Across the U.S., Zarqawi's Death Hailed as Victory

House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who led a congressional delegation to Iraq last week, said the death represents "a clear win against the forces of radical Islam in the Middle East." He added: "A violent thug who beheaded Americans and showed the photos to the world, Zarqawi was one of the world's most dangerous terrorists, and now he can never threaten Americans or our allies again. While this is not the silver bullet to create peace and stability in Iraq, it is a victory over al-Qaeda and the murderous ideology of terrorism."

Senate Democratic leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said: "This is a good day for the Iraqi people, the U.S military and our intelligence community. Zarqawi was a cold-blooded killer who got what he deserved."

Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader, hailed U.S. troops for tracking down Zarqawi and expressed hope that they could be brought home.

"Democrats have long said that 2006 must be a year of significant transition in Iraq, where the Iraqis take responsibility for their security," Pelosi said in a statement. "The death of Zarqawi and the naming of the Iraqi defense and interior minister should bring us closer to that goal, and hasten the day when American troops can come home."

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) called Zarqawi a "brutal terrorist" whose death "strikes a blow to al-Qaeda in Iraq." He added: "This ruthless thug who abused the true meaning of Islam was an intruder on Iraqi soil, and it's good news that he's dead. Our troops did an incredible job hunting him down and destroying him."

Now, Kerry said, "it's time for Iraqis to stand up for Iraq, bring the factions together, end the insurgency, and run their own country. Our troops have done their job in Iraq, and they've done it valiantly. It's time to work with the new Iraqi government to bring our combat troops home by the end of this year."

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told Fox News Channel that "this is not just a victory of the Iraqi people" but "a victory of the forces of good versus evil." The development also comes as "a bit of a rebuke against those who are advocating that we cut and run out of Iraq," he said.

"We're going to have setbacks," McCain said. "There's going to be more sectarian violence. There's going to be more bad things that happen. But this is a day I think we could be happy."

Pressed on Bush's reaction, Snow said at a White House news briefing: "It was like more a sense of sort of relief, but also, 'Let's figure out if this is right, what are the facts, what's going on there.' The president in situations like this tends to be very practical. He's not going to run around the room giving high-fives. Instead, it's what do we know, who's there, tell me about the operation. And the follow-on conversation was more of that tone than jubilation."

Ironically, Bush was meeting yesterday in the White House with a large bipartisan group of lawmakers, members of five congressional delegations that recently traveled to Iraq, when Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) "offered the helpful suggestion that things would be better if somebody would get Zarqawi," Snow said with a trace of sarcasm. "There was a little snickering in the room at the time," he added.

At about the same time, word began coming in, first from U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, that an airstrike had been carried out near Baqubah that was believed to have killed Zarqawi.

This morning, Snow said, Bush informed Blair of the successful strike and had a 25-minute telephone conversation with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Bush congratulated Maliki on completing his cabinet, Snow said. "You're going to have our help," he quoted Bush as telling the Iraqi leader. "You've got my confidence because you've shown you can lead."