Does the death of Zarqawi mark an abrupt change in the way the war in Iraq is being fought? In the days immediately following the death of the top terrorist in Iraq, some 56 raids have been carried out based largely on intelligence acquired from the original raids on Zarqawi. This appears to be a lightening response from the U.S. military to the information they now have access to.
 
For the past two years it has seemed that any strategy in Iraq was feeble, reserved and slow to come. It has been as if our military has been in some kind of a holding pattern, waiting for some break in the action, waiting for some concrete direction to move in. Could it be that finally the government of Iraq is in a position to stand on its own two feet and that this has initiated a new push to end the war?
 
In recent weeks the government has become stronger. Meetings with U.S. representative have had as a part of the discussion the Iraqi governments desire to bring the fighting to an end, but not as many would suggest through a pullout of U.S. and coalition forces, but with a clear victory and an end of the terror network that has plagued the country since Saddam and his Bathe Party were removed from power.
 
The end result of this latest round of muscle flexing by the coalition forces may be the beginning of the end for the insurgency in Iraq. The Iraqi government reports that since Zarqawi’s death, which was a coordinated effort between coalition and Iraqi military’s brought about by information provided from inside the Zarqawi camp, hundreds of leads have poured in giving detailed information on location, identifications and possible plans for future attacks by the terror networks operating inside Iraq. This indicates a clear improvement in intelligence gathering on the part of the coalition, but also indicates an abrupt change in the way Iraqi’s are viewing the conflict. They are coming to the understanding that it is the terrorist, not the U.S. forces that are perpetuating the instability within their country.
 
As the next couple of weeks unfold on the ground you can expect to hear about many more terrorist being captured or killed in these precision strikes if this truly is a change in the strategy. There can be little doubt that President Bush needs this war to take a change in direction, with polls numbers still in the 30’s despite some minor improvement in the last few weeks, as the November congressional elections move into clearer view. Many Republicans running for office are becoming weak and losing their resolve about our continued involvement in Iraq, a circumstance that could be changed if it were to become obvious that the administration is actively trying to bring about an end to this war by means of an undisputable victory.
 
News out of Iraq has been negative and the media has been all to happy to broadcast every slip, trip and hiccup in this conflict, while placing on the back burner many of the success story’s that have happened in the last year or two. From Abu Graib to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to the “secret” bases overseas, they have done their level best to whittle away at our military’s image while ignoring the simple facts about the mass graves left behind by Saddam, the torture that he perpetrated on a massive scale, the beheadings of American and other coalition nationals in Iraq and the freedom of 25 million people who just happen to come out in droves to show their support for their fledgling democracy every chance they get to show it at the ballot box.
 
They report these things under the misguided belief (and I think they really do believe this) that we have some right to know every action that is taken, every mistake that is made and every bad outcome to arise by the hand of a few who did not do their uniform proud. The truth is 99% of this military is operating exactly as is it supposed to under the law. They are doing what they are trained to do and doing it with the utmost professionalism.
 
As this unfolds over the next few weeks and we gain a better understanding of any change in strategy that may have taken place, Haditha will loom large over the news landscape.  Liberals see it as a clear indication that leadership is lacking in our effort to conduct this war, Conservatives see it for what it is, a story that needs to be investigated by the military, charges brought against those involved if the evidence warrants it and then and only then should we debate its importance in the larger scope of the war. Could the death of Zarqawi be a play by Bush to recoup his polls? Will the media be alarmed if Bin Laden falls next? Are they being used to reverse what they created? Who knows...
 
In any case, I do not believe that anyone can argue that the death of Zarqawi is going to single handedly end this war, nor do I believe anyone can claim that his death will go unnoticed by the organization he lead. It is a nail in the terrorist coffin, but as this war has shown over and over, the question is not have we put nails in the coffin, but how many more will I take to seal their fate once and for all.
 
But what would I know; I’m just and Average American.