J$P Instant Transcript! Reactions from Col Bill Cowan, Chris Wallace, Brit Hume, Dan Senor, Lt Gen Tom McInerney, and more.

From Fox & Friends, June 8 2006:

LT GEN TOM McINERNEY [FOX NEWS MILITARY ANALYST]: Frankly, I'm glad he's dead. This guy is better dead. We could've gotten more information out of him, but as we're seeing with Saddam Hussein, there are a lot of downsides when you put him in prison and then you go through that lengthy process etc. I think having him dead is the best thing, but that's a personal opinion.

STEVEN SCHWARTZ [AUTHOR]: I think it's very important for us not to look at these people as if they're ten feet tall, have no brains, and are some sort of robot-like killing machines. They are terrorists, they deserve to be killed, but they also are subject to the psychological stresses and strains of being terrorists.... A lot of these people talk about death, and they glorify it, and they think they're going to be able to do it. And then when it comes down to seeing one of their friends die, or facing the fact that they have to do it themselves, a lot of them will turn away from it. Not enough to end the struggle immediately, but these are still people. And of course they glorify death; death is their ideology. But there's no automatic switch you can turn that turns these people into people who are willing to die as so-called martyrs..... Iraqis are sick of this violence. Iraqis do not want a sectarian war between Sunnis and Shias, because after all Shias are 65% of the population. And if the Shias decide to clean up on the Sunnis, the Sunnis are in deep trouble

COL BILL COWAN [FOX NEWS MILITARY ANALYST]: Somebody's going to be following in his footsteps, and whoever that is, he's going to want to assert himself as the new leader, and try to show at least that Al-Qaeda in Iraq is still a functioning entity out there. But I think the other dynamic is that indeed, as Steven Schwartz suggested earlier, a lot of Iraqis, Sunnis, are really tired of a lot of the killing that's going on.... I would guess that Zarqawi had a number of major operations planned for the next coming weeks and months, and maybe indeed we'll see some of those things play out shortly as the new leadership tries to demonstrate that it's around.

DAN SENOR [FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR]: The structure of the insurgency in Iraq is cellular in nature. Basically, just because the architect, just because the head of the of structure collapses, doesn't mean the whole system, structure, collapses. There are individual cells that will still be able to cooperate.... If you read the press, the Sunni Arab press, the Americans start spastic wars that they often regret starting. They don't have the stomach to stick it out. And they felt that was playing out in Iraq. They follow American news. They follow the fact that American support for the war has declined substantially. And they just anticipated that it was just a matter of time before we pulled out, while Zarqawi was still standing. The significance of Zarqawi being killed before we leave sends and important psychological message to the Iraqis.... I'm afraid that the Zarqawi news, as important for America strategically and it's important for the Iraqis, I don't think it's going to change the commitments of some of these coalition countries that are getting cold feet about keeping troops on the ground. It is so important: we have 12 to 18 months where, if we really focus, maintain the current troop levels or increase in some areas our troop levels, we really, I think, could put enormous pressure on the insurgency. I think we should turn Baghdad into the Green Zone.... Use the most recent election formation of government, and now the kill of Zarqawi, and ramp up our troops, swarm the Sunni provinces, and really try to defeat this insurgency. If we can't do that, nothing else matters.

BRIT HUME [FOX NEWS]: History may record that the decision when the United States went into Iraq that this was where Al-Qaeda would focus its most intense efforts to try to defeat the United States. This is a major, major blow to Al-Qaeda, unmistakably. The political implications here at home, I think, are enormous, because it changes the atmosphere. In addition to that, very important announcements from the Iraqi government itself today that these key positions in the cabinet have been filled. Now you have the President talking about a big meeting at Camp David, a Council of War if you will, to discuss the situation now.... I wouldn't be surprised to see some additional military steps being taken. It's been suggested more troops may go; they may indeed. But it looks like more troops will be going to follow up an advantage, rather than the other way around.

CHRIS WALLACE [FOX NEWS]: This is the baddest man in the world; we shouldn't forget that. Obviously we're never going to forget what Usama Bin Laden did, and his responsibility for the 3,000 people who were killed on 9/11. But to the best of our knowledge, Bin Laden is hiding in a cave somewhere.... This man was the operational head on the front lines of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and as we've been saying all day was responsible personally for beheadings, and by his orders for bombings, assassinations, the bombing of that hotel and that Bridal party in Amann. You almost forget it, but as you go back and look at some of this man's greatest hits, he has left a trail of blood across the Middle East. I want to say a couple of things about the President's speech. I thought it was very interesting: there wasn't a note of satisfaction, there wasn't a note of congratulations. This was a President whose resolve is even firmer now. His feeling is let's put the pedal to the metal. We do, as Brit said, have an advantage now. Let's press that advantage.

BRIAN KILMEADE [FOX NEWS]: This according to Al-Qaeda: we want to give you all the joyous news of the martyrdom of Abu Zarqawi. The statement says: the death of our leader is life for all of us.
STEVE DOOCY [FOX NEWS]: That's what you'd call some good spin.