The Blog @ Spolitics

Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead…Finally

WaPo:

Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, whose leadership of the insurgent group al- Qaeda in Iraq made him the most wanted man in the country, was killed Wednesday evening by an air strike near Baqubah, north of Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Thursday.

The Jordanian-born Zarqawi claimed responsibility for hundreds of kidnappings, bombings and beheadings. His stated aim, in addition to ousting U.S. and other forces from Iraq, was to foment bloody sectarian strife between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

He was killed along with seven aides, officials said. They said his identity has been verified by fingerprints and other methods.

“Today Zarqawi was defeated,” said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, appearing at a midday news conference with top U.S. General George W. Casey and American Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. “This is a message to all those who use violence killing and devastation to disrupt life in Iraq to rethink within themselves before it is too late,” he added.

The WaPo article goes on to say:

In an audio statement last week he [Zarqawi] called for the killing of revered Grand Ayatullah Ali al-Sistani, the country’s most revered Shiite cleric.

I wonder if this is what finally did him and motivated residents to give him up.

It’s important to remember, though, as Bill Murray said in “What About Bob?” — baby steps. Those of us who listened to what Bush actually said in 2003 (as opposed to granting definitive status to a banner hanging behind him) understood that this effort would take patience. Despite this latest triumph, it’s going to take more.

Update: Michelle Malkin has more on the story.