great happens, and we base our feelings about it on how the other side reacts.

Not helpful, if you ask me.

He was the face of the insurgency and built a reputation over time.  Sure, he will be replaced immediately, but that person won't have an internationally known name or the "jihad credentials" to recruit new members.  

While this is far from the end, this is a major development.  

All the more reason to not to watch CNN and turn on Fox News.  

I don't think anyone is "basing their feelings" on the reaction of the left here.

We're jubilant about this, no matter what they say.

Rather, we are having fun with it (somewhat) and also pointing out the obvious bias of the media.  An individual vague comment sometimes gets lost, but collecting all the nonsense together makes a far bigger point.

We don't base our feelings on how the other side perceives something great. Everyone here is elated. We simply add to the pleasure by pointing out the predictable and hilarious responses from the other side. The two reactions compliment one another.

To crush your enemies, to drive them before you, and to hear the lamentations of their womyn. And their journalists.

do you have a mouse in your pocket?

I was really driving at the idea that a certain pattern of blogger reaction is predictable:

1. Something good happens for America.
   
   
2. The right rightly rejoices.
   
   
3. The right predicts sourpusses on the other side
   
   
4. The left finds a way to be sourpusses -- as Bush getting credit for anything, ever, is their worst nightmare.
   
   
5. The right scoffs at the sourpusses.

I think my point is that this pattern takes the shine off of the good news sometimes. We hunt down reactions that we deem "wrong" for the express purpose of scoffing at them.

So the "we" I mention is the set of folks in the world who are disgusted with anti-American sentiment from the left. I say ignore 'em and be thankful the grown-ups are in charge at a time like this.

Good one Jon :) Comment of the day.

that way you are totally missing the boat.

The point is simple. They, the people who have unknowingly provided us with amusement on this issue, are not on our side. And it is important to do this type of thing -- exposing their points as the very predictable run of the mill derogation of American accomplishments that they are -- because otherwise their narrative becomes the narrative.

Our opponents are not merely the individual head-hackers, but their political and public relations supporters in the West. The defeat of the latter is as important as that of the former, perhaps even more so considering the nature of the war.

As for the anti-American sentiment on the left, it is a danger at all times, not simply at a time like this.

...if people are simply smirking at them. But I wonder at times if the reaction to their silliness is fruitful. It seems that we'd rather be outraged than happy.

So, I'll shut up now and be happy. It's a great day for America -- for those of us willing to appreciate it.

I am happy and enjoying myself.

The Left and their toadies in the MSM are so utterly predictable because every Iraq news story has to be shoe-horned into The Vietnam Template. (Oh, and the I Hate America Template). Heck, it's been a "quagmire" since Day 3, when the armored divisions stopped in the desert to fuel up.

They left real journalism, and real thinking behind long ago. There's nothing at all wrong with us laughing at them; in fact, the more sunshine on their idiocy the better.

a liability:

"The Times of London writes that Huthayfah Azzam, son of Abdullah Azzam, the mentor of both Osama bin Laden and Mr. Zarqawi, said Zarqawi was stripped of his political duties two weeks ago due to concerns that his actions were hurting the Iraqi insurgency's support in the Arab world.

"The Iraqi resistance high command asked al-Zarqawi to give up his political role and replaced him with an Iraqi because of several mistakes," said Mr Azzam in an interview with al-Arabiya, the Arabic news channel. "Al-Zarqawi's role has been limited to military action," he said.

The fugitive al-Qaeda leader, who has a $25 million American bounty on his head, is credited with masterminding some of the bloodiest episodes in the Iraqi war, including suicide bombings against the United Nations, Shia Muslims and US forces and the videotaped execution of Western and other hostages.

But his tactics have alienated many Iraqis, even those sympathetic to the insurgency. Mr Azzam, whose father is known as the "prince of the Mujahidin", said that he was accused of "creating an independent group" in Iraq, "making political mistakes" and hijacking the Iraqi insurgency for his own cause.

Al Jazeera reports that, among his "political mistakes," Zarqawi appeared to have taken it upon himself to speak for the Iraqi people. Zarqawi is Jordanian, however, and thus not perceived as an appropriate spokesman for the insurgency.

"Zarqawi also took the liberty of speaking in the name of the Iraqi people and resistance, a role which belongs only to the Iraqis," Azzam said.

As a result "the resistance command inside and outside Iraq, including imams, criticised him and after long discussions demanded that he be confined to military action".

"Zarqawi pledged not to carry out any more attacks against Iraq's neighbours after having been criticised for these operations which are considered a violation of sharia [Islamic law]," Azzam said.

The Times of London reports the first hint that Zarqawi was falling out of favor came in a letter sent to him last summer by Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's second in command.

In the letter, which was intercepted by the Americans and made public, al-Zawahiri tells his young protégé that executing victims and posting the images on the internet had earned him the title "Sheikh of the Slaughterers".

"Among the things which the feelings of the Muslim populace who support you will never find acceptable are the scenes of slaughtering hostages," the letter said.

Then, in November, al-Zarqawi caused revulsion across the region when he orchestrated triple suicide bomb attacks against hotels in Amman, killing 60 people, including guests attending a Palestinian wedding. Members of his own family, including his brother and cousins, publicly disowned him along with members of influential Arab tribes.

Ha'aretz reports that Zarqawi has also been recently tied to Al Qaeda efforts to inflitrate Gaza and attack Israel. A senior member of the Israel Defense Force told Ha'aretz, "We're not talking about gut feelings: The [rockets] fired on Shlomi and before that the [rocket] fire from Aqaba that hit the airport in Eilat were carried out by organizations affiliated with Al-Qaida and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's people in Iraq. The operational direction of these organizations is clear. They will try in the future to hit more Israeli targets."

So the insurgency made him a martyr by cooperating with the U.S. military to off him. He's much more effective as a symbol than a guerilla leader, anyway, just like Che who was completely incompetent but has turned into a great leftie icon after his death.

Well, it'll be interesting to see how much of a difference this actually makes. I'm betting - not much since the vast majority of the insurgency wasn't under his control.

He was a nutcase, and the world is better off without him, but if elements of the insurgency co-operated with us to get him then you have to ask why? Power struggle? Desire to get rid of a problem child and get positive press?

The filling of the cabinet was a much, much bigger and more important story than this one, but this is what will get all the play.

...had a picture of "president" Al Gore in the center.

See what an

UNIMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE

can do ???

.

I mean do you think his death will reduce the violence in Iraq? I don't. It is great to relish in a victory, leverage the PR and morale value of the hit but in the haste to knock down the left, take a moment to think if they might, if even accidently, be right about this.

is not whether they are right or not on this issue. The point is how quick are they to bring this up to dampen excitement over Al-Z's death. Apparently they were pretty quick.

This new expansion amusement park in L.A., funded by too many Hollywood actors and executives to count.  One of the attractions is going to be the anti-Western museum of slavery that was to be built on Ground Zero, in order to educate us on why we make terrorists do "bad" things.  Another is a stageshow teaching kids how all you got to do to make your enemies leave you alone is to be nice to them and give them what they want.  Violence never solves anything!  On the Arcade you can win prizes by spitting on soldiers and throwing pies at fighter pilots.  Hit the F-16 pilot that dropped those 500-pounders and you win a bong.

Of course they have thrill rides.  "The Scream" is a Vermont-themed ride that's sure to scare you into "South Dakota and Oregon and Washington and Michigan...YEEAAHHHH!"

Rob Reiner will be serving Meathead sandwiches.  The prices will be set using means-testing, which means the poor pay less, or none at all, while the rich pay about $452 each.  (Wonder why they keep running out of food?)

Yes, Sheehanland is coming your way.  Just be sure not to vote Republican in November.  Now is not the time for good people to let evil prevail by doing nothing.

 

From you, I consider this a compliment! Two years from now - we'll still be debating all of this.

I can't wait.

...How many trees would have to die in order to print those bills, but AlGore could easily prune a few of his own branches to make the paper.

How about this one?

Surely this is bad news? It's just going to make a martyr out of Zarqawi and rally support for al-Qaeda. If they knew where he was then they should have at least tried to go in and arrest him. His summary execution sends out all the wrong messages. You don't earn respect with a big stick.

you guys would certainly consider me a liberal (though I do trend libertarian quite a bit).  And I opposed this war.  At the moment I am not sure what we should do, as the whole thing seems to be a bit of a mess and I am not sure I trust the folks who got us here to get us moving forward.  That's a whole other post, though.

Having said that, I'm glad the bastard's dead.  No excuses or twisting or spin from me.  I'll give this one as a win for the military and a win for Bush.  More successes like that and I may have hope that Bush and Rummy can get us out of this mess.

Is reduction of violence the immediate goal of his death? I seem to recall the President pointing out that this wouldn't immediately reduce violence.

Killing our enemies, first of all, can be an end unto itself. Killing terrorist masterminds is a no-brainer. If you continue to see terror attacks in Iraq, you aren't necessarily seeing them from as organized or equipped a force as once you were. Kill a few more heads and the hydra becomes blind.

You can't, and we don't, expect an immediate decrease in violence in Iraq. The liberal media is jumping on that point in order to try and paint the picture that an immediate reduction in violence is what we expected, and then to say we aren't getting it, in order to say another goal was not acheived. It's a type of straw man.

It's working for the liberals. They've already jumped on that as the talking point to take from this. That the death of Zarqawi is meaningless because it didn't have the (not) intended and expected effect of an immediate reduction in violence and is, therefore, another example of a failure of the administration.

Utterly predictable.

Since it is there job to put it some kind of context - they aren't cheerleaders - what did you expect?

I don't see anyone in the Admin saying anything differnt - in fact Bush made it clear that the violence in Iraq will continue.

Some of this MSM whining is made up.

Seems like its an unemotional fact surrounding the situation. Facts now have biases?

Nothing can take the shine off of this one. Its a biggie.

To me, its amusing to watch people in this thread invent things to whine about. Doesn't take away from the great news from Iraq at all.

if cussing 'round these parts is considered a big no-no, is it really necessary that Zarqawi's dead a** is front and center in the main page?

I'm all for vengence and justice, but I think it's a bit over the top, especially using the non-"cleaned up" version the military put out.

That goes for every MSM and other site too.

Or am I just being a girly man?!?!?

And they will be pathological paranoiacs with twitches in their necks from looking over their shoulders.  Probably not so much flamboyance with the videos, either.

A Cockroach can survive with its head cut off, but it is still just a headless cockroach.

is to report the news.  "Putting it in perspective" is how the media got biased in the first place.

I also wouldn't mind if AMERICAN media would support AMERICA, but I guess that's too much to ask.

The Jordanian intelligence was involved in getting us the Intel. The Jordanians were ticked about the April bombings, and probably have informants in Al Qaeda.

Given the fact that Zarqawi's leadership clearly wasn't working out (killing Arabs is a dumb idea for guerilla leader), I am wondering if either Al Qaeda itself of other insurgency groups simply decided to clear the decks of this guy by passing info to us via Jordan.

And, it could benefit Al Qaeda to the extent that Zarqawi's dumb tactics have been making them unpopular, so is there a possiblility the Osama and the gang wanted a dead martyr more than a live liability?

I have no idea. These are all suppositions based on the evidence. Since we all know that the terrorists groups are in the business of making and marketing Martyrs - I don't see it as too far fetched that they decided to make Mr. Al "I blow up everybody, including Arabs" Zarqawi a husband to the dark-eyed.

...to omit.  Glad you're here to spin their omission as ignorance.  

I also wouldn't mind if AMERICAN media would support AMERICA, but I guess that's too much to ask.

Silly. They are not mere Americans, they are Journalist, a breed apart; a breed with a higher calling. They don't owe allegiance to anything as petty as America, their allegiance is to a higher power: "Pinch Sulzberg" and the gods of the Columbia School of Journalism.

Must be because it sure isn't to the truth; most of them wouldn't know the truth if it bit them in the backside.

killing Arabs is a dumb idea for guerilla leader

Killing Arabs is the only idea Al Queda has for Iraq. But if you are correct in your assumption then we should see a drop off in the murder of Arab civilians (and Iraqi Army) by "insurgents". I hope that comes to pass, but I doubt it.

at the two la times articles I posted earlier and look at the contrast.

As for whether his death will reduce the violence? Not today, but absolutely. I think it absurd to think otherwise. When the planes hit the towers, did it affect americans in kansas? well, yes, but why? I mean they probablby didnt know anyone personally, they had no real estate investment in 1 and 2 world trade center, so what should it matter to them?

Take out high profile targets and it definitely shakes the solidity of insurgency. It also breaks up the chain of command. Do you think Zarqawi will be sending as many commands down the line? Do you think bin laden is as effective hiding somewhere without a cellphone instead of in a swank apartment in Paris watching cnn and googling on his laptop?

a one time chance to show where anyone here has claimed this will have an affect on violence in Iraq.

I encourage you to take the offer seriously.

moonbat criticism and the tinfoil hat categories.

This is also known as the "it didn't matter any way" or "we did al-Qaeda a favor" response. Well played, well played.

When wasn't the media biased?

Fact is that the media is much less biased than at other times in this country's history.

Sheikh Jawad Al Kalesi, the imam of the al-Kazemiya mosque in Baghdad:

I don't think that Abu Musab Al Zarqawi exists as such. He's simply an invention by the occupiers to divide the people.

Kalesi claimed that Zarqawi was killed in the Kurdish northern region of Iraq at the beginning of the US-led war on the country as he was meeting with members of the Ansar Al-Islam group affiliated to Al Qaeda.

His family in Jordan even held a ceremony after his death. Abu Musab Al Zarqawi is therefore a ploy used by the Americans, an excuse to continue the occupation. It's a pretext so they don't leave Iraq.]

Found here .

They could have tried something like "as the President noted, this will not eliminate the violence ..." But that would portray Bush in the correct light and they can't have that.

Besides, the guy who replaces Zarqawi will probably not be as smart or experienced, will probably not command as much "respect" among the wackos (the Jahadis, not the American leftwing wackos), and will have to spend a lot more time looking over his shoulder --- the next sound he doesn't hear may be a 500 pound bomb landing on his *ss. And the guy that replaces him ...

What do you know about the women their

Were they really the top aids?

The real masterminds?

Cleaning ladies?

Wives?

Spill - tell me how you know that MSM media knows more about those dead women and aren't telling.

it just isn't possible that US agents or even Iraqi intelligence did this, it has to be the Jordanians.

Guess we got lucky again.

I thought it was their job to report facts. Silly me.

they'd be complaining that Bush was littering ...

and every time one of them sticks his head out from under his rock he'll have to wonder if there is a laser guidance system pointed at his head.

Here is another with a reference to Zarqawi having been killed a long time ago. (They actually quote the same Imam.)

Thank you Al-Jazeera.

its not a government controlled job that is supposed to just report facts.

This may shock you, but they are in the business of making money. Yup, this isn't volunteer work or charity work. People actually pay to get newspapers and there are these things called ads all over the place. They charge for those ads.

yup, its true.

What exactly is tinfoil hat? We got tipped off to where Zarqawi was. It came from the Jordanians. Someone gave up Zarqawi.

Was it for the money? Was it to get rid of him? Are the insurgents planning to co-operate more fully with the government, and this is a peace offering?

According to Foxnews: "The Zarqawi deputy, Abu Abdul-Rahman al-Iraqi, was identified by intelligence officials at least two weeks ago with the cooperation of "somebody inside the al-Zarqawi network," said U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, speaking to reporters in Baghdad."

Okay, we got cooperation inside Al Zarqawi's group. Why? Have we penetrated this group, in which case we should be able to roll them up all the way, right?

Everyone on this site views events like this strictly from a prism of U.S. politics. Is it good for the President versus the Dems. I'd like to know how we pulled this off, and what it means for the composition of the insurgency.

I'm not saying that the U.S. planted the body, staged the event, or anything else. The killing went down exactly as stated.

But with inside help. Why did we get it, and what does it mean for the future?

Yeah, tinfoil hat stuff, I know.

If "Huthayfah Azzam" knows so much about what's going on in Iraq and among the bad guys why is he still walking around? Sounds like a candidate for Guantanamo, or cement overshoes, to me.

Anything I can do to cheer you all up

I'm afraid it would be darned uncomfortable.

and all other cosmic bodies.

It's a tough uphill battle for any gentiles to try to own anything, doncha know...

This was a thread begun by "Bill in Portland Maine", entitled "Cheers and Jeers Thursday".

"CHEERS to finding a really evil needle in a really big haystack.  U.S. forces rocked terrorist Abu Musab "Dick" al-Zarqawi's world last night when they tossed a thousand pounds of explosive whupass down his gullet.  They found his body in the bedroom.  And the kitchen.  And the den.  And the garage.  And the neighbor's apartment.  And I think I found an eyebrow in my Cocoa Puffs this morning.  My only regret: he didn't know what hit him.

P.S.  Virgins denied, creep."

Frankly, I couldn't have said it better myself.  Bravo, Bill!

What does making money off ads have to do with reporting facts?  This makes no sense.  There is a section in newspapers where one can advocate for positions.  It's called the editorial page.  The rest of the paper is for facts.  If sports writers took liberties like other journalists, I'm sure i could find some that would tell me that my Pistons were playing in the NBA Finals tonight.  You're silly.

All this whining and complaining and wailing about the MSM is counterproductive. It takes the focus away from who the real enemy is. It only serves to divide us (the USA) even more. It only serves to harden both sides.

I actually believe that almost all Americans deeply love this country and want to see if safe and secure. I believe that its possible to have sharply different views on how best to achieve that and that's OK. So far in our history, the great experiment of American democracy has been able to meet every challenge. I believe in our way of life, our freedom of ideas, freedom of press and I believe most strongly in the basic goodness and intelligence of the average American. I believe that we will prevail.

"We must all hang together or assuredly we will hang separately."

-Benjamin Franklin, American Revolution

Those who give up essential liberty, to preserve a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

-Benjamin Franklin, Pre American Revolution  

How productive is whining and complaining about whining and complaining? Does it serve to divide us?

Where truth is replaced by propaganda, those with the truth should speak it, and should contradict the propaganda. A liberal press reporting inaccurate or slanted information is not some small matter that we're all quibbling over out of childish indignation. It's a big deal.

you tried to sell this line last week too. It didn't wash then and it's not going to wash this time either.

The "reportage" side of the paper has next to nothing to do with the "business" side of the paper. Evidence the continuing decline in circulation, market share, stock prices, et al, for just about every major paper in the country. The "business" side decline has not been matched by a "reportage" side decline in lies, distortion, misrepresentation and misinformation.

Rehabilitation center "because we care" and remember what happens at G'itmo Stays at G'itmo!

it certainly wasn't the US military. They aren't that smart and besides they are far too busy hunting down civilians, just ask Murtha et al  :-)

On what is that based?

I won't argue whether the media ever wasn't biased...as I haven't researched too much beyond the point where I learned to read.  But the liberal, democratic bias?  I can't see how there's less of that now than in years past.  As jsteele mentioned, a significant number of journalists have this idea that they are a higher breed of human than the rest of us, called to shove their version of "the way things ought to be" in our faces at every opportunity.

This comment is more of a geralization of what leftists are saying today.  It is, in a nut shell, their over-riding view of the whole war.  Here it is:

1.  When American troops die we are engaged in and losing a war.
   
2.  When bad people die (that's the terrorists for you leftists out there) it is part of a massive PR campaign emanating from Karl Rove's lair deep in the heart of Mt. Rushmore.  Darn evil genius.

that the "perceived waning of his influence" was a psy ops designed to get him to respond.  His latest video, who some believe was in response to the operation, had him outside shooting a weapon.  The Jordanians used that to pinpoint the exact location where the video was made.  It was a critical piece of intel that helped lead to his demise.

...and I'll RedHot it.