Zarqawi

Memento Mori:

Successes in counterinsurgency are hard to come by. It took months and months to capture Saddam, who for so long seemed invisible to our best intelligence and finest troops. Then, one day, he was dragged out of a septic tank, rank and ragged.

Today is another such day. Follow the link, and read CENTCOM's official announcement.

First, congratulations, CENTCOM.

Second, notice that it was the Iraqi Police who were first in on the ground here. Even in such a sensitive operation, CENTCOM trusted them to secure the area. That says a lot about how far they've come. General Casey said, "Iraqi forces, supported by the Coalition, will continue to hunt terrorists that threaten the Iraqi people until terrorism is eradicated in Iraq." That is not just rhetoric. The Iraqi forces were the first in.

Also read this, from Greyhawk. Even al Anbar province is coming under Iraqi government control.

Third, there are some important comments by Rumsfeld and Hayden on the subject.

It's days like this when it becomes easier than ever to visualize what victory will look like. Everything is coming together, even though there are foes who continue to fight against us. The wicked cannot hide forever. The brave men of Iraq are standing up and taking increasing control of their domain. We shall win.

UPDATE: MilBlogs has a whole lot more, including posts on "roll up" operations being conducted in rapid succession this morning, the finalization of Iraq's ministries, and more.