Free Republic

CAIRO (Reuters) - The death of Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq showed deep splits on Thursday between Arabs who see the Iraqi insurgency as resistance to occupation and those who say al Qaeda gives Arabs and Muslims a bad name. But few ordinary Arabs or analysts expected that the killing of the Jordanian-born militant would have much effect in reducing the level of violence in Iraq. Some Arab citizens hailed Zarqawi as a hero for his role in the insurgency but others welcomed his death as a form of justice for the civilians killed in bombings by...

DUBAI - Taunting President Bush during the videotaped killing of a sobbing, blindfolded U.S. hostage, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi boasted that the al-Qaida fighters he commanded “love death just like you love life.” “Killing for the sake of God is their best wish,” the insurgent leader said, drawing a knife to hack off the head of his kneeling victim. “Getting to your soldiers and allies are their happiest moments, and cutting the heads of the criminal infidels is implementing the orders of our Lord.” By the time he was killed Wednesday in a U.S. airstrike, al-Zarqawi was more powerful as a...

Some Democrats, breaking ranks from their leadership, today said the death of terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi in Iraq was a stunt to divert attention from an unpopular and hopeless war. "This is just to cover Bush's [rear] so he doesn't have to answer" for Iraqi civilians being killed by the U.S. military and his own sagging poll numbers, said Rep. Pete Stark, California Democrat. "Iraq is still a mess -- get out."