A Good Day's Work - Why Zarqawi's death matters

Slate ^ | June 8, 2006 | Christopher Hitchens

[Roscoe Karns]

The death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is excellent news in its own right and even more excellent if, as U.S. sources in Iraq are claiming, it resulted from information that derived from people who were or had been close to him. (And, if that claim is black propaganda, then it is clever black propaganda, which is also excellent news.)

It hasn't taken long for the rain to start falling on this parade. Nick Berg's father, a MoveOn type now running for Congress on the Green Party ticket, has already said that he blames President George Bush for the video-beheading of his own son (but of course) and mourned the passing of Zarqawi as he would the death of any man (but of course, again). The latest Atlantic has a brilliantly timed cover story by Mary Anne Weaver, which tends to the view that Zarqawi was essentially an American creation, but seems to undermine its own prominence by suggesting that, in addition to that, Zarqawi wasn't all that important.

Not so fast. Zarqawi contributed enormously to the wrecking of Iraq's experiment in democratic federalism. He was able to help ensure that the Iraqi people did not have one single day of respite between 35 years of war and fascism, and the last three-and-a-half years of misery and sabotage.

[Suzy Quzy]

Nick Berg worked for Michael Moore and was probably a cameraman for him in Iraq. Prometheus Radio......

[Txsleuth]

Sometimes, Chrissy Matthews is brave enough to have on Hitchens...I wish he would tonight.

[Hildy]

I generally don't think like a conspirator, but something about that Nick Berg story just always tugged at me. Something was not right.

[Berlin_Freeper]

"that Zarqawi was essentially an American creation"

If anything Zarqawi became bigger than he otherwise would have been because the Democrats and their propaganda agents in the Left Media were constantly creating pure crapheaded hysterics 24/7 about supposed US failures, mistakes, crimes, etc.

While on the other hand they NEVER once did a single article or news report about ANY failures, mistakes, crimes, etc of Zarqawi. And in that way the Democrats and their media agents created Zarqawi.

President Bush and our military took Zarqawi down and now the Democrats and their media agents are despondent and in disarray about what to do next.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Nick Berg was CIA, you thinking?

[ImpBill]

I watched his be-heading and if you would like to see it I would be more than happy to send it to you. That is what was wrong with the Nick Berg story. His head was sawed off while he was screaming. Nothing more is wrong with the story and the fact that the man animal with the knife is now dead is a great thing.

Nothing wrong here. Let's just move on and kill the rest of them.

[stop_fascism]

Hitchens proves, once again, that you can be a leftist without being a complete raving lunatic.

[MadIvan]

In one aspect alone the Iraq conflict is like Vietnam. Vo Nyguen Giap, general of the North Vietnamese, decided that he could never defeat America through warfare, and instead relied upon a strategy of trying to convince Americans that they could never win. The idea was that no force that lacks the will to continue the struggle can win, no matter how powerful it may be.

The far left was an ally in this, indeed, without them, Giap could not have gotten as far as he did.

Again, the terrorists in Iraq cannot win. But the likes of Zarqawi have tried to do the same as Giap. Thus the left are at best, the tools of the enemy, at worst, traitors.

Regards, Ivan

[keat]

Brilliant analysis by Hitchens.

I love reading him when he's not expressing his irrational hatred of organized religion.

[ImpBill]

Hitchens continues:

"If we had withdrawn from Iraq already, as the "peace" movement has been demanding, then one of the most revolting criminals of all time would have been able to claim that he forced us to do it. That would have catapulted Iraq into Stone Age collapse and instated a psychopathic killer as the greatest Muslim soldier since Saladin. As it is, the man is ignominiously dead and his dirty connections a lot closer to being fully exposed. This seems like a good day's work to me."

This more than a good day's work. It is monumental when taken in the view of Hitchens, who for a traditional liberal, is right on. Sure glad he isn't a "progressive" in the mold of the current Demoncrap leadership.

[sarasota]

Excellent read.

[Grampa Dave]

Monster betrayed by closest allies (Zarqawi location tipped off by captured deputies) {Why the libs don't want WOT prisoners questioned!}

"Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey...!"

Hi. My name is Abu Boohoo Zarqawi and I'm dead now.

Happy Iraqis celebrate the death of Z Pig:

Which al Qaeda Son of a pig is next? We will find your "Safe House" and send you to hell to be with the Z pig!

No Problem! Here comes your Bomb!

[ImpBill]

See my number 11. Christopher Hitchens is a Liberal in the tradtional sense of the word. Traditional libleralism is nothing like the "left" today and most tradtional liberals will admit to that.

[sarasota]

Don't you wonder what the rest of his body (minus the head) looks like?

[Grampa Dave]

If there was anything besides his lopside head left, we will probably get pictures.

[MikeA]

Hitchens nails it again.

[alecqss]

Have mercy. First progressives(maiden name marxists) get a "victory" in CA 50, then Coulter makes conservatives look "bad", now this. It's a horrible week.

[MikeA]

Is this really true, that Nick Berg was working for Michael Moore? Can you elaborate?

[OldFriend]

On the one hand the left keeps insisting that the danger from terrorists is a Rove creation and that there really is no danger. On the other hand they shriek like stuck pigs if their cash allotment to fight terror is lessened by any amount.

As always, they're intellectually dishonest and want everything both ways.