Not Everyone Agrees on the Significance of Zarqawi's Death

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Confusing Coverage?

The elimination of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq may have been a victory for the United States and a step forward in the War on Terror, but you might not have known that from some of the coverage.

Reuters called Zarqawi a "figurehead for Islamist militants," who has "been blamed by the United States" for suicide bombings and the beheading of foreign captives. And the BBC called Zarqawi simply a "militant leader" who was "considered the figurehead of the Sunni insurgency." The BBC suggested his removal could do more harm than good by bringing about "an explosion of revenge by his followers."

Photo Violation?

Meanwhile, the Arab Committee for Human Rights says it's outraged at the release of photos verifying Zarqawi's death, calling it a violation of the Geneva Convention.

A spokesman tells al-Jazeera that the treaty's provisions on degrading treatment prohibit releasing any pictures of dead combatants or prisoners of war, claiming the U.S. also violated the provision after the capture of Saddam Hussein and the deaths of his sons.

Those protections, of course, extend to soldiers of another country, not terrorists, and Pentagon officials say the pictures were necessary to convince the world that Zarqawi was dead. Al-Jazeera calls that a "flimsy argument."

Blaming Bush

U.S. contractor Nick Berg's beheading in Iraq two years ago was broadcast around the world and U.S. officials say Zarqawi himself committed the execution. But Berg's father says he feels no relief at the terrorist's death because he blames President Bush for the murder.

Michael Berg told FOX News that the president signed off on "the torture and death and rape of people in Abu Ghraib prison, for which my son was killed in retaliation."

Berg, by the way, is running for Congress in Pennsylvania as a member of the Green Party.

Family Benefits?

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis, who's under investigation for ties to high-powered lobbyists, is facing new questions about a political action committee run by his stepdaughter that appeared to benefit her more than any candidate.

The San Diego Union Tribune reports that Julia Willis Leon's Small Biz Tech PAC has given $15,000 to candidates over the last year, but paid her more than double that amount over the same period.

What's more, the PAC received $42,000 from a fundraising group led by a defense contractor who received government contracts worth millions of dollars from Lewis' committee. Lewis has denied any wrongdoing in the case.

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—FOX News Channel's Aaron Bruns contributed to this report.