Really Most Sincerely Dead

Thomas Smith with a nice roundup of the implications of Mr. Z's JDAM dinner.

It would be understating the impact of Zarqawi’s death to say it is a major blow to al Qaeda in Iraq. Combined with the recent thwarting of a terrorist plot in Canada, as well as unreported victories elsewhere in the world, al Qaeda globally is on the ropes.

In Iraq, Coalition forces are already acting on newly gleaned intelligence resulting from the attack. Early reports are that some 17 raids have been launched, and significant intelligence is being developed from each.

Though I’ve spoken briefly with some of those directly involved in the raids, most are far too busy to comment. One senior infantry commander, in fact, told me early Thursday, “Can’t talk. As you can imagine, we are taking advantage of developments.”

That said, experts from Baghdad to Washington to Quantico, Virginia (where U.S. Marine officers train) to Coronado, California (home of the U.S. Navy SEALs) tell National Review Online that the immediate tactical and the long-term strategic implications are enormous, and newly developed intelligence is being aggressively acted on.