The rise and fall of al-Zarqawi

We have been asked to believe that the death of al-Zarqawi is a major accomplishment and he was "the most" important terrorist leader in the region. But, I wonder (as have some in the mainstream media) if he would have ever graduated from being a petty criminal if not for being anointed the face of terror in Iraq by the U.S who were looking for any sort of justification for the war? I am reminded of the book The Death lobby: How the West Armed Iraq by Kenneth Timmerman, which I read a long time ago. It talked about how Saddam Hussain would have never been what he became without a great deal of help from the west and the first gulf war was just a means of destroying a monster they had created. Sound familiar? That book is an excellent read and excerpts are available at this link.

While I am rambling about the subject of war, one of the most sarcastic and funny movies I have ever seen is Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Anybody who hasn't seen the movie must see it. One cannot but appreciate and wonder how relevant the movie is even after 40 years.