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As happened with the capture of Saddam Hussein and the "shock and awe" bombing of Baghdad, some American news organizations yesterday covered the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi with marked enthusiasm, verging on inappropriate glee. Perhaps the tone was set by the cheering and sustained applause by Iraqis at the Baghdad news conference announcing al-Zarqawi's death. But American television didn't have to follow that gung-ho lead to the extent that some channels did throughout the day. The 24-hour cable news channels and their Web sites were the worst offenders, though other news organizations shared that lack of proportion and restraint....

June 9, 2006 Gregory: Despite al-Zarqawi’s Death Iraq, Iraq Has Scarcity of “Achievements” (VIDEO) As expected, David Gregory downplays Zarqawi’s death while Chris Matthews sits there shaking his head in agreement. According to the DNC correspondent, there hasn’t been many “achievements” in the War in Iraq. I guess having three elections in one year and a newly installed administration doesn’t count as an achievement. VIDEO – .WMV

June 9, 2006 Anti-American Radio: O’Reilly Exposes Springer, Rhodes Siding With The Terrorists (VIDEO) In his talking points, Bill O’Reilly exposes these anti-American thugs: JERRY SPRINGER: We never should have gone in from day one. Now, and I understand, tens of thousands of people have been killed because we choose to go into Iraq. That is true. We killed a hell of a lot more people just by decision to go into Iraq than ever died at the hands of Zarqawi. RANDI RHODES: Even the White House Press Secretary says this today at the press briefing. He says if...

Make no mistake: Democrats are depressed. They're down in the dumps because they have been counting on the war in Iraq to go badly so that they can use that to pick up enough seats in this fall's election to take back control of the House. With Zarqawi getting clipped yesterday [WARNING: Fox News photos of Zarqawi's dead body] , this throws a wrench in things. What is going to happen to their aspirations if this marks a turning point in Iraq and we defeat the insurgency? Worse than that .. what happens if Bush gets the opportunity to display...

WASHINGTON - The frame surrounding an image of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's head, revealed to the world as proof the terrorist is dead, is bizarre. When the picture was displayed at a U.S. military news briefing, Zarqawi's face was seen inside what appeared to be a professional photographic mat job, with a large frame, as if it were something one might preserve and hang on the wall next to other family portraits. One function of frames is to bound an image, and close down its open edges; frames delimit, both physically and by extension, metaphorically. But that was the last thing...

The Left finds the death of a vicious murderer a "double tragedy," an "obscene spectacle," a "psyops program," and a good reason to surrender now. George W. Bush called it “a severe blow to al-Qaeda.” Donald called it “a significant victory.” Joe Biden admitted it a was “very significant hit.” How did much of the Left describe the killing of al-Qaeda murderer Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi? A “transparent psychological operations campaign run out of the Pentagon”; “a double tragedy”; “part of a larger and tragic story of miscalculation”; a possible fraud; a conspiracy; not “moral”; an “obscene spectacle”; no “big deal”;...

Here is a quick link of quotes about Zarqawi, from the past.www.democrats.org from 1 year ago: "The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September 11 ... if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like Zarqawi " CNN, Decemeber 16, 2005 "CNN Report: al-Zarqawi Caught and Released" News Hounds (We watch FOX so you don't have to) July 13, 2005: "In a news break during Hannity & Colmes, Page Hopkins (whom I STILL can't tell apart from Laurie Dhue) reported that yet another "top aide" to Al-Zarqawi has been captured. Comment: It's amazing...

The American air strike that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi late yesterday was a long time in coming. The F-16 pilots who put two laser-guided 500-pound bombs into the house in which Zarqawi was hiding ended the life of a terrorist who had been not only an organizer and commander of terrorists in Iraq, but also a funding source that has helped Zarqawi’s theoretical leader—Osama bin Laden—continue to spread terrorist ideology and fear. While Zarqawi’s death won’t end the terrorist war in Iraq, it’s a very big step in that direction. Buy Now Save 37% The operation was a great example...

BREAKING NEWS: A high ranking member of democrat party chief’s (Howard Dean) staff who was the prime strategic planner for the democratic congressional committee and the Iraqi DNC outreach coordinator suffered a fatal accident this morning as he and several of his close associates were brunching in the quaint, sunny, tropical resort of Baqouba. Apparently, Mr. Abu Musab Zarqawi and his staff were enjoying of simple repast of his favorite sweet melon salad, Jimmy Dean sausage and citrus spritzers chatting merrily on their cell phones with DNC operatives in Washington about the prospect of taking back Congress, when the line...

At 7:12 this morning, NBC's Today was already turning the Zarqawi victory into a Republican-Democrat spitting match, inviting on Senator Joe Biden (Democrat from Television, I mean, Delaware). When co-host Ann Curry asked: "Do you think, talking about politics for just a moment, that the President might be able now to use this to gain momentum, to improve the chances of, of improving his approval ratings and helping in the midterm elections coming up this November?" Biden said yes, because Bush has been "crippled" by "incompetence" at home and abroad: Well, I hope it does improve his ratings. Look, I’m...

Father of Nick Berg, for some reason, agreed to speak on phone to Fox & Friends. He is sad that Al-Zarqawi, the admitted murderer of Nick Berg and others, is dead. Berg took the time to Blame Bush for the killings Al-Zarqawi has bragged about. Berg also suggested that assertions that Al-Zarqawi is involved with murders is actually a fabrication by the Bush administration. Furthermore, he criticised Bush for "destabilizing" Iraq.

Mark Finkelstein June 8, 2006 You just knew it. The MSM had to find a way to downplay the significance of the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Whereas he had been portrayed as the key to violence in the country, now that he's dead, he is described as just one among many. And sure enough, on CNN this morning at about 6:20 AM, there was Octavia Nasr CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs, interviewed by host Soledad O'Brien, suggesting that Zarqawi's death might not really be such a big deal, after all. She reported...

CAIRO, Egypt Al-Qaida in Iraq confirmed the death of its leader, Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, and vowed it will continue its "holy war" in a statement posted on the Web on Thursday. "We want to give you the joyous news of the martyrdom of the mujahed sheik Abu Musab al-Zarqawi," said the statement, signed by "Abu Abdel- Rahman al-Iraqi," identified as the deputy "emir" or leader of al- Qaida in Iraq. "The death of our leaders is life for us. It will only increase our persistence in continuing holy war so that the word of God will be supreme," it...

by Mark Finkelstein June 8, 2006 Thanks to a lead from FReeper YaYa123, I'm able to report the following: On today's 'Imus in the Morning', Don Imus called NBC reporter Mike Boettcher on his attempt to spin a bombing in Baghdad as a 'not good' response to the killing of Zarqawi. Here's how it went down. Boettcher was reporting from Baghdad and had this to say: "We have the response here now [to the Zarqawi killing] and it is not good. There has been another bombing. Thirteen people are dead in central Baghdad. That is apparently the current reaction from...

Obituary: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Zarqawi was released in Jordan under a general amnesty Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was Iraq's most notorious insurgent - a shadowy figure associated with spectacular bombings, assassinations and the beheading of foreign hostages. The Jordanian-born militant first appeared in Iraq as the leader of the Tawhid and Jihad insurgent group, merging it in late 2004 with Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. But most information on him was restricted to what his enemies and supporters have attributed to him. While many analysts argued he had used the Iraqi insurgency as a springboard to expand his operations, sceptics said...

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Michael Berg, whose son Nick was beheaded in Iraq in 2004, said on Thursday he felt no sense of relief at the killing of the al Qaeda leader in Iraq and blamed President Bush for his son's death. Asked what would give him satisfaction, Berg, an anti-war activist and candidate for U.S. Congress, said, "The end of the war and getting rid of George Bush." The United States said its aircraft killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the insurgent leader who masterminded the death of hundreds in suicide bombings and was blamed for the videotaped beheading of Nick Berg,...

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Michael Berg, whose son Nick was beheaded in Iraq in 2004, said on Thursday he felt no sense of relief at the killing of the al Qaeda in Iraq leader blamed for his son's death. Asked what would give him satisfaction, Berg, an anti-war activist and candidate for U.S. Congress, said: "The end of the war and getting rid of George Bush." The United States said its aircraft killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the insurgent leader who masterminded the death of hundreds in suicide bombings and was blamed for the videotaped beheading of Nick Berg, a U.S. contractor,...

BERLIN (Reuters) - The killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi removes the man who took Iraq's insurgency to new heights of savagery but it also creates a martyr whose inspiration will mobilize new recruits. Arab and Western security analysts were agreed on Thursday that Zarqawi's death in a U.S. air raid would not end the insurgency, even if it represents a rare triumph in Iraq for the Bush administration. "There will be people that will be mobilized to join the caravan of martyrs, to emulate his example and to honor him," said Magnus Ranstorp, an al Qaeda expert at the Swedish...