Terrorist al-Zarqawi reaps what he sowed

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was a thug in his youth on the streets of Jordan and a vicious middle-age murderer who masqueraded as a warrior in Iraq. The man who had become the face of al-Qaida in Iraq and an enabler of the insurgency died Wednesday night in the blast of two 500-pound U.S. bombs. The world is a better place without him.
While his elimination is a good thing, it does not of itself signal the death knell for the insurgency or necessarily a shortening of the war. If, however, his successors can be eliminated before they can establish control of al-Zarqawi's loyalists or develop the almost mythical persona of al-Zarqawi, his death may have broader implications.
His record
Few men deserved to die as much as al-Zarqawi did. He trained countless terrorists, bore responsibility for the bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Iraq, the assassination of dozens of influential Shiia Muslim leaders and the massacre of hundreds of Shiia worshippers at mosques in Iraq. He was a leader of insurgents in Fallujah, where Americans were killed and their bodies desecrated.
But the true measure of al-Zarqawi was his role as the masked knife-wielding killer who hacked at the necks of kidnapped hostages until they were beheaded. A videotape of him beheading American Nicholas Berg in May 2004 was titled "Sheikh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi slaughters an American infidel with his own hands" and was distributed with approval by his supporters and accomplices.
While his viciousness was obviously real, his prowess was open to question. A recent video portrayed al-Zarqawi as an insurgent commander looking over maps and swaggering through the desert with a machine gun. But footage released later, which the U.S. military said was found in a raid, showed al-Zarqawi fumbling with the weapon and needing assistance to fire it. Beneath his robe, the outtakes showed, the man who portrayed himself as a desert warrior wore comfortable Western sneakers.
Senator's view
U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, struck a proper tone in reacting to the news of al-Zarqawi's death. "While we must not become complacent, the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is indeed a major victory in the Global War on Terror. Al-Zarqawi was a terrorist, a murderer and a coward. Osama bin Laden has lost his 'Prince of al-Qaida in Iraq'. We will do everything possible to help Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki get his government off the ground and, God willing, move his country forward as we work to make Iraq truly free."
Al-Zarqawi's death gives the new Iraqi government an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to unifying the nation by striking at the insurgency while it is at some level of disarray.
At the same time, it can be expected that the insurgents will attempt to assert themselves by launching vengeance attacks against the government and coalition troops.
A unified response by Iraqis and the coalition will send a powerful message that the new government is making progress toward the goal of an independent democracy and that the day is drawing closer when American and other coalition troops can leave.