WASHINGTON -- All four members of Rhode Island's congressional delegation are characterizing the killing of al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as a positive step, while issuing cautions about continuing problems in Iraq.
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed this morning called al-Zarqawi's death "a huge symbolic setback'' for the insurgency in Iraq, but he warned U.S. leaders against overplaying a victory that won't necessarily boost prospects for the creation of a stable Iraqi democracy.
"It's good news" that U.S. bombers killed al-Zarqawi after months of applying the "most intense pressure" that modern technology could muster against the key leader of the foreign insurgents who have sowed violence in Iraq since soon after the U.S. invasion, Reed said. "Anytime you can take out someone who is a ruthless and homicidal terrorist, that's progress."
But al-Zarqawi's death "represents more of a tactical success than a strategic one," said the Rhode Island Democrat, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee whose first career was as an Army airborne officer.
U.S. Rep. James Langevin, a fellow Democrat and member of the House Armed Services Committee, called al-Zarqawi's death "a major step to providing greater security in Iraq and fighting terrorism."
But he added, "Despite today's positive development, Iraq still faces serious challenges to becoming a secure and stable nation. The U.S. must remain committed to training Iraqi security forces and promoting an independent government so that we can bring U.S. forces home as soon as possible."
U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, D-R.I., said the "military strike is a testament to the incredible determination and courage of our troops in Iraq." He also said the incident offers an opportunity for the Bush Administration "to finally give the Amercian people a clear strategy to bring our troops home as soon as possible."
U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee, the Rhode Island delegation's only Republican, echoed his fellow congressmen in a statement this afternoon, calling al-Zarqawi's death "a significant blow to the terrorist network within Iraq. Although significant challenges remain, this is a positive step in reducing the violence in Iraq."
Reed outlined several reasons why al-Zarqawi's death shouldn't be overplayed.
For one thing, he said, al-Zarqawi's effectiveness as a leader has been reduced for some months by the pressure of the manhunt, so his death may not make for a major loss of "operational" capacity by the small terrorist cells that are likely to continue their campaign of car bombings and other violence.
Reed noted, moreover, that the small bands of foreign terrorists embodied by al-Qaida constitute only one part of the multi-faceted insurgency against the struggling Iraqi government. He noted that a major force in the insurgency springs from the Sunni Muslims bloc that ruled Iraq for generations. Some of its members are making war against a central government - and the American support behind it.
In addition, there is the continuing and sometimes violent struggle for ascendancy among the three major population groups that have an interest in the new regime - Shiite Muslims, Sunni Muslims and ethnic Kurds, Reed said. There remains a serious threat that these competing groups will splinter into full-fledged civil war, Reed said.
Still, al-Zarqawi's death can be of significant help to the cause of a stable Iraq, depending on "how it is handled," Reed said. One strong first step toward that end was that President Bush and other U.S. officials took a back seat to Iraq's prime minister in announcing the successful operation to kill al-Zarqawi, Reed said.
U.S. officials should continue that restraint, Reed said, recalling "how much of the rhetoric going back over several years that I think this administration has come to regret."
Reed pointed, for example, to the official euphoria that greeted the capture of Saddam Hussein; within weeks it gave way to the reality of a depening insurgent crisis, he recalled.
-- With projo.com staff reports
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