First and foremost, I must say that I am relieved Zarqawi is dead. His death stands to throw the terrorist organization into chaos at least briefly, and may help us to catch terrorists. But morally I cannot celebrate it.

It's not even tied to my opposition to the death penalty. You will get no question from me that our government has the legal, and, indeed, moral authority to execute this slime. The murders and terror he committed are not in dispute, and his punishment was just and swift.

The reason I cannot celebrate Zarqawi's death is, in part, the same reason our military cannot celebrate it. Because Zarqawi, while a key strategic target, was just one part of the horrible, unthinkable mentality that teaches that the murder of innocents to achieve a political or religious objective is justified. While Zarqawi is gone, thousands of other militant terrorists stand at the ready to continue in the cause, a cause in which they will almost certainly invoke the name of their fallen leader at least once.

Zarqawi, in other words, was not the disease; he was a symptom. And the eradication of symptoms, while offering temporary benefits, is a small victory as long as the disease remains.