A modern mythologyToday I read a few articles that has made me question the existence of “al-Zarqawi”, the mastermind of the Iraqi insurgency.
Everyone likes a conspiracy theory. They’re interesting, make a great story and are generally difficult to prove wrong. The fact that something is dubbed a “conspiracy theory” can also, however, instantly be dismissed as some form of ridiculous “left-wing”, “terrorist-supporting” mumbo-jumbo by the “powers that be”. For this reason, the US Administration and US military love conspiracy theories too.
Firstly, who is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi?
Let me quote two moderately trustworthy sources. The first is the profile of al-Zarqawi from the BBC News website. The BBC, though funded by the British government, has a legislative responsibility for neutrality and independence. Insofar as political reporting, the BBC is much more trustworthy than the news media of the United States. The second is from Wikipedia. With around 500 edits from people across the political spectrum, the amalgamated biography is likely to be something representing “fact”.
States the BBC:
“...Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is Iraq’s most notorious insurgent – a shadowy figure associated with spectacular bombings, assassinations and the beheading of foreign hostages.
He first appeared in Iraq as the leader of the Tawhid and Jihad insurgent group, merging it in late 2004 with Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network...
...While many analysts say he is using the Iraqi insurgency as a springboard to expand his operations, others argue his influence has been exaggerated...
...Bomb attacks on Iraq’s Shia-dominated government and security forces have continued apace, however, with many of the bloodiest strikes of 2005 blamed on Zarqawi’s group, now renamed al-Qaeda in Iraq...
...A letter released by US forces in 2005 – allegedly authored by Bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and addressed to Zarqawi – appears to support this.
In the letter, whose authenticity remains in doubt, Zawahiri purportedly cautions Zarqawi that indiscriminate attacks on the Shia are eroding support for al-Qaeda...
...Several men alleged to be key aides of Zarqawi have also been killed or captured – but these appear to have had no effect on his group’s ability to operate...
...The reward was increased in early 2004, after American authorities intercepted a letter which, they claimed, confirmed he was working with al-Qaeda to drive the US out of Iraq...
...In the run-up to the Iraq war in February 2003, US Secretary of State Colin Powell told the United Nations Zarqawi was an associate of Osama Bin Laden who had sought refuge in Iraq.
Intelligence reports indicated he was in Baghdad and – according to Mr Powell – this was a sure sign that Saddam Hussein was courting al-Qaeda, which, in turn, justified an attack on Iraq.
But some analysts at the time contested the claim, pointing to Zarqawi’s historical rivalry with Bin Laden...
...Both men rose to prominence as “Afghan Arabs” –leading foreign fighters in the “jihad” against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s...
...Jordan tried him in absentia and sentenced him to death for allegedly plotting attacks on American and Israeli tourists.
Western intelligence indicated Zarqawi had sought refuge in Europe.
German security forces later uncovered a militant cell which claimed Zarqawi was its leader.
The cell-members also told their German interrogators their group was “especially for Jordanians who did not want to join al-Qaeda”.
According to the German intelligence report, this “conflicts with... information” from America...
...He is believed to have set up a training camp in the western city of Herat, near the border with Iran.
Students at his camp supposedly became experts in the manufacture and use of poison gases...”
States: Wikipedia
“Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (born October 20, 1966, Zarqa, Jordan) is a Salafi Islamist militant, a guerrilla leader, and the rumoured leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. One or more individuals identifying themselves as Zarqawi have taken responsibility, on several audiotapes, for numerous acts of violence in Iraq, including the killing of civilians and the taking of hostages. He is also allegedly responsible for many other acts of violence, including the beheading of hostages in Iraq. Due to his current role in the Iraqi insurgency and his prior activities in Jordan, Zarqawi is wanted by American, Iraqi, and Jordanian authorities.
As an Islamist militant, Zarqawi opposes the presence of U.S., Israeli and Western military forces in the Islamic world. In September 2005, he reportedly declared “all-out war” on Shia Muslims in Iraq, and is believed responsible for dispatching numerous Al-Qaeda suicide bombers throughout Iraq, and especially to areas with large concentrations of Shia civilians.
Zarqawi, believed to be a long time ally of Osama bin Laden, is now a high-ranking member of bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network, and since October 2004 has referred to his own organization Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, or Monotheism and Holy War Group, an insurgent network operating in Iraq, as “Al-Qaida in Iraq”. On October 21, 2004, Zarqawi officially announced his allegiance to Al Qaida; on December 27, 2004, Al Jazeera broadcast an audiotape of bin Laden calling Zarqawi “the prince of al Qaeda in Iraq” and asked “all our organization brethren to listen to him and obey him in his good deeds.”
Zarqawi is the most wanted man in Jordan and Iraq, having participated in or masterminded a number of violent actions against United States and Iraqi targets. The U.S. government is offering a USD$25 million reward for information leading to his capture, the same amount offered for the capture of bin Laden before March 2004. On 15 October 2004, the U.S. State Department added Zarqawi and the Jama'at al-Tawhid wal Jihad group to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations and ordered a freeze on any assets that the group might have in the United States.”
Al-Zarqawi, an insurgent and Islamist who has been made out as a legendary “terrorist prince” in Iraq, traditionally shy of showing his face on video tape released a surprisingly candid video recently, unmasked, telling the world everything the US president states he is and is doing. As noted around the internet, even assuming this video is truly that of al-Zarqawi, the timing is certainly convenient. The video, was released by “al-Qaeda”.
Today, the “uncut” version of the tape was revealed by the US military, apparently seized during a raid last month. The video shows the man who claims to be al-Zarqawi acting like a bumbling fool. He is unable to operate his automatic rifle. He wears American tennis shoes. His aids / fellow fighters burns his hand by grabbing the just fired rifle from the confused al-Zarqawi.
The release of this tape was apparently a PR exercise in Iraq to mock al-Zarqawi. States, the US military spokesman Major General Rick Lynch:
“His close associates around him … do things like grab the hot barrel of the machine gun and burn themselves … Makes you wonder [about their military skills]…”
Yes it does.
Let us look at the historical facts. Al-Zarqawi is a veteran of combat as a foreign fighter in the war in Afghanistan against Soviet forces. He was not just a solider – rather a leader of soldiers. He has the skills (apparently) of running and operating several terrorist training camps and has successfully executed numerous terrorist attacks. At present, he is (allegedly) a (or the) leader of the insurgency in Iraq.
And he can’t operate a rifle? And his aids / fellow fighters in the clip seem to be incompetent with firearms?
We are faced with a credibility gap. Perhaps al-Zarqawi does exists but is the man in the video him?
With this gap of credibility a number of things start to fall apart – like the crack in a dry piece of wood once you drive in a wedge. Why would al-Zarqawi’s group in Iraq change its name to “Al-Qaeda”? There is plenty of historical evidence that al-Zarqawi’s group was a rival. From a US military point of view this name change does seem again, remarkably convenient. The undeniable enemy of the United States, the enemy that perpetrated 9/11 linked with Iraqi insurgency.
Looking back at the BBC profile, it becomes painfully obvious that all that purported links between al-Zarqawi and Saddam Hussein were tenuous at the time and now almost certainly bogus. However, the US cemented the “Al-Qaeda” link with the letter of support for al-Zarqawi from bin Laden’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahri in October 2005. Al Qaeda, not known for their bashfulness in declaring their responsibility for atrocities, claimed that this letter was a fake.
Who is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi?
He is another “Osama bin Laden”. He is everywhere and he is nowhere. Described as “mysterious” and “elusive” he is a mythical beast created by the United States as the archetypical bogey-man, the ultimate Islamic terrorist placed on a pedestal to subjugate and control the population with fear.
A man named “al-Zarqawi” may exists, but the portrait painted of him by the military does not. I also do not believe that the recent video of him is genuine. At best, the US military is a willing dupe. At worst, it was manufactured.
But then, this is all only a conspiracy theory.
Source articles:
Yahoo! News: Video Shows al-Zarqawi Fumbling with Rifle
Wikipedia: Nick Berg conspiracy theories
BBC News: Profile: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Wikipedia: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Project on Defense Alternatives: The al-Zarqawi Assessment: Another Instance of ‘Cooked’ Intelligence?
Telegraph (UK): How US fuelled myth of Zarqawi the mastermind
The Washington Post: Military Plays Up Role of Zarqawi
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