Never call a meeting.

Now I wish I had thought of that simple four word headline, but I didn’t! Instead, Gwynne Dyer used in the main body of his examination of the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It succinctly describes the success or failure of any of today’s terrorist class and makes for a simple but effective credo for those not wishing to follow in his footsteps.

In his article the independent journalist points out that unlike Osama Bin Laden who hasn’t been spotted for a few years now, Zarqawi was inclined to meet and organize on a frequent basis, each time adding a bit more information to the puzzle of who and what he was all about and more importantly each time leaving a bigger and bigger footprint for those looking to eliminate him to work with.

Elimination came fast and furiously on Thursday as the terror leader and his accomplices finally ran out of luck and time.

The leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq certainly won’t be missed by pretty well anyone who wishes for a peaceful existence for those living in Iraq. His record of barbarism is now part of history, his demise certainly not mourned by more than a few of his closest allies. Dyer however points out, that even in death his legacy will continue on for the foreseeable future, as Iraq seems to tumble closer and closer to the precipice of a total civil war, much of the foundation for it can be traced back to Zarqawi’s cruelty over the years.

He created and exploited a situation that sadly seems to offer no quick end in sight. Removing him while beneficial to the cause of disrupting al-Qaeda in Iraq, in the end probably won’t be more than a footnote in history after the long drawn out breakdown of civil order plays out there. Iraq and the world for that matter are most likely better off with him no longer among us. But it’s still a long dark road for the suffering populace there, a daily travel through the jaws of hell that offers neither shelter nor deliverance anytime soon.

Dyer examines the background of Zarqawi’s short reign of terror in Iraq and suggests how things may play out now that he is no longer part of the scene there, check out the article here.