Badger Blogger

Statement by the President on Death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

Good morning. Last night in Iraq, United States military forces killed the terrorist al Zarqawi. At 6:15 p.m. Baghdad time, special operation forces, acting on tips and intelligence from Iraqis, confirmed Zarqawi’s location, and delivered justice to the most wanted terrorist in Iraq.

President George W. Bush delivers a statement regarding the death of terrorist al Zarqawi, an al Qaeda leader in Iraq, in the Rose Garden Thursday, June 8, 2006. “Last night in Iraq, United States military forces killed the terrorist al Zarqawi,” said the President. “At 6:15 p.m. Baghdad time, special operation forces, acting on tips and intelligence from Iraqis, confirmed Zarqawi’s location, and delivered justice to the most wanted terrorist in Iraq.” White House photo by Kimberlee Hewitt Zarqawi was the operational commander of the terrorist movement in Iraq. He led a campaign of car bombings, assassinations and suicide attacks that has taken the lives of many American forces and thousands of innocent Iraqis. Osama bin Laden called this Jordanian terrorist “the prince of al Qaeda in Iraq.” He called on the terrorists around the world to listen to him and obey him. Zarqawi personally beheaded American hostages and other civilians in Iraq. He masterminded the destruction of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad. He was responsible for the assassination of an American diplomat in Jordan, and the bombing of a hotel in Amman.

Follow the link to read or view the video of President Bush’s statement.

The world is a better place this morning! Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been confirmed killed in air raid.

FOXNews: Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi Killed in Bombing Raid
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Al Qaeda in Iraq leader who led a brutal insurgency that included homicide bombings, kidnappings and beheadings, was killed in an airstrike on a building north of Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi officials announced Thursday.

Officials said the terror leader’s identity was confirmed by fingerprints, facial recognition, and known scars.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said Al-Zarqawi was killed along with seven aides Wednesday evening at around 6:15 p.m. local time in a bombing raid on a building in a remote area 30 miles northeast of Baghdad in Diyala province.

Loud applause broke out as Al-Maliki, flanked by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and U.S. Gen. George Casey, the top commander in Iraq, made the announcement at a news conference in Baghdad Thursday that al-Zarqawi was “terminated.”

Iran’s stock market is in freefall, expect more destabilization when Iran is referred to the UN Security Council. I am glad to see this happening, anything to destabilize that Islamofacist regime is a good thing. Of course we have to watch them closely, desperate people do stupid things.

Traders shun Iran bourse as atomic crisis deepens
Investors are bailing out of Iran’s stock market, preferring gold and foreign bourses while international pressure ratchets up against Tehran’s disputed atomic programme, traders said on Sunday.

The total bourse capitalisation had dropped to $38.2 billion dollars on Sunday, down from $45 billion in late June when conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a landslide presidential election victory.

The TEPIX all-share index stood at 10,151 points on Sunday, down 27 percent in the 14 months from August 2004, when it stood at 13,880.

“Everything depends on the nuclear negotiations, and the market really craves good news,” said Akbar Zarganinejad, the head of a leading brokerage.

Iran stands on the brink of referral to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions after failing to convince the world its atomic ambitions are peaceful. Iran insists it needs atomic technology to fuel power stations.

I know we are focusing on the devastation on America’s Gulf Coast, but keep an eye on the events in Iran. Even the E.U. is taking a strong stance on this (if they have the balls to stay with it remains to be seen).

Iran Nuclear Issue May Go to the U.N.
U.S. and European resolve to bring Iran before the U.N. Security Council grew Saturday following revelations that Tehran had recently produced about seven tons of the gas it needs to enrich uranium - a possible pathway to a nuclear weapon.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said that Iran had pumped out that amount of uranium hexafluoride gas since resuming conversion from uranium ore last month. The gas can be spun by centrifuges into enriched uranium. Depending on the level of enrichment, that can then be used either as a source of power or as the core of nuclear weapons.

US Troops raided a chemical weapons facility in Iraq today. They found numerous chemicals that were probably going to be used to enhance the effectiveness of their IED’s, in effect producing crude chemical weapons. I wonder how many lives this saved?

U.S. Raids Suspected Chem Facility in Iraq - Yahoo! News
U.S. troops raided a suspected insurgent chemical weapons factory in northern
Iraq, finding about 1,500 gallons of dangerous substances, the U.S. military said Saturday.
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Lt. Col. Steve Boylan, a military spokesman, said 11 chemicals were found in the hideout in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, “which are dangerous by themselves, and mixed together they would become even more dangerous.”

“Our feeling at this point is that had this stuff been mixed and used, it could have been very easily used against Iraqi and coalition forces,” Boylan said.

Things could get interesting again in the Middle East.

King Fahd of Saudi Arabia Dies at 84
Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd sought to modernize his desert kingdom while balancing change against tribal tradition and orthodox Islam, but a stroke a decade ago left him a ruler in name only during tumultuous times for the world’s biggest oil producer.

His death Monday came as the Saudi government pursues an aggressive clampdown on Islamic terrorism and unprecedented reforms.

Several of the men that were held hostage for 444 days by terrorists in Iran in 1979-80 have identified Iran’s new President as one of their hostage takers and interrogators. One of these men, a Milwaukee area native, Kevin Hermening spoke with WTMJ’s Charlie Sykes about this. Please take the time to listen to this interview, Kevin was the youngest hostage, a 20 year old Marine guard at the embassy, he is very knowledgeable about Iranian politics and terrorism, he was an outstanding interview.

Kevin Hermening with Charlie Sykes.

Read this report: Chinese dragon awakens - Special Report - The Washington Times then think about allowing China to buy one of the largest energy companies we have (Unocal). We can not allow that purchase to happen, it is a national security risk we can not afford!

When they attack Taiwan (WHEN, not IF), can we afford them to destroy Unocal to hurt us economically? An enemy of the United States is trying to hit us from within and many refuse to believe it, that’s scary!