So I guess the question on everyone’s mind is how Jordanians are reacting to Zarqawi’s death. I mean, as you may or may not know, he was Jordanian himself. I suppose that the answer to that is, there are lots of ways that Jordanians are reacting. Meaning, Jordan isn’t a place where everyone is of one mind about iraq and the war and the insurgency, let alone the US’s role in it. I will tell you the three main opinions I have heard. One: Zarqawi was a bad man and it is good he is out of the picture. There have been rallies to celebrate this. And of course within this camp of thought there are people who would have rather seen him arrested and tried. But come now, let’s not get nitpicky…
Two: he isn’t dead, the CIA has him. Just like they have Bin Laden.
Three: Zarqawi was a good man fighting western oppression. His death should not go unmourned. In other words… a martyr.
And the commonality between all of these opinions is that it doesn’t really matter a whole lot that he is gone. Al Qaida (which by the way means base, or foundation in Arabic. Fun fact) will just find someone else to take his place. And after that one is gone will come another. They see it all as sort of an exercise in futility.
As I think I mentioned previously there is a volunteer in Zarqawi’s hometown. I haven’t yet spoken to him about it, but I would be really interested to hear how people in his village are talking about this and see if there is any difference.
It’s a crazy time of year here for me. If y’all think back to a year ago and what I was doing (if you can remember that far back). I was caught up in a flurry of going away parties, and everything I did was my last. Last movie, last dinner at such and such, last fill in the blank here… and I was packing. Narrowing life down to just two bags. I was saying all my goodbyes. So that means, that for a whole new group of people they are now wondering what it will mean to be living in Jordan for 2 years. They are leaving apartments, cars, friends and loved ones. They are wondering who is going to take them to the airport, and who is going to meet them when they land. We are going to have a bunch of new people to add to our somewhat limited and ever shrinking pool of friends here come july. And our good friends who have the good fortune of finishing service will be gone by September. So, it will be a whole new dynamic. That, and summer is here with its crazy amount of activities at work. So I don’t expect to have much time to stop and take a breath until august.