
 |
|
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
June 9, 2006
/ 13 Sivan, 5766
Celebrating the death of an anti-Democrat
By
Paul Kengor
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
I was awakened this morning at 4:45 a.m. by a ringing telephone. A call that early in the morning often
brings bad news — sometimes news of a death. I braced myself. The call was indeed about a death, but the
news wasn't bad. The messenger was a producer for a television show requesting that I, half asleep, join
her morning crew to discuss the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. "He's dead?" I replied. "Wow. That's
good news."
By the time my wife arose, she found me grinning. I informed her of the reason for my excitement. She
asked if I thought it was appropriate that I, as a Christian, celebrate someone's death. She always hits me
upside the head with these nagging, inconvenient questions of conscience.
I stammered out a response about how, given that Zarqawi was the world's number one menace and
terrorist mastermind — replacing Osama Bin Laden, practically speaking, if not symbolically — and was
responsible for the deaths of countless innocents and many of our troops, yes, I thought it was acceptable
to be in good spirits.

Nonetheless, I judged it better to celebrate in a more subtle way. So, I went back and privately reviewed
some notes from January 2005, the month of a historic, profound election in Iraq. I found these items:
On January 23, Mr. Zarqawi said: "We have declared a fierce war on this evil principle of democracy and
those who follow this wrong ideology." In his dark dispatch from the underworld, as Walid Phares
characterized it, the terrorist ringleader added: "Oh, people of Iraq, where is your honor? Have you
accepted oppression of the crusader harlots … and the rejectionist pigs?"
Shortly thereafter, the Iraqi people showed Zarqawi what they thought of his advice by turning out in
droves to express a very basic liberty: the right to vote for those who govern them.
In response, Zarqawi showed his "honor" for the Iraqi people by murdering them by the bushel. In all,
according to the Associated Press, Zarqawi's "men of G-d" killed 44 people in Iraq during the January 30
election, the victims of 38 separate attacks on polling stations.
Among the victims was a young man with Down's Syndrome, who Zarqawi and his faithful friends suited
up in a suicide bomber vest and sent out to do their dirty work at a Baghdad polling station. The incident
might have reminded them of the moment they sawed off Nick Berg's head with a dull blade.
Despite the violence, the Iraqi people persevered; they embraced democracy. I vividly recall a New York
Times piece, which reported how maintenance workers swept up charred chunks of human flesh from
around the feet of Iraqis who refused to leave their spots in line as they waited to cast ballots, and then
fearlessly stained their fingers with ink that would mark them as targets for Zarqawi and his merry band of
brothers.
As I continued to page through my notes, I found some other interesting remarks in this stroll down
memory lane:
"It's like a wedding," said Mohammed Nuhair Rubaie, the director of a polling station in Baghdad's Sunni
neighborhood of Tunis. "I swear to G-d, it's a wedding for all of Iraq." Added Ali Fadel, the ecstatic mayor
of Baghdad: "We will build a statue to Bush. He is the symbol of freedom."
Yet, the man who challenged Bush a few months earlier in the presidential election in the United States
was notably unimpressed. "No one … should try to overhype this election," cautioned John Kerry. His
colleague, Ted Kennedy, the senior senator from Massachusetts, responded by reiterating his call for an
immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, which — in rather questionable timing — he had first issued
on January 27, four days after Zarqawi's statement about the "evil principle of democracy" and three days
before the Iraqi elections. Kennedy also stood by his other comments of January 27, in which he compared
the war in Iraq to Vietnam.
All of this leads me to contemplate this thought today: What will be the reaction to Zarqawi's death? In
Iraq, the killer's minions are memorializing their fallen hero by, fittingly, exploding people with car
bombs. That's exactly how Abu Musab al-Zarqawi would have wanted it. Indeed, when this man called
democracy evil, he should have been looking in the mirror.
But what about the response of John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, and senior Democrats? I would hope that they
will see this as a positive — even though, yes, acknowledging a positive might mean crediting a plus in the
column of George W. Bush.
Unfortunately, I expect them, and the New York Times, to move the goalpost yet again, perhaps reminding
us that Osama Bin Laden remains at large. That would be sad. The fact is that this is a great day for anyone
who cares about democracy and human rights.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
| BUY THE BOOK |
|
Click HERE to purchase it at a discount. (Sales help fund JWR.).
|
|
Dr. Paul Kengor, a visiting fellow with the Hoover Institution, is author of G-d and George W. Bush. He is also executive director of the Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College.
Comment by clicking here.
© 2006, Paul Kengor
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Tony Blankley
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Alan Douglas
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
Marybeth Hicks
David Horowitz
Jeff Jacoby
Renee James
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Ben Wattenberg
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Jimmy Margulies
Rick McKee
Michael Ramirez
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters

Mr. Know-It-All
Dr. Peter Gott
GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
Tech Maven
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|