DAYS

WHEN IN DOUBT, SMOKE 'EM OUT
First off, let me just state that I am in complete agreement that the death today of the world's most infamous endorser of New Balance footwear, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is unquestionably good news, no doubt about it. The man was a monster.

'Hey, anyone seen the other sneaker?'

After watching Dubya make his little speech this morning, I was actually close to giving the moron a little credit. I mean, come on, didn't we all think he'd come out in a flight suit? But for once, he didn't swagger out and boast that the mission was accomplished. Maybe it took him six years, but I thought for a second that maybe he'd actually learned that all that macho, bring it on bullshit didn't do anyone any good. Then I snapped out of it and realized he's probably just saving up all that swagger for the impending war with Iran.

'Wait'll ya see the size of my cod piece next time kid.'

But maybe there's another reason Bush didn't seem overly-excited. I wouldn't doubt if some in the Bush administration were actually kind of bummed by this news. Did anyone catch Rumsfeld's comments? He seemed downright depressed by the whole thing. Know why? Because he and his nutjob Neocon pals finally lost a key bogeyman. Remember, it was al-Zarqawi whom they always cited (falsely) as the connection between 9/11 and Iraq when they were trying to sell their precious little war. And that, of course, would explain why they didn't just kill the fat, goofy bastard four years ago when they had the chance.

NBC News has learned that long before the war the Bush administration had several chances to wipe out his terrorist operation and perhaps kill Zarqawi himself — but never pulled the trigger.

In June 2002, U.S. officials say intelligence had revealed that Zarqawi and members of al-Qaida had set up a weapons lab at Kirma, in northern Iraq, producing deadly ricin and cyanide. The Pentagon quickly drafted plans to attack the camp with cruise missiles and airstrikes and sent it to the White House, where, according to U.S. government sources, the plan was debated to death in the National Security Council.

“Here we had targets, we had opportunities, we had a country willing to support casualties, or risk casualties after 9/11 and we still didn’t do it,” said Michael O’Hanlon, military analyst with the Brookings Institution.

Four months later, intelligence showed Zarqawi was planning to use ricin in terrorist attacks in
Europe. The Pentagon drew up a second strike plan, and the White House again killed it.

Now why in the world would the White House do such a thing?

By then the administration had set its course for war with Iraq.

“People were more obsessed with developing the coalition to overthrow Saddam than to execute the president’s policy of preemption against terrorists,” according to terrorism expert and former National Security Council member Roger Cressey.

Ohhhhh that's right, they needed him. Just think, if they had made the decision to smoke him then, perhaps the current nightmare of a sectarian civil war now raging across the country wouldn't be quite so bad. After all, he's credited with playing a large part in inciting that violence. But hey, Cheney and his puppetmasters needed him alive, goddam the deadly consequences.



And now, when they desperately needed a success in Iraq, they finally decided to pull the trigger. Of course, most experts are saying that his kiling now is too late and will most likely do little to stem the tide of violence which he helped to spark. Heckuva job guys.

So give the military it's due, they did their job and did it admirably. And be glad that al-Zarqawi is finally gone, just don't give the Bush administration any of the credit.

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