by John M. Curtis
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Copyright June 8, 2006
All Rights Reserved.

ealing a symbolic blow to Al Qaeda in Iraq, the boom finally lowered on the brutal 39-year-old Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. Al Zarqawi was best known for his barbaric kidnappings and beheadings, especially of the May 8, 2003 videotaped decapitation of Nicholas Berg, perpetrated, according to the CIA, by Al Zarqawi, though some have their doubts. Getting sound intel, Centcom got its coordinates and dialed in an F-16 attack, dropping two 500-pound bombs on Al Zarqawi's “safe house,” 30 miles north of Baghdad, killing Iraq's most notorious terrorist. Pentagon officials tracked Al Zarqawi's spiritual advisor Abdul Rahman to a residence where he met with Al Zarqawi and seven other aides. President George W. Bush hailed the operation as “a severe blow to Al Qaeda and it is a significant victory in the war on terror,” capitalizing on a well-deserved success.

      Killing Al Zarqawi was a major public relations coup for a White House, hammered by bad news, driving Bush's approval ratings subterranean. Al Zarqawi's death gives Bush's Iraq policy a shot in the arm, at a time when the White House faces mounting criticism. Liquidating Al Zarqawi won't stop the insurgency but gives the Pentagon credibility amidst growing skepticism. Al Zarqawi's death helps consolidate power for Iraq's new government but does not spell the end of Iraq's guerrilla war. No one knows for sure Al Zarqawi's connection to Osama bin Laden, other than the renegade Jordanian proclaiming himself “Al Qaeda in Iraq.” Several other Sunni and Shiite insurgent groups battle for control with 32-year-old Muqtada Al Sadr's 10,000-plus army dominating the landscape. Al Sadr's Mahdi militia has been fingered for thousands of Iraqi deaths.

      When the U.S. let Al Sadr escape from the siege of Najaf April 27, 2004, they miscalculated his role in the ongoing insurgency. Pressure from Iraq's Supreme Shiite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani gave Al Sadr a free pass out of Najaf. No one knows whether AL Zarqawi ever collaborated with Al Sadr but it's known inside the insurgency that the black-garbed Mahdi militia is Iraq's biggest death squad. Al Zarqawi, a member of the obscure Kurdish separatist group Ansar Al Islam, was a convicted fugitive and street thug, grandstanding via Al Jazeera with his well known threats and beheadings. Aside from some isolated attacks, including the Oct. 28, 2002 killing of U.S. Diplomat Laurence Foley, there's no evidence that Zarqawi fueled Iraq's insurgency. White House officials have always been keen on establishing links among Iraq's insurgency, Al Qaeda and Sept. 11.

      Unlike Al Sadr, AL Zarqawi commanded no army or death squad, certainly not the Mahdi militia committed, above all else, to ending U.S. occupation. Al Sadr's goal is nothing short of succeeding Saddam Hussein as Iraq's rightful heir. He rejects Iraq's new government as a puppet U.S. regime. Al Sadr's death squads target all Iraqis, Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, attacking Iraq's U.S.-backed government. Since letting Al Sadr escape with his army, the U.S. has blamed Al Zarqawi for almost everything connected with the insurgency. President George W. Bush cautioned about the implications of Al Zarqawi's death. “Zarqawi is dead, but the difficult and necessary mission in Iraq continues,” warning that the insurgency goes on. Bush knows that despite the U.S. singling out Al Zarqawi, he's a small player compared to Al Sadr in Iraq's guerrilla war

      White House and Pentagon officials have every right to celebrate but exaggerating the implications of Al Zarqawi's death plays into the hands of Iraq's insurgents. “A stunning shock to the Al Qaeda system,” Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters en route to Washington from a NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels. Pentagon officials haven't announced the recipient of the $25-million bounty, possibly supporting unconfirmed reports that Al Qaeda operatives sold Al Zarqawi out, tipping off the Pentagon. Recent videotapes gave Al Zarqawi center stage over Bin Laden and second-in-command chief lieutenant Al Qaeda's Egyptian-born mouthpiece Ayman Al-Zawahiri. Zawahiri, in a prerecorded message before Al Zarqawi's death, told Muslims, “Palestine was the land of Islam, and its liberation is the duty of every Muslim.”

      Al Zarqawi's death should give the U.S. free X-ray into the depth of the insurgency, not likely to change. Time will tell whether the current U.S. military death rate slows down or isn't impacted by Al Zarqawi's death. “While Zarqawi's death is a symbolic gain for the Americans, I don't think we'll see a real change on the ground,” said French terrorism expert Dominiqe Thomas, doubting that Al Zaraqawi's death would slow the ongoing guerrilla war. Until the U.S. deals with Muqtada Al Sadr, it's doubtful there will be a let up in anarchy. Celebrating Al Zarqawi's death gives the White House a Pyrrhic victory, not facing reality that Al Sadr's Mahdi forces infiltrate Iraq's new military and drive much of the current insurgency. Al Zarqawi's death buys Bush more time but doesn't deal with Al Sadr and other terrorist groups whose violence and anarchy prevent U.S. success.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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