Just saying this into the ozone:

The strike that killed al Zarqawi ( based on intelligence regarding his location that was probably older than yesterday ) could be the scheduled provocation that leads to the next encouraged terror attack that leads to the next imperialist invasion.

I personally don't believe the calming waters around Iran right now. Whatever the US and the European governments are saying about talks with Iran, Israel wants to hear none of it. Israel wants air strikes, the carriers are in position, a limited strike of the centrifuge locations still seems probable for July.

Please let's not forget this.

The Pentagon three times had plans to kill Zarqawi, four years ago, and three times it was nixed by the White House, for fear of what effect it might have on world opinion.

Sometime later, with no trace of irony, George Bush managed to say:

Bush wrote:"I'm not exactly sure what you mean, 'passes the global test,' you take pre-emptive action if you pass a global test. My attitude is you take pre-emptive action in order to protect the American people, that you act in order to make this country secure."

To me, this may be the single worst stain on this president's record. I think this would have turned me from a Bush supporter into a sane person, if I had been a Bush supporter when I heard about it.


All that is kind of a digression from your point, clocker bob. I don't share your pessimism/cynicism on this point, but I don't think you're exactly in tinfoil-hat territory either. Guess we'll see.

Killing the Z probably doesn't mean much anyway.

Bin Laden didn't like him that much. He was a great tactician and effective killer, but he wasn't a thinker, apparently, and he didn't elevate the Al Qaeda rhetoric to a new level.

So, Bin Laden will be able to use his martyr death for recruitment, even though he didn't like him. Seems like politics is politics no matter where you are.

I never lament the loss of a bad guy who blows people up, or the fact that others like him went down at the same time. However, this helps nothing, and truth be known, might actually hurt because it will energize Al Q in Iraq.

Someone will fill his shoes in about 10 minutes.

I'm optimistic that any spike in Bush's approval ratings will last a week at most.

-A

I'd like to know why he wasn't taken alive.
I'm sure the US military could have done it. Worst case senario would be that he killed himself before they got the chance.

There's something about the timing of this that doesn't sit well with me.

This will totally overshadow the Hidatha ballsup.

Linus Van Pelt wrote:
All that is kind of a digression from your point, clocker bob. I don't share your pessimism/cynicism on this point, but I don't think you're exactly in tinfoil-hat territory either. Guess we'll see.

It's not a digression, not in my world. The fluctuating intensity of the pursuits of our arch enemies like al Zarqawi or bin Laden fits into my thesis that much of what occurs ( and especially in the Middle East ) is partly the unfolding of a script. I don't believe these are simply random occurences- I think the dog is about to be wagged on Iran, and al Zarqawi ( and possibly the incident in Toronto ) are grabs of the tail.

If Ahmenadjiad does visit Germany for the World Cup and returns to Iran without some accompanying terror incident and there are no air strikes in July, then I guess I barked up the wrong tree.

alex maiolo wrote:
Someone will fill his shoes in about 10 minutes.

I'm optimistic that any spike in Bush's approval ratings will last a week at most.

-A

We're not leaving Iraq anytime soon, that's obvious. Look up the proportions of our Camp Anaconda near Baghdad- it houses over 20,000 service people and halliburton types and there's a runway more active than O'Hare's. They've got six to fourteen more permanent bases in various stages of completion, depending on the source you believe.

al Zarqawi may just be some water to throw on the 'bring the troops home' crowd here at home.

We have some elections coming up as well. I'm surprised they didn't wait to do this until November 1st.

I'm sure the Coulters and Hannitys will be out in force today telling us we've now "turned the corner" and we'll be treated as liberators all over again.

Schaal wrote:We have some elections coming up as well. I'm surprised they didn't wait to do this until November 1st.

The fact that they didn't hold this card and play it closer to the elections, a la bin Laden in October, '04, is what makes me suspect it's more a route to Iran war/ global market support / appeasement of Israel.

Schaal wrote:We have some elections coming up as well. I'm surprised they didn't wait to do this until November 1st.

Cynical us. I said the same thing to my wife today.

I'm sure the Coulters and Hannitys will be out in force today telling us we've now "turned the corner" and we'll be treated as liberators all over again.

As Bill Maher said:
We turned a corner, and then another, and then another, and then another.
Wow! We're headed in the same direction again!

-A

clocker bob wrote:The fluctuating intensity of the pursuits of our arch enemies like al Zarqawi or bin Laden fits into my thesis that much of what occurs ( and especially in the Middle East ) is partly the unfolding of a script.

7