Is Zarqawi's Gig Up?

Today in Amman, Jordanians hit the streets in full force, armed with a fierce protest. But there was something unusual about this one. It did not contain the typical anti-semetic hate, or even the anti-Americanism; rather, it was filled with ire directed at Iraq's terrorist leader Musab al-Zarqawi. The novelty of the situation paints an intriguing picture.

First and foremost, it's good to see Muslims finally standing up to al-Zarqawi and his ruthless gang of terrorists. The fury with which they protested is, hopefully, a sign that ordinary Muslims and Arabs are not going to stand for this kind of crap anymore. They appear to have grown weary of Zarqawi taking out his frustrations with America primarily on Iraqi and other Arabic peoples (innocent civilians at that). They are finally coming to see that Musab's Machiavellian-like tactics don't achieve a 'just' or, if I may say so, an 'Allah-happy' end.

However, the response of these Jordanians demonstrates something else that is far more important to American citizens. In the Muslim world, al-Zarqawi is loosing support. His numbers dwindle, and the vanishing of popular support is spelling out his eventual defeat. This is in stark contrast to the 'quagmire' that was described by Liberal sages not to long ago. One of the chief components of this 'quagmire' was the fact that the people there would never support us. That our actions fueld the terrorists, and strengthend not just their numbers but their popular support as well.

Yet, as the War in Iraq continues, we are informed by men on the ground that the terrorists' numbers are shrinking; and now we are seeing that the Muslim public is begining to view them in a not-so positive light. Indeed, now it appears that the Terrorists' actions, and not our's, are the ones provoking a sour attitude amongst the Arabs. In fact, Zarqawi was so dimayed he felt the need to personally explain what exactly his bombers were doing the other day at the Hyatt. That Zarqawi is now having to come out and depict the 'holiness' behind his murders simply does not bode well for his organization.

Most importantly for al-Zarqawi, the continuation of this type of public outcry will force him to change his tactics. Recently, his men have begun to include more civilian targets in their attacks, in an attempt to create a sense of anti-war sensationalism with the media. The massive backfire that this has created in Jordan today should cause much concern in Zaqawi's rat-hole tonight. And of course this begs the question: is a massive public 'Death to Zarqawi' cry the begining of the end for al-Qaeda Iraq?

I'd have to say that the answer is most definitely 'Yes'.