Well, some people may be quietly pleased, but here at the Sharf household, it was toasts and cheers when we heard he had gone to the Big Dirt Nap. And more satisfaction on hearing the news that he was conscious and aware that the Americans had gotten him. Apparently, some Iraqi neighbor is claiming that he saw Americans beating the crap out of Zarqawi after they pulled him from the rubble. We can only hope.
Driving home on Friday evening, with the local ESPN affiliate off the air for some technical reason, it was a choice between Randi Rhodes and Michael Savage. Ms. Rhodes - and boy, is that one angry woman or what? - spent one segment equating Zarqawi with Tom DeLay, and another segment comparing him favorably to the President.
During that last segment, she made a point of dragging out quotes from Michael Berg, Nick Berg's father, and explaining how terrible it was that Michael was being demonized for being "truly religious" in his attitude towards Zarqawi's timely demise. After all, Michael Berg realizes that revenge killings only perpetuate the endless cycle of violence, and the "peace movement" is all about ending war. In doing so, she sounded almost genuinely sorry that Zarqawi had been killed by American bombs.
Randi Rhodes is an idiot. Michael Berg simply lacks the ability to forgive Zarqawi.
While Michael Berg may be forgiven for believing otherwise, this wasn't only about Nick Berg's beheading. Nick Berg's beheading is referred to in order to show what kind of monster Zarqawi was; it's not shown as the only crime the man was guilty of. Zarqawi was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iraqis and of quite possibly over 100 American troops, not to mention thousands of casualties. The only man who can forgive him Nicholas Berg's murder is dead, and in any case, there are thousands of others with equal moral standing who are not in quite so forgiving a mood.
One last point. While it's important for the military to recognize and adjust based on who the informants were, it's not necessary or desirable for you and me to know. Almost any scenario is a good one, because almost any scenario indicates weaknesses - political and military - we're now able to exploit.
So let's raise a glass to Zarqawi's End. As our favorite commercial would ask, "How in the netherworld are you, anyway?"
