WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said Thursday that the death of al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is "a severe blow" to the al-Qaida terrorist network and a decisive victory in the U.S.-led war against terorrism. "Now Zarqawi has met his end," Bush said in the White House Rose Garden. "And this violent man will never murder again."
Bush listed some of the most visible terror operations that Zarqawi led or masterminded including the bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Iraq, the beheading of American hostages and the assassinatio of a U.S. diplomat in Jordan.
Bush praised the work of the U.S. military and Iraqi allies in killing Zarqawi, but was careful to point out that this singular development will not end terror attacks in Iraq.
"We can expect the terrorists and insurgents to carry on without him," Bush said. "But the ideology of terror has lost one of its most aggressive and visible leaders."
Americans "can be justly proud" of U.S. fighting men and women, the president said.
"We have tough days ahead of us in Iraq that will require the continuing patience of the American people," he said.
