The death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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It doesn't feel nice to say it, but the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is a good thing.

The al-Qaida leader in Iraq was responsible for all manner of gruesome and brutal incidents -- the beheading of kidnapped foreigners, attacks on civilians and suicide bombings throughout the country.

He was the horrible face of a violent insurgency that has moved that country into a virtual civil war. His influence was deeply destructive; it is good that he is gone.

Zarqawi's death may have more symbolic meaning for the floundering Bush administration than real meaning for Iraqis living through the bloody aftermath of Saddam Hussein's overthrow.

Victories in any war can be tactical or symbolic; sometimes they are both. In this case, while Zarqawi's demise may cripple his al-Qaida operation in Iraq, it could just as easily invigorate them and provoke a vengeful response.

Furthermore, Zarqawi headed only one part of a broad insurgency with many leaders and participants who are unlikely to lay down their weapons simply because he is dead.

What Zarqawi's death has clearly done is give the Bush administration and their military leaders some well-earned bragging rights for an operation well-done.

But beyond that, making predictions about Iraq, as the Bush administration has reluctantly discovered, is not a smart thing to do.

Saddam Hussein's capture, his sons' killing -- all were hailed at the time as watershed events that would change the course of the war.

They didn't. We are cautious about overestimating the value of Zarqawi's death.

Yet there was unequivocally positive news out of Iraq in the last 24 hours as well, that needs no qualification.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki finally completed the formation of his government by filling defense and interior ministry slots, as well as a minister of state for security affairs.

That move toward the exercise of democracy is welcome and we hope hope that this real accomplishment, coupled with the symbolically important death of a brutal terrorist, can help move that tortured country closer to peace.