The elimination of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi will likely be a boon for the Iraqi government and a symbol of hope for its people, but by no means marks the end of the insurgency, according to Baltimore-area politicians and analysts.
Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq and a catalyst for bloody sectarian violence, was killed early Wednesday in a farming village 55 miles north of Baghdad, Iraqi and U.S. officials said.
His death was met locally with relief ? and grim agreement that his elimination would not end the insurgency.
“This is a very good day for our troops, with the death of this ruthless and brutal enemy. ? But I don?t want to give the suggestion that just because he?s been killed, the insurgency will end,” said Rep. C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger, a Maryland Democrat who recently returned from a trip to Iraq with House Speaker Dennis Hastert. “Al-Qaida in Iraq does not stand on one man.”
With the establishment of a new government, the engagement of Sunni Muslims in the political process and Iraqi military forces moving through training, Ruppersberger said he would like to see U.S. troops move toward protecting the perimeters of Iraqi cities, leaving more duties to Iraqi forces.
Whether Zarqawi?s death throws the insurgency into disarray and infighting orthe organization continues without him will be hard to predict, said Gary Ackerman, a member of the National Center for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland, College Park.
“You could get serious break-off groups, which could either be a good or a bad thing, depending on how capable those groups are,” Ackerman said. “He was becoming a legend ? in his own mind, at least ? but [his death] will definitely be a psychological blow to the jihad movement.”
His death also may affect the cycle of violence and retribution between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, which Zarqawi sought to promote, Ackerman said.
“More than any other Sunni jihadist, he targeted the Shia people,” he said. “We hope the death of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi will lead to a decrease in the skyrocketing number of civilian deaths in Iraq and will help slow the downward spiral of sectarian violence gripping that nation,” Nihad Amad, executive director of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement.
“Islam does not encourage terrorism. ? What happened to Zarqawi, he deserved it,” said Hasan Askari, a board member of the Maryland Muslim Council. “We don?t know what?s going to be next. Maybe some insurgents will have learned their lesson that if you do terrorism, this is what you get.”
