Yup, Iraqi suicide-bomb coordinator Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is up there with his 72 virgins–and we did it! What can I do but echo this:
“General George W. Casey Jr, head of US-led forces in Iraq said Zarqawi and one of his key lieutenants, spiritual advisor Sheikh Abdel Rahman were killed at 6:15 pm (1415 GMT) Wednesday in an air strike on an isolated safe house.
“He said Zarqawi’s death ‘is a significant blow to Al-Qaeda and another step toward defeating terrorism in Iraq.'”
Captain Ed Morrissey writes:
The elimination of Zarqawi and his henchmen will kneecap the foreign insurgency. Although the network will still exist, the loss of leadership and political connections will guarantee its rapid decline. What little command and control existed will disappear, and the funding channels that Zarqawi controlled with go with them. Cells will operate without any coordination at all, a problem already with the successes the Coalition and Iraq have achieved against the network. They will act all at once in response to this attack, but then should run out of gas quickly.”
For more terrific commentary, consult The Anchoress’s masterly collection of links.