June 08, 2006

US Air Raid kills Al-Zarqawi
posted by es el Queso 18 years ago
  • What, again? How many times can he be killed? mind you, he grew back a leg, once, so perhaps he is like a worm, you cut a bit of & he regenerates.
  • *off
  • Too bad they didn't get him when they had the chance before the war, but better late than never I reckon. I guess the Zarqawi psy-ops campaign which was targeted at the "U.S. Home Audience" can be closed now.
  • so i guess there's a job opening for bogeyperson, second level, in iraq?
  • Another demon allegedly killed - time to find a new target
  • roryk well said goes back to ditzy illwritten fantasy novels where all has been predicted - laughs maniacally....
  • A commentator on another blog opined that this will be a yearly spring event, since he's been reported killed around this time last year & the one before that.
  • So - do we get that $25 million bounty? That would cut a nice chunk out of the war debt.
  • So if he comes back and sees his shadow, it's what, two more years of war?
  • Heh. Ground Zarqawi Day. I'd go and see that film.
  • Show me the science. Not that I'd believe it anyway.
  • Kill me once, shame on me; kill me twice, shame on... No, no, wait. Kill me once, shame on you; kill me twice, sham... Damn it, it doesn't work.
  • So wait, does that mean, *the war is over*!?!?!
  • *kisses sailor in Times Square*
  • *closes down black market profiteering cabal. runs for public office*
  • Dammit. How can I live my life in fear without a Boogeyman. As an American I need a Boogeyman. My fear level is dropping! I WANT A NEW FUCKING BOOGEYMAN!
  • *offers argh some south american narco-gangster-terrorists*
  • I WANT A NEW FUCKING BOOGEYMAN! Here you go!
  • OH MY GOD! GAYS WANT TO GET MARRIED???? (Thanks Bone!)
  • Here's one more! They've been working on him for a while, so he should be ripe and tender for the plucking soon. *gets out old GNR tape from Panama invasion, practices Axl scream for 'Welcome to the Jungle'*
  • Hey! Where's your appreciation for the classics? He's still good!
  • I must also point out that I admire the U.S. military's choice of frame for the photo. I'm glad they took the time for such an aesthetically pleasing gold tone with simple lines. A nice mat job too I must say. Well done!
  • He's still good! Nah. He's old and busted. And why go after some guy in a cave, when you can go for Chavez and raise oil futures? Chavez is the new hotness, baby! Osama, he's sooooooooo 2001.
  • Sunnis and Shiites can love each other now.....
  • And Terrorism will stop, so that's nice.
  • DefenseTech has a really good roundup.
  • Terra! Terra! Terra! /sputtle
  • /spittle!!!!
  • Do I really need to watch video of the bombing? So I can sit back in my lazzzy-boy and feel relief? Can they zoom in on those cross hairs any more? Can I replay the moment of impact on my Tivo? Between commercials advertising cling wrap and all-beef patties: Hot damn! Pull out the flags Bob, we're back in business!
  • "Zarqawi is best categorized as violence capitalist, very similar to bin Laden, that supported and incubated guerrilla entrepreneurs of the new open source warfare model. In this role he was instigator of violence and not the leader of a vast hierarchical insurgency."Link ????????????????????????? I am glad they havent kicked in the "American Idol Insurgency" or the "iPod jihad!"
  • For the next two days, turn off the news. You'll only hear bullshit spewed endlessly about this.
  • "...best categorized as violence capitalist..." I like the ring to that. Violence Capitalist. As opposed to Violence Commissar. Or Violence Senator. Or Violence Vicar. I think Violence would be a good first name for someone. Maybe you.
  • MonkeyFilter: You'll only hear bullshit spewed endlessly about this.
  • Am I the only person "uncynical" enough to be glad dude's dead? I mean, he cut people's fucking heads off and was like an Islamic Charlie Manson. I'm not thrilled with this war because of the immense loss of innocent life. This dude was no small part of that. And yes, I'm aware that his death isn't going to stop this crap. Hopefully it just means that many fewer unnecessary deaths.
  • I wouldn't be surprised if Chimpy addresses the nation this evening, ya know, gotta bolster those approval ratings. Another victory speech perhaps?
  • "And yes, I'm aware that his death isn't going to stop this crap. Hopefully it just means that many fewer unnecessary deaths." Or some REALLY ugly mofo rises up to take his place. So how do we maintain peace in an area where you have extreme groups that hate each other (shiite, sunni, kurds)? Rule of force? Secular? Who could do that, without genocide?
  • Who'd have thought a nuclear plant could be such a deathtrap?!?
  • «The military's propaganda program largely has been aimed at Iraqis, but seems to have spilled over into the U.S. media. One briefing slide about U.S. "strategic communications" in Iraq, prepared for Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top U.S. commander in Iraq, describes the "home audience" as one of six major targets of the American side of the war. [...] The Zarqawi campaign is discussed in several of the internal military documents. "Villainize Zarqawi/leverage xenophobia response," one U.S. military briefing from 2004 stated.»
  • ...sputtle... ...spittle spewtle
  • Rot in hell, you monster.
  • bees is not a monster!
  • "Am I the only person "uncynical" enough to be glad dude's dead? I mean, he cut people's fucking heads off and was like an Islamic Charlie Manson." I'm heartened to see someone is still believing the information released by the Pentagon & the US press. It makes me feel good the same way that a kid who still believes in Santa or the Tooth Fairy does. I mean, for fuck's sake, you're criticising people for being cynical? After the lies about WMD, Abu Ghraib, Fallujah, Haditha, et al? You'd have to have rocks in your head *not* to be cynical at this point. (I'll also add pedantically that Charles Manson never actually killed anyone himself, he got others to do it)
  • I understand he was quite good at tango.
  • glad dude's dead I cannot speak for anyone but myself. I cannot judge another human's actions, except my own. Do I know upon the shadow of my existance that this was a human that deserved to be exterminated - no, I do not. Events such as these, regardless of nation where broadcast, make me sad and angered for the creature known as human. I'm not glad for *any* individual to be dead. I turn on the television, and it seems gleefully celebratory. I overheard some people on the train during the commute home, "we got the bastard!!" How is that any different than people dancing in the streets - happy for the news of 9/11? I'm tired of being lied and deceived to. Fuck yeah, I'm beyond cynical at this point. /spelunk
  • I understand he was quite good at tango. Argentine or Ballroom?
  • I'm not sure why a Manson reference is good here. It's hard to compare the scale. I really wish he'd been captured, and was forced to listen to a stream of yentas explaining to him why he was such a putz. Maybe some duct tape over his mouth, so he couldn't rant in response. An army of Jewish mothers could either convert him, or send him into cardiac arrest. (Note: I'm not Jewish, and this was not intended to be anything but admiration.) But, yentas of any faith, in non-ending streams, may be one type of madrassa that could set him straight, given enough time.
  • So it really is "Mission Accomplished" now. Our troops finally get to come home to stay. And Casey Sheehan comes back to life and everything.
  • Awesome! Will Ali Ismail Abbas get his arms and family back?
  • I am away from home, unable to keep as abreast as I'd like of MoFi threads, and am too lazy to do even a minor bit of research work within them, but am reminded of the recent comment in some thread -- was it by Captain Renault? -- that it was uniquely Canadian to celebrate the 2nd place finish of an athlete in some obscure sporting event. No so unique, I suppose. Here we have Americans cheering on the vanquishing of a guy who, while vile, was certainly the penultimate goal of evil-doer assasinations. Osama corpse photos, to show on CNN, anyone? Didn't think so. Not that this is a one-person or one target hatefest in any sense, but to drum up this killing (and to show a cleansed photo of the corpse) is about as stupid as every other step of the Iraq affair. End of inarticulate rant.
  • From the Michael Berg article: "Nicholas Berg's father, a pacifist who is running for Delaware's U.S. House seat on the Green Party ticket, said al-Zarqawi's death is likely to foster anti-American resentment among al-Qaida members who feel they have nothing left to lose." I could be wrong, but don't al-Quaida members already carry anti-American resentment? And hell, if resentment is all we're worried about, then that's a load off.
  • They were already willing to give their lives if it meant killing some Americans. How much more could they possibly have to lose? I did think the gleefulness was a little over the top. Its like, we've really screwed up (torture, insurgency, wmds), now we're overcompensating for getting one tiny little thing right. "Woohoo! I managed to tie my shoes! I'm not a complete screw-up!" The guy represents less than 12% of the insurgency, he'll be replaced shortly, al-qaida didn't like the way he was blowing up mosques (so we did OBL a favor)... but he did cut the heads off of a bunch of people, so ... at least that problem is solved. Now, Mr. Bush, while you are busy talking about turning points... how about OBL? That fact that he still breathes air is an embarassment.
  • "but he did cut the heads off of a bunch of people, so..." There is no hard evidence proving that Zarqawi beheaded anyone.
  • Why does it matter that he didn't himself cut off the heads. He doesn't lead the organization? He's not a foreigner who came to Iraq to join the insurgency? He's a butinsky who kills people so that he can impose his idea of religious law on another people who are not his own. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3483089.stm I can name another butinsky that I also wouldn't shed any tears for, who himself has not actually killed anybody.
  • "Why does it matter that he didn't himself cut off the heads." It doesn't, in the grand scheme of things. I was just pointing out that there is some doubt as to the identity of the men in the videos, even though it's claimed to be him on 'title cards'. What I'm implying is that Zarqawi was a useful PR tool for the coalition forces to blame for everything & anything, & that he may actually not have been anywhere near as effective an insurgent leader he was made out to be. He certainly looked pretty bloody stupid in that video where he can't even handle his gun. I think he was simply sold out by someone & they may have gotten some lucrative position in the cabinet in return. Like petroleum minister. (look for a Sunni in this job). Carving up Iraq into separate states based on ethnic lines would possibly be a desireable outcome for the US & Israel, at this point, with the occupation a failure. In such a condition, Iraq's oil largesse could more easily be extracted, & an Iran-style fundamentalist state could be avoided, thus appeasing Israel. Does anyone remember those two British black ops guys the Iraqis caught with loads of bomb-making equipment in their car? And then the Poms broke them out of prison with tanks? Didn't hear anything more about that, did we? Funny old world. What I'm saying is, Zarqawi = Emmanuel Goldstein. They offed him as big stories about US war crimes are coming out. Funny how these things seem to happen at such opportune times for Bush's polling numbers. /tinfoil, but can you blame me?
  • They offed him as big stories about US war crimes are coming out. Funny how these things seem to happen at such opportune times for Bush's polling numbers. My feeling as well. They said this operation took three weeks to execute. It's almost as if there was a small secret discussion - - "um Georgie, we've got this small problem with Haditha, there's some, um, some pictures you see, and um, well, it's not looking good sir. We need a quick fix here..." ... "I'll tell you what boys, why don't we get that Zarqawi dude?" Go ahead and laugh, but I wouldn't say that is far-fetched after everything that has already happened. Just interesting how the media dropped talk of Haditha almost to the second of the Zarqawi news breaking. A dead weight off of their shoulders I'm sure... Ok, I'll shut my yap now.
  • In that case Chyren, I pretty much agree with you. But the idea that Zarqawi might not be a bad man in his own right I find far fetched. That he will be used as a symbol by the administration, well, thats a given. The guy wasn't that important, his organization has hydra-tic properties, and the war has been lost since abu-ghraib, if not earlier.
  • i think the war was lost in the (lack of) planning stages. zarqawi was probably a bad guy, there's little doubt about it. nevertheless, it seems likely he wasn't the evil genius the rulers would have you believe in. he was a bogeyman, a straw man, a whipping boy. interesting piece appeared on strategy page a day before the killing was announced. *adjusts crease in tin-foil trilby*
  • If I recall correctly, his father was a well respected and much loved spiritual leader. When Sr. died, Jr. took over, but became much more of an activist. The Iraqi bloggers I read saw him as the anthesis of his father, probably because he didn't have the same intellect. Loose cannon, don't you know. Here's a translation an intercepted letter that he wrote in February, 2004, detailing his hatred of anyone who wasn't of his sect. A bad guy, to be sure.
  • I'm sorry, Chyren - are you saying that because this strike was probably politically-motivated to coincide with sliding poll numbers, then it follows that al-Zarqawi was not a homicidal maniac?
  • I'm just glad the cell phone was his undoing. Let that be a lesson to the lot of ya.
  • I don't remember making that particular argument. As I recall, I was making the point that his exploits had been exaggerated. There are lots of murderers in Iraq. Some of them are ours, some of them are theirs. Zarqawi is dead, but since he was mostly a boogey man made up by the Pentagon, it means precious little. The idea that Zarqawi was the biggest, baddest, is a load of shit. Zarqawi was nothing. Wait for the next iteration of psychos outa this thing. Bush got no bounce, anyway.
  • ouch.
  • )) for the link homunculus.
  • And now Berg is being locked-out of the debates. Freedom is on the march!
  • *needle on outrage meter gets buried* No words... no words...