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Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and seven of his top aides were hand delivered a custom tailored and pre-packaged bomb that exploded at their feet courtesy of U.S. Special forces late last night or early this morning. His identity has been confirmed.

“Today, al-Zarqawi was eliminated,” al-Maliki told a news conference, drawing loud applause from reporters as he was flanked by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and U.S. Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

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.

“Those who disrupt the course of life, like al-Zarqawi, will have a tragic end,” he said.

Khalilzad added “the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is a huge success for Iraq and the international war on terror.” – ABC News

The Iraqi Prime minister made a quick statement that was met by jubilant cheering and applause that will undoubtedly be shared throughout the world.

“What happened today was the result of cooperation. We have so many times aksed our people to give information and to help the Iraqi security forces and the multinational security forces to destroy.

This is a message to all those who take violence as a path to reconsider and go back to their senses before it is too late.” – Nuri al-Maliki, Iraqi Prime Minister on death of al-Zarqawi

A couple of things should be noted about the events that led to and ended with the death of one of the worlds most wanted terrorists.

Zarqawi and his forces were not insurgents, freedom fighters or any other label that has been applied to him over the years by the left. He was and always will be known as a cold blooded murdering terrorist.

U.S. and Iraqi forces worked together on this operation. This was not an independent act by the U.S. military although our U.S. Special Forces proudly and honorably delivered the package that rid the world of one of the worlds most wanted terrorists.

“Tips by intelligence from senior Iraqi leaders and intelligence network led forces to Zarqawi and associates who were attending a meeting eight kilometers north of Baqouba where the airstrike was launched,” Casey said.

When Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced “Zarqawi has been terminated,” Iraqi press cheered.

I hope we can say the same about the left in this country. Cheering is not the kind of reaction you would expect from the oppressed Iraqi’s if we were ever to believe the mainstream characterization of the war effort.

While most news outlets in the U.S. note that Zarqawi is the leader of al-Qaeda forces in Iraq it is important to realize that he was helped mastermind acts of terrorism that went beyond the Iraqi border.

USA today gets it right in their coverage.

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

He also sought to expand his attempts to spark civil war between Sunni Muslims and Shiites across the Middle East. He lectured Sunnis to stand up against Shiites in an audiotape posted on the Web last week in which he railed against Shiites for four hours, calling them enemies of Islam.

All of these facts come together in favor of President Bush and the administration.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his forces are a foreign bred terrorist organization that was working within the borders of Iraq to create a civil war while simultaneously planning international acts of terrorism.

The Iraqi people will view the U.S. as liberators; especially once their government takes control of the nation and the violence is quelled as only time will permit.

Let me repeat that for those on the left who likely glossed it over with rolling eyes.

The Iraqi people will view the U.S. as liberators; especially once their government takes control of the nation and the violence is quelled as only time will permit.

World Celebration:

Prime Minister Tony Blair hailed his death as a “blow against al Qaida” and an important moment for Iraq.

From Mideast.JPost.com

“This is the most important news not only in the past few weeks but also for the next few weeks,” said Nabil al-Khatib, the executive editor of the Dubai-based satellite Al-Arabiya TV.

Jordan provided the US military with information that helped in tracking down and killing al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian official with knowledge of the operation said.

Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu reacted to the assassination of al-Zarqawi with satisfaction on Thursday.

“The terrorist leaders need to know that if they want to send others to be Shahids (martyrs), they themselves will become Shahids,” he said.

In related news, the price of oil dropped to $69.97 a barrel from record levels of $74 a barrel just a week ago, following the announcement of al-Zarqawi’s death.

Detractors of U.S. War on Terror Take the News Hard

A note posted on one web site – known as a clearinghouse for al-Qaida in Iraq statements – shortly after the news of al-Zarqawi’s death broke on TV lamented: “We hope this news is not true.”

If Sheik al-Zarqawi has died, he will go to heaven, God willing, and there will be 200 million al-Zarqawis after him,” said another note posted on the same site.

While the news broke into most major Arab station’s programming, some state TV stations largely ignored it: Government-run TV stations in Syria, Saudi Arabia and Yemen continued with regular programming even as al-Arabiya and al-Jazeera were flashing alerts.

Others Blogging on this Very Excellent News

• Michelle Malkin - ZARQAWI HAS BEEN KILLED
• Pajamas Media : Zarqawi Killed
• Expertise’s Politics and Sports Blog: They finally got him
• Right Winged News Al Qaeda In Iraq Leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Killed
• Gina Cobb: Zarqawi Reported Dead
• Small Town Veteran: Zarqawi dead…for real this time?
• Iowas Voice: Zarqawi Dead!
• Juneau Blog: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Is Dead…
• The American Mind: Al-Zarqawi: Dead/”Terminated”
• All Things Beautiful: Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi Is Dead…Again
• Talk Wisdom: Terrorist Zarqawi IS DEAD!
• James Hooker: “MR Z HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!
• The Dean Blog: Al-Zarqawi Dead!

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