al-Zarqawi Dead

[bailunrui]

As many of you have probably already heard from your morning news sources, al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S.-led airstrike.

The story, from CNN:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A painstaking, weeks-long intelligence operation, acting on tips from Iraqis and his own network, led to the U.S. airstrike that killed "al Qaeda in Iraq" leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

Comments

[thisficklemob]

Well, as ploys to boost Bush's popularity, it beats another terror attack.

You know, recently I had a chilling thought. You know how they keep reminding us about 9-11 (as if anyone over age ten could forget)? Well, those reminders sometimes have a sinister undertone to me. Not just, "9-11, so let us do whatever we want, bitches," but, "9-11, let us do what we want, or we'll let it happen again, bitches."

[bailunrui]

I haven't detected that undertone, but it could be that the smoke coming out of my ears obscures the subtext.

[thisficklemob]

Or, it could be that my paranoia is getting the best of me. I don't know. It's just unnerving, because if you look at the info they were getting before 9-11 (and the way they didn't scramble fighters on 9-11), it looks so much like they let it happen. I'm not quite gone enough to think they did it, but it's hard to argue their sense of decency or duty would have made them stop it. Not after the elections, Iraq, Katrina...

[asaresquares]

On the one hand 'Score!'. On the other...this had better not boost His Shrubliness' popularity. I was so enjoying the dipping numbers.

[bailunrui]

My sentiments exactly. I can't help but be a bit cynical to the timing of this.

[jerrymcl89]

Every 'milestone' like this has given Bush a short-term boost in approval, but every time the violence does not diminish anyway, he sinks even lower than before. The only way this will help Bush in the long term is if it actually becomes a turning point in the war. Which, obviously, we ought to be happy about in the unlikely event that it's the case, even if it did help Bush.

[thisficklemob]

Oh, absolutely. I just have serious doubts that we're turning corners into anything but dead-end blind alleys in Iraq. I feel like the only good turning point the U.S. can create now is the one where we leave. Iraqis hope the violence will be diminish with the new government, but so far it's hard to see it.

[thisficklemob]

*snort* Win.