Z-Day

(Updated throughout the day.  See the Comments thread, too.)

Wednesday, June 7, 2006, is an important new date in the war on terror. Let's call it "Z-Day".

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi died as he lived and as he wanted -- as a committed jihadist at war with infidels and with Muslims who choose to work with infidels.  Make no mistake that for his barbaric brand of steadfastness he will forever be eulogized, admired, and copied (or copycatted) by successive jihadists.  They will forever regard this day, in part, as a day of rejoicing. We should not forget that.

Our rejoicing should therefore be tempered by the recognition that Zarqawi's death solves nothing in and of itself.  It just makes the problem clearer.  The problem is that in the civil war within Islam, a war between reformers and retrogrades, the West has and must continue to intervene. May "Z-Day" go down in history as one important benchmark of this much larger intervention.

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Updates: I'd originally posted that he'd been killed on the 8th; he was killed on the 7th and the news was reported on the 8th. Bill Roggio weighs in on how the Z-Day strike was conducted, on its importance, and with video links. Daily Kos shows us the view from below -- with his head buried in the sand (or somewhere else). Alexandra compiles a beautiful news roundup, followed by her assertion that the Zarqawi strike (plus other successes) is nothing less than a shot heard 'round the Muslim world. Atlas corroborates my take on the ongoing jihadist threat by furnishing quality links and an appropriately celebratory vlog. Then there's "Mark Steyn and Hugh [Hewitt] say adieu to Abu": "[E]very victory is just a pause to take a breath, to cheer the great work that's been done, and then on to the next stage." Blue Star Chronicles proves that it doesn't have to bleed to lead. Junkyard Blog says it's time now to bring Moqtada al-Sadr into line.

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On this issue of the civil war within Islam in which the West has an interest, Pastor Donald Sensing (Maj. US Army, Ret., btw) offers thoughtful, must-read speculation on what, within Islam's spiritual strain, the Zarqawi strike reveals and portends. In a word, hope (via Winds of Change via Hugh Hewitt). JMK recommends the pastor's earlier commentaries as well:

[Al Qaeda's] primary war is against other Muslims. What is at stake are lives, human freedom, and the very definition of Islam itself, and

Non-violent Muslims need to wake up; Islam's soul is being murdered.

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Son, it's not whether we win or lose.  It's how we end the war.
-- Michael Berg
(Ok, that's not exactly what he said, but he sure came close -- picked up on by autonomous Rocco and also by dice-throwing Gail.)

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And happy birthday to reader Lance in Las Vegas! May you always roll snake eyes.

Comments

[Donald Sensing]

Thank you very much for the links, always grateful for them!

A minor point - I retired from the US Army, not the USMC. My eldest son became a Marine, of which I am justly proud!

[JMK]

Corrected. Apologies for the mistake. The religious perspectives you provide, or insist on, seem essenetial if we're to have a chance of bringing the latest generations of the madrassa-indoctrinated into a modern, monotheistic world.

[Lao Hu]

"Zarqawi's death solves nothing in and of itself." - JMK

You miss the military significance of Zarqawi's death. Strikes based on captured intel from his HQ have obliterated the top level of the Sunni/ Al-Qaeda terrorism ring.

While Muslim footsoldiers are easy to replace, networks and leadership are not. In the short term, we should expect a flurry of poorly-organized retaliation attacks against soft civilian targets. However, over the next month Al-Qaeda's ability to harm US troops will degrade even further than it already has, to the point of complete insignificance.

"[Al Qaeda's] primary war is against other Muslims. ... Non-violent Muslims need to wake up; Islam's soul is being murdered."

True Muslims primarily kill Muslims of other sects because Islam is a legalistic and hate-filled religion. Zarqawi does not murder the soul of Islam; he embodies it. The gruesome murder and propagandization of captured enemies is a literal reenactment of Muhammad's career.

Zarqawi's faith and zeal was such that he lived and died for a false god and a false book. I am confident that he, having now met the real God, has transferred the loyalties of his heart to their proper place.

Satan mocked Old Testament Judaism with Baal and New Testament Christianity with Allah. The price he paid for creating the Islamic monstrosity was that many, in embracing monotheism, would upon death recognize the true God who in life they had sought to serve.

[JMK]

Indeed, after reading other estimations of the likely impact of this strike I now figure there are quantifiable adverse effects on al-Q cells and like-minded bands. Some of them immediate. Vital point, Lao Hu; you are correct and justified to make it.

Still, considering the thousands of wannabee martyrs worldwide who await their "rendezvous with 72", I admit I'm concerned that body counts of actual kills may just renew their fervor - even as these kills are necessary objectives, militarily.

"Zarqawi does not murder the soul of Islam; he embodies it. The gruesome murder and propagandization of captured enemies is a literal reenactment of Muhammad's career."

I'm divided as to whether it's possible to separate the Muslim from the jihadist. Your statements are so clear. Perhaps Pastor Sensing will contribute here again.

Thanks for the Biblical commentary; it's useful. Time's approaching to light candles for Shabbat. Have a good weekend.