One hour after musing with a congressman Wednesday about the benefits of eliminating Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, President Bush learned that the terror leader had indeed been killed in Iraq.
“It would be a good idea to get Zarqawi,” Rep. Roy LaHood, R.-Ill., recalled saying in the Roosevelt Room, where lawmakers who recently visited Iraq were offering advice to Bush.
“I?m with you,” Bush replied, according to Hood, who recounted the conversation on Fox NewsChannel.
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow later told reporters: “There was a little snickering in the room at the time. Little did we know.”
One of the Bush aides attending the 3:30 p.m. meeting was national security adviser Stephen Hadley, who excused himself from the room at 3:45 p.m. to take a phone call from Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Khalilzad informed Hadley that Zarqawi might have been killed in a U.S. bombing raid.
At 4:20 p.m., Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called the White House about the airstrike. Hadley decided not to interrupt Bush, who was still meeting with lawmakers, because Zarqawi?s death had not been confirmed. Fifteen minutes later, after the meeting broke up, Hadley told the president in the Oval Office that it appeared Zarqawi had been killed.
“That would be a good thing,” Bush replied, according to Snow.
At 9:10 p.m., Hadley received confirmation of Zarqawi?s death from Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Ten minutes later, Hadley relayed the confirmation to Bush.
At 6:45 a.m. Thursday, Bush discussed the development with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. At 7 a.m., Bush began a 25-minute conversation with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Six minutes later, Bush stepped into the Rose Garden for a televised address to the nation.
“Zarqawi has met his end,” he said. “This violent man will never murder again.”
