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Zarqawi's Deadly Legacy John LeBoutillier Last week's death of al-Qaida's Iraq leader, Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, was indeed a moment - brief though it may be - to celebrate some "good news" from Iraq. He was a totally rotten murderer who exulted in pain and torture. He left a path of death wherever he traveled. Our soldiers - from the same unit that tracked down Saddam Hussein two and a half years ago - are to be commended for the bravery and cleverness in tracking this elusive killing machine. And, on the heels of the Haditha allegations, it is high time the U.S. military is again seen in a positive light. Our soldiers are - quite simply - the best ever and a few (possible) rotten apples should not taint all of them. But Zarqawi's death will not substantially change the outcome of this war in Iraq. Why not? Because Zarqawi is analagous to the head of a Mafia family: The FBI bags him, everyone exults over his conviction and long jail sentence, a new "Don" is named and business goes on exactly as before. That is what will happen here. Osama bin Laden - who seems immune to Mr. Bush's pledge almost four years ago to get him "dead or alive" - will pick another murderer to replace Zarquawi and the killing will continue. Period.
Meanwhile, the ongoing civil war will also continue in Iraq. Virtually every day now we learn of nightly raids, murders, tortures and incredible "payback" atrocities: transportation workers being taken off buses, separated into Sunni and Shi'a and then the latter all executed; Sunni men in one town rounded up and beheaded and their heads found in plastic bags the next day all around town; car bombs aimed at weddings and mosques. American soldiers have no chance to stop such widespread actions. How could they? There is no defined enemy here. The fighting is between two groups of Muslims with decades of pent-up hatred from the brutal reign of Sunni Muslim Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party. George W. Bush speaks of "victory" in Iraq. But no two Americans can quite agree on just what that 'victory' really is. Is it the end of violence in Iraq? Fat chance of that happeneing. Is it a stable government in Baghdad with the ability to defend the nation from outside aggression? If so, that could take decades - especially when you know that the Iraqi military is still inept and undermanned - and often gives cover to insurgents who get paid by the military by day and terrorize for the insurgency by night. The Bush administration never defined victory prior to beginning this war. It also fudged the rationale for this war. And the result is that 59 percent of the American people now view this War in Iraq as a mistake. And the Bush presidency is a prisoner of this decision. Beginning Monday at Camp David the president will convene a two-day meeting to explore all options for Iraq. Early word is being floated that we may actually increase the American troop levels this year - rather than decrease them as has been rumored. The coming November midterm elections should play no part in the troop levels; the administration needs to figure out how to stabilize Iraq as best as can be accomplished and then reduce troop levels. Make no mistake about it: Zarqawi's death is great news, but there are thousands more just like him rushing to fill his sandals.
Editor's note:
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