We awake to the news of the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Dawn and I both are immediately pleased by his death. Then we both have second thoughts. Dawn regrets her enthusiasm at the death of a fellow human being, no matter how repugnant that human being may have been. She’s a good person. I regret that Zarqawi’s death will in any way reflect well on the President and the conduct of the war. I’m not such a good person.

I actually don’t know much about Zarqawi, except that the President has said that he’s a bad man, that he’s my enemy. I usually don’t believe people when they tell me that someone is my enemy. I’ve heard the name, heard that he’s the man behind the bombings in Jordan, and understand that he’s behind the kidnappings and beheadings of Westerners in Iraq. So, I don’t know about enemy. But repugnant? Without a doubt.

As it happens, the Atlantic Monthly just went up yesterday with a feature story about Zarqawi, so I read that today. Pretty much sums him up as a street-level thug made big. No grand visionary like Osama Bin Laden. And apparently they met and absolutely loathed each other just about right away. Zarqawi’s views on Shi’as were apparently too extreme even for Bin Laden.

So Zarqawi lived by the sword. Violently by the sword. Viciously by the sword. Disgustingly by the sword. And then he died by the sword.

I won’t miss him. Can’t think of anyone who should.