Decision ‘08

Leftie Blogs Jubilant Over Death of Al-Zarqawi!

(/ snark)

Okay, let’s not paint with too broad a brush, we’re not talking the liberal reaction, but the far-left progressive reaction - still, why did I know I’d see a lot of this?

AMERICAblog: It doesn’t sound like they have proven it yet with DNA testing but they sound pretty sure that it was him. I suppose in the coming months that we will find out if he was behind all of the troubles or just a piece of the big puzzle. He’s been demonized (clearly he was a bad guy) as the central figure in the problems over there so it will be interesting to see the actual impact of his death.

Wow - tone it down, you’re so keyed up!

It gets better:

elishastephens: Zarqawi is dead in an airstrike on a “terrorist safe house.” And the obvious question (obvious to me, but your chances of hearing it in the corporate media are nil) is, “Even if this is true (and I assume it is), how many innocent Iraqis died in the many airstrikes on other alleged “safe houses” in previous attempts to kill Zarqawi (or his associates)?” Attempts like this one (20 dead). Or this one (40 dead). Or this one (11 dead). Or this one (40 dead). And those are just four that happened to be reported and that I wrote about.

Oh, yes, the moral equivalence game - would elisha have preferred we storm the neighborhood and put our soldiers at increased peril to a targeted air strike? Don’t answer, it’s rhetorical…

“Open Thread” Atrios: I’m supposed to give the obligatory “YAY USA!” cheer here, but while it’s good to get the bad guys I don’t really think it’s going to improve much. Hopefully I’m wrong.

Hey, Duncan! Sit on this and rotate!…

Steve Benan: …[W]hile it’s no doubt good news that Zarqawi is no more, it’s worth remembering that Bush wasn’t willing to hit this known al-Qaeda terrorist in a known location based on air-tight intelligence before the war even began.

Hey, Steve! How about when Clinton called off that air strike on bin Laden - wow, that was a good move, wasn’t it?

On the other hand, cheers to Bill in Portland Maine, who has the decency to be excited about good news for our troops right there on the front page of Kos:

CHEERS to finding a really evil needle in a really big haystack. U.S. forces rocked terrorist Abu Musab “Dick” al-Zarqawi’s world last night when they tossed a thousand pounds of explosive whupass down his gullet. They found his body in the bedroom. And the kitchen. And the den. And the garage. And the neighbor’s apartment. And I think I found an eyebrow in my Cocoa Puffs this morning. My only regret: he didn’t know what hit him.

This is good news - no, wait, great news - but depending on your blog ‘diet’, you might not even know it…

Thank God these fools are speaking to a small, disaffected group of ‘progressives’; the vast majority of Democrats and liberals no doubt realize how important this is. Take, for example, Joe Biden:

The Senator from Delaware…said that he hopes [Zarqawi’s death] improves President Bush’s approval ratings. “We get one president at a time…. This election in November is not for President of the United States…. I hope it does improve his standing and emboldens him to take bolder moves in terms of his policy in Iraq…. His low ratings and his inability to rally support is a difficult position for the United States internationally.”

UPDATE 10:28 a.m.: RedState is way ahead of me…

31 Responses to “Leftie Blogs Jubilant Over Death of Al-Zarqawi!”

1 mikebdot Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 10:16 am
Mark,

So, it’s ok to be an optimist about this, but not ok to be an optimist about Iran negotiations? My beef is you’re taking Atrios to task for a comment about this that is pretty much the same attitude you give the Iran/US relation possibility (i.e. It’s probably not going to amount to much, but I hope I’m wrong).

Not sure why Americablog’s comment is disturbing to you. It will in fact be interesting to see if this actually helps. If it does not help, that really sucks, if it does help, well, that’s great.

Moral equivalence of elishastephens post, surely, but what about your response here:

“Hey, Steve! How about when Clinton called off that air strike on bin Laden - wow, that was a good move, wasn’t it?”

Moral equivalence indeed. That statement doesn’t make Steve’s comment any less apt, does it?

The right will use this death as proof that things are going great and the left will use this death to continue their criticism of Bush. I am not surprised by either activity.
2 section9 Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 10:29 am
The Lefties are all broken up over Z Man’s passing. Fact is, they’re crying all over their Che Merchandise.

I give the Left 72 hours to start selling Abu Musab al-Zarqawi merchandise on Cafe Press.
3 Mark Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 10:29 am
Well, I think the lack of enthusiasm, mike, speaks volumes. This is unequivocal - the bastard is dead - the Iran thing is a diplomatic possibility. If Iran gave up their WMD program, in the manner of Libya, you’d see me doing (verbal) flips in the air…
4 A Blog For All Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 10:31 am
Grand Slam

After years of fruitless searching, close calls, and thousands of civilian casualties piling up, US and Iraqi forces finally tracked down al Zarqawi and killed him in an airstrike using two 500 pound bombs to level the compound where he and other ter…
5 dmac Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 10:31 am
Did anyone happen to catch the AP feed of the General’s initial press conference announcing the strike? You heard much clapping by the reporters in attendance, until the camera panned back, and then you saw that only the Iraqi reporters were clapping. The American press was just standing around, some with their arms folded. Classy.
6 NCVOL Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 10:50 am
Expect Joe Biden to be excoriated by the Left for his heresy.
7 chsw Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 10:52 am
May all of Zarqawi’s virgins look like Yasser Arafat.

chsw
8 Kos = Nazi Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 10:53 am
From DailyKos:

“Bush’s idea of justice is bombs falling out of the sky?”

“Why is he dead again just now? I wonder if Karl’s getting indicted tomorrow…”

“Those pics of Abu Z look like they just thawed him out just in time for the elections.”

“Zarqawi was quite probably a psy ops job in the first place, so what does that make his “death”? …Keep your eyes on the prize….Haditha.”

“Just in time to hide the fact they’re trying to cut the estate tax for the uber wealthy”

“Yes the timing of Zarqawi’s death does seem too good for Bush to be true. It reeks of distraction politics. ”

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/6/8/75854/67368
9 Banner Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 11:12 am
Senator Biden said THAT?? Wow, he must be running for President or something to say something both positive and truthful. Now if only he’d back the President a little more on the whole war thing.
10 mikebdot Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 11:19 am
Mark,

And, likewise, if all of our troops were no longer in Iraq, I think you’d see the left doing (verbal) flips in the air. His death is not a grand victory, but hopefully it is indeed one step on the way there, but the other possibility is that it isn’t. Time will tell. That is Americablog’s and Atrios’ point, correct? I just want to make you aware that you’re holding various persons to task for not being enthusiastic enough for your liking.
11 dmac Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 11:36 am
From Merriam Webster:

en·thu·si·asm
a : strong excitement of feeling : ARDOR b : something inspiring zeal or fervor

…”but while it’s good to get the bad guys I don’t really think it’s going to improve much.”

I don’t think anyone could make the claim that he’s enthusiastic by any means - more like dour and sullen, his usual MO.
12 PuffGroovy Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 11:43 am
On behalf of the great state of Delaware, apologies for the embarrassment known as Joe Biden from a red dot in a blue state
13 Polimom Says » al Zarqawi killed in Iraq (update) Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 12:49 pm
[…] There’s enormous reaction in the blogosphere, of course. Media Blog (National Review) has a media round-up, The Glittering Eye has an Iraqi blogger round-up, and below is a broad sample of more reactions: Decision ‘08: This is good news - no, wait, great news - but depending on your blog ‘diet’, you might not even know it… […]
14 Unite Later Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 12:59 pm
“ZARQAWI HAS BEEN KILLED”

Michelle Malkin has links

Omar of Iraq the Model congratulates the world

Greyhawk extends a rude welcome

“No Relation” wishes for groundhog day

It’s making news in Germany

Dunh, Dunh, Dunh,
Another one bites the dust.
(Queen)

**…
15 Dennis Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 1:10 pm
I don’t think anyone could make the claim that he’s enthusiastic by any means - more like dour and sullen, his usual MO.

That’s exactly it, dmac. Sure it’s fair to point out that killing Zarqawi doesn’t end all our troubles. President Bush said as much himself. But would it kill someone like Duncan Black just to spend one moment taking some pleasure in the fact that a really murderous SOB has gone on to meet his maker? Some simple pleasure that doesn’t need to be immediately shot down with his typical sophomoric attitude?

And, likewise, if all of our troops were no longer in Iraq, I think you’d see the left doing (verbal) flips in the air.

Mike, did you notice that whereas Mark spoke of a real victory over Iran (getting them to drop their nuke program) as something worthy of getting excited about, your counterexample is not victory in Iraq, but merely the departure of U.S. troops? That’s what makes this sulleness on the part of lefty blogs so saddening. The only thing that might make them happy is for Americans to give up and go home.
16 Pros and Cons Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 1:41 pm
Zarqawi is dead

I wonder what Flopping Aces will have to say? This sort of thing is almost exactly what the four Aces in the famous deck of cards were all about. He’s had some good pieces on the military and the media of late, and I’ll update when he goes…
17 mikebdot Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 1:42 pm
Dennis: To clarify, to me, victory in Iraq will only occur after security in Iraq is established, their government functions well, and then our troops are no longer needed. Thus, troops no longer being in Iraq does indeed show that victory in Iraq has occurred. The reason I refrain from using “victory in Iraq” is because I’m not particularly sure what that phrase means or if everyone here agrees on what that outcome might look like and the means by which we ought to get there. I’ve asked Mark about what this would mean before and I don’t remember reading anything about what that might look like or what indicators would be apparent. Is it a murder rate similar to that of the U.S.? X number of kidnappings per month? I just don’t know what victory there is or how it would be measured. When can it be declared?

Although, point taken, I should have said “And, likewise, if all of our troops were no longer in Iraq because of a grand military strategic victory, I think you would see the left doing (verbal) flips in the air.” Or some other such nonsense which hasn’t yet occurred, at least as far as I can tell…

dmac: I agree that no ‘enthusiasm’ is present. But, if I go to the store and have 0 dollars and want to buy something that is two dollars and say “I wish to buy that item. I will give you everything in my wallet” and I open it and the shop keeper says “Oh, you don’t have enough money to buy that item” it is the same as saying “taking people to task for not having enough enthusiasm for your liking”. “No enthusiasm” is not to Mark’s or your or Dennis’ liking. His [atrios] opinion is that he doesn’t think it is going to help in the long run. How can you expect a man with this opinion to be enthusiastic at all about Zarqawi being killed? The opinion will paint the attitude. Or will you contend that his attitude of Bush hatred is painting his opinion? Finding the cause is paramount to making such judgments.
18 Brian Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 1:51 pm
“Open Thread” Atrios: I’m supposed to give the obligatory “YAY USA!” cheer here, but while it’s good to get the bad guys I don’t really think it’s going to improve much. Hopefully I’m wrong.

How is this any different from what any number of “rightie” blogs are saying? LGF, for instance:

I’m not so sure this is a significant blow to Al Qaeda, however. Al Qaeda is an ideology, not a military organization with a traditional command structure, and I suspect the actual impact on their day-to-day operations will be minimal.

At least Atrios hopes he’s wrong. Charles just seems resigned to this being a non-event, but he gets a pass from you.

Your analysis would be more interesting if it were actually related to what was said by various blogs. Instead, you take a fairly universal sentiment and mock it when coming from “leftie” blogs, while ignoring the identical sentiment from “rightie” blogs.
19 The New American Citizen Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
al Zarqawi Post Mortem

In my original post about al Zarqawi’s demise I made reference to some information, posted by Bill Roggio on the Counter Terrorism blog, about Task Force 145, the special ops group responsible for tracking down the Emir of Baghdad. Now it seems t…
20 megapotamus Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 2:21 pm
Whoa, I am stunned at Slow Joe’s response. Yes, he will suffer for this from the base but, as is often the case, benefit from the swing/middle. If even Biden can get behind this there might be hope for the establishment Dems after all but we’ll wait to hear from Teddy. I anticipate Hillary to be her hawkish self, God love her (but not too much). I look for Lieberman to benefit in polling re Lamont say next month or so. And the timing (ouch!) electorally could not be much better for Nov. Mid-terms are all about turnout. This should knock some of the steam out of the not-too-hard antis whether they know it or not. The digestion of and fallout from this event, especially in Iraqi domestics will take, oh, about four or five months to shake out. I appreciate Mike’s express willingness to let the clock tick on the macros here. Now, if they thaw out Osama around Aug/Sep and set up the “kill” after Back To School… priceless. Karl, get out your ice tongs and camera set-up. Osamma say… “Make Up!”
21 mcg Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
Brian: How is it different than the righty blogs? Why don’t you look at your own examples? That LGF post you quote starts out with: “Very good news to start the day.” Unequivocal. Atrios, on the other hand, whines that he’s supposed to say something like that. Jeez.
22 The False God Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 2:26 pm
Charles just seems resigned to this being a non-event, but he gets a pass from you.

You seem to have missed his “Candygram for Zarqawi” post, where he has a movie of Zarqawi’s Moment of Zen, in which Zarqawi becomes one with the earth around him.

Charles Johnson is primarily a news aggregator, specifically for news relating to Islamofascists and their actions/policies. He doesn’t tend to go all out on posts. Off camera, he’s probably preparing to throw a bash with the lizardroids, as is befitting the moment.

He’s also not “sullen,” but rather logical about the situation. He’s happy, but more interested in the big picture than pining over these moments as lefty bloggers are wont to do.
23 Brian Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 3:51 pm
I see. So Charles says “very good news”, and Atrios says “it’s good to get the bad guys”. And they both have identical analyses about the fallout from the event, which is that there will be little benefit. But in commenting on their blogs, which is the point of this post, you cannot seem to stick to what they actually posted. For some reason you need to add all these extras about what you believe about them personally.

You praise the one who you say will have a party over what he admits is an insignificant event as being “logical” and “interested in the big picture”. Whereas the one who has no party and instead prefers to discuss what might actually improve the situation is “pining over the moment” and being “sullen”.

This is not a reasonable analysis of right vs. left reaction to Zarqawi’s death. This is an “I hate leftie blogs and love rightie blogs” post that could have been posted at any time without relation to any particular world event. But since most on the right also view Zarqawi’s death as a non-event, this tactic is quite transparent in this situation.
24 dmac Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 4:44 pm
“For some reason you need to add all these extras about what you believe about them personally.”

No extras needed in Kos’s case, Brian. Kos made the following statement regarding the Iraq war:

“I feel nothing over the death of merceneries. They aren’t in Iraq because of orders, or because they are there trying to help the people make Iraq a better place. They are there to wage war for profit. Screw them.”

Here’s a lovely survey I just looked up that they ran on Memorial Day:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/5/29/92153/4264

More deep thoughts from the great wizards of Kos:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/16/18159/6294

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/30/185111/099

And so on, and so on, and so on…
You can shake a stick in any direction and view the kind of bile that’s posted on this guy’s site on a daily basis, and keep in mind that all of it is under the auspices of what he and his “editorial contributors” choose to present to their audience. This does not concern his readership’s comments, which are an entirely different subject matter. I don’t believe that Charles Johnson traffics in this kind of rhetoric regularly, although his readership often does - he does not edit his reader’s comments, and Kos lets his readers rant on at length as well.

Therefore, it is entirely logical to get a very distinct and vivid picture of what Kos thinks about a great many subjects, and his corresponding attitudes towards same. To insist otherwise is illogical, and pure folly on your part.
25 The False God Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 5:12 pm
When Charles Johnson says “good news, but I don’t think it’ll have the impact people think it will,” (paraphrasing) he still thinks what we’re doing is right and that we will win in Iraq.

When Atrios says “good news, but it probably won’t amount to anything, ‘hopefully’ I’m wrong,” (also paraphrased) he doesn’t think we’ll win, and he really doesn’t believe we should.

Charles is doubtful about the impact this will have in winning the fight against terrorists in Iraq. Atrios is doubtful that it will have any true significance whatsoever, and he’s doubted we can win against them from the beginning.

While Charles takes a measured view on the subject, Atrios can’t help but be snarky. I suppose it might just be a difference in style, but what do I know.
26 Mark Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 6:17 pm
To all of you people who have come to praise Atrios, I can only reply in the most fitting manner:

Open Thread
27 Brian Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 6:24 pm
I can only conclude that you realized you have a losing argument, so you decided to start a new conversation about an unrelated topic: Kos. But that is not the converstation we were having. So good day.
28 Spiny Norman Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 6:33 pm
#27 Brian

But since most on the right also view Zarqawi’s death as a non-event, this tactic is quite transparent in this situation.

Do you have any links to back up that claim of “most on the right”, or are you just pulling that out of your ass? Your quote from Charles Johnson is the only one you’ve cited and from what I’ve seen in the last 18 hours, it’s by far the most “negative” of any of the “rightie blogs”. Declaring victory by unsupported assertion is hardly “winning a debate”.
29 dmac Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 6:54 pm
“I can only conclude that you realized you have a losing argument…”

Note the tone and content in this sentence - a classic case of projection.

“But that is not the converstation we were having.”

Strike as non - responsive; signs of cognitive dissonance are apparent here.

“So good day.”

Also note how the post ends with an expression of barely - concealed hostile “goodwill,” whereby said commenter assures himself of having won the argument without actually engaging in it, which is a strong sign of a highly - developed inferiority complex.
30 mcg Says:
June 8th, 2006 at 8:28 pm
Brian: So Charles says “very good news”, and Atrios says “it’s good to get the bad guys”.

I don’t know if you said this in response to my post, but if you did, you didn’t really address my point, which was that your quoting removes all context, which makes all the difference. Charles led with an unqualified “very good news.” Atrios led with snark: “I’m supposed to give the obligatory “YAY USA!” cheer here,”

The difference in attitude is clear.
31 Bruce Says:
June 11th, 2006 at 4:55 am
I haven’t got the greatest singing voice, so if someone wants to cover this song of celebration over Zarqawi’s death, please have your people contact my people:

Now that Zarqawi’s Gone
words and music by Dr. BLT (c)2006
http://www.drblt.com/music/nowthatzarq.mp3

Now that Zarqawi’s Gone (acoustic mix)
words and music by Dr. BLT (c)2006
http://www.drblt.com/music/now.mp3

Now that Zarqawi’s Gone

words and music by Dr. BLT (c)2006

we can breathe a whole lot easier

now that Zarqawi’s gone

we can cautiously celebrate

now that Zarqawi’s gone

now that Zarqawi’s gone

we’ve got a reason for a brand new song

no, it ain’t over

but we’re feelin’ mighty strong

now that Zarqawi’s gone

when I heard it on

the evening news

I told myself

This must be wrong

But when I saw

The photographs

Upon the screen

I soon became convinced

Zarqawi’s gone

Now I know they’re gonna say

This doesn’t matter

‘cause we opened up a hornet’s nest

you know

yeah, some will say

it doesn’t matter

but it does to me

we’ve crushed the head of a serpent–

a serpent in his sleep

now that Zarqawi’s gone

we’ve got a reason for a brand new song

no, it ain’t over

but we’re feelin’ mighty strong

now that Zarqawi’s gone