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Al-Zarqawi Reactions: At the Pentagon
June 08, 2006 1:57 PM
ABC News' senior national security correspondent Jonathan Karl describes the mood at the Pentagon, as the death of terrorist Al-Zarqawi was learned early this morning:
At the Pentagon this morning there was none of the celebratory gunfire we saw in parts of Baghdad today, but the al-Zarqawi news was greeted with a bit a glee from the grunts to the brass.
"Hey! I heard the news! Great news!" a Pentagon guard said as ABC's Luis Martinez walked in before dawn this morning.
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, traveling in Brussels, told reporters this about al-Zarqawi: "Over the past several years no single person on this planet has had the blood of more innocent men, women and children on his hands."
Killing a guy like that is reason for some celebration; especially when it comes amidst weeks of bad news about violence in Iraq and allegations of misconduct by U.S. Marines. Amidst the obvious glee, however, there was an effort to fight against irrational exuberance.
"I am glad we got him," said four-star General Scott Wallace, who commanded the Army forces during the invasion of Iraq. "But I think it would be a mistake to think this would have a dramatic affect" on the level of violence in Iraq. Al-Zarqawi is likely to be replaced, Wallace said, and there's a lot more to the insurgency than al Qaeda in Iraq.
The killing of al-Zarqawi was such a tightly guarded secret, that many officials didn't hear about it until getting calls from ABC news. Several hours before dawn, I called a senior official in the Joint Staff public affairs office. At 2:41 AM, to be exact. "What can you tell me about Zarqawi?" I asked. The groggy official promised to check. Two minutes later I got the call back, "All I can tell you is that ABC News is reporting he is dead." I'm not sure that bit of information was worth waking somebody up for ... Even so, that official later came by our tiny ABC News office at the Pentagon to thank me for the insanely early wake-up call. "I first heard the news from you," the official said. And this was news well worth losing some sleep to hear.
June 8, 2006 | Permalink | User Comments (1)
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First I think its great AL-Zarqawi is dead. Now about the bombing they were people killed there we were not after. Now are they going to put the PILOT in jail for killing innocent civilians? Of course not we call that colateral damage. But these MARINES ARE GOING TO BE TRIED FOR KILLING A FEW IRAQIS? GIVE ME A BREAK. LET OUR MARINES OUT THESE ARE YOUNG MEN THAT WILL PROBABLY SCREWED UP IN THERE MIND FOREVER JUST BECAUSE OF THE WAR.I HOPE NOT,I KNOW VIET-NAM DID THAT FOR ME AT 19. THIS IS REDICULAS. (SORRY FOR MY SPELLING)
Posted by: bill sisco | Jun 12, 2006 12:49:54 AM
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