In the early hours of June 8, 2006, I awoke to the scrolling news ticker on Cable Pulse 24. Although my first concern was the weather conditions for the weekend, this brief headline caught my eye: “Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader al-Zarqawi killed by U.S. forces.”
For all the negativity and animosity surrounding the American-led war in Iraq, al-Zarqawi’s death signals a major victory for U.S. forces, western interests in the region, and most importantly, the Iraqi people.
The importance of al-Zarqawi’s demise is seen not only in his physical removal from the insurgency, but more importantly through the spiritual and symbolic significance of having al-Zarqawi’s cold, lifeless body on display for the world to see.
For three years al-Zarqawi portrayed himself as the invincible and untouchable al-Qaeda leader of Iraq, operating with impunity in the war-torn country. By eluding U.S. and coalition forces and staging devastating attacks on both military and civilian targets, al-Zarqawi built himself up in his followers’ eyes as something extraordinary. He became the international symbol of al-Qaeda’s presence in the Middle East, and his leadership was reported to supersede even that of Osama bin Laden.
All of that ended when a U.S. air strike demonstrated to his followers, his enemies, and those that feared him that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was but a man, a mere mortal. His alleged greatness stemmed from ordering others to do what he was too cowardly to do himself.
Al-Zarqawi carried out a three-year campaign of terror and murder, the majority of his victims being Iraqi civilians, the very people he claimed to be helping. He claimed to be a devout Muslim, yet he initiated a religious civil war between the two major sects of Islam in Iraq.
Let us not remember al-Zarqawi as the legendary fedayeen leader who waged war against the U.S. in the name of Islam. Let us remember him for who he really was: a coward, a murderer, and an enemy.
Al-Zarqawi’s death puts the tragic struggle for Iraq back into perspective. The campaign waged in that country and against terrorism everywhere is waged against people like al-Zarqawi-people who exploit the disenfranchised and the poor. They indoctrinate their followers with intolerance and advocate a policy based on violence and terror.
Our enemies aim to undermine our society-building efforts in the Middle East and subject war-weary civilian populations to unrelenting bloodshed. For all the debate over the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, we must not forget who we are fighting, who we are trying to help, and what we are trying to build for the future.
