Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and the Silver Bullet

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and the Silver Bullet
Kurt Nimmo
May 26, 2005

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is dead, or maybe he is alive. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is wounded, but maybe he isn’t. “It remains unclear whether he is seriously wounded, whether he is in Iraq or elsewhere, and whether he has been replaced at least temporarily as leader of his group,” reports the BBC. Nobody knows much of anything about the mercurial Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and yet he is “blamed for many of the most deadly attacks and is the only widely-recognized leader in the insurgency,” even though he may be dead, seriously wounded, or not in Iraq. Considering the dearth of information on al-Zarqawi, how can the BBC and the corporate media claim he is the “only widely-recognized leader in the insurgency"?

The BBC continues: “Clearly, US commanders and the new Iraqi authorities believe that removing him from the scene would have a significant psychological and practical impact on the insurgency, at least temporarily,” and never mind that, as stated above, he may not even be on the scene, or alive for that matter. Claiming al-Zarqawi is dead, in a spider hole somewhere licking his wounds, or on vacation in the Bahamas will not have a “psychological and practical impact on the insurgency,” as claimed by the Pentagon. But fact of the matter is the Pentagon and its Iraqi version of the ARVN possess a dim view of what the “insurgency” actually is and the hobgoblin al-Zarqawi is a desperate attempt to put a face on the resistance. Or so it would seem.

“To capture or kill such a figurehead would also be a considerable symbolic and morale boost to US forces and the Iraqi administration,” the BBC claims. “But no-one believes it would be a silver bullet that would finish off the resistance.”

In fact, nothing short of the U.S. leaving Iraq will “finish off the resistance” (or stop it from resisting) and the Iraqi ARVN, once abandoned by the Pentagon, will wither like Nguyen Van Thieu’s army did in Vietnam after the U.S. skedaddled. Iraqi Defense Minister Saadoun al-Duleimi will likely order his soldiers to fight on after the U.S. exits the stage and, like General Cao Van Vien, ARVN chief of staff, he will flee the country. Saadoun al-Duleimi’s Phuoc Long (probably the most decisive battle of the Vietnam conflict) is right around the corner.

“In Iraq, the insurgency remains a complicated tapestry. As it has gone on, it has got more sophisticated.”

Is it possible the corporate media (in Britain as well as the United States) is so blindsided and stupid? Of course the Iraqi resistance is “a complicated tapestry,” mostly because it stretches across the breadth of Iraqi society and is not, as Bush and Crew and the slavish corporate media would have us believe, simply a collection of former “Saddamists” (yet another meaningless term created by the corporate media), dead-enders, malcontents, criminals, and foreign terrorists. The Iraqi resistance is not “run” by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi or any other single individual (even one who actually exists, since al-Zarqawi is dead). Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is a contrivance, a monster face slapped on an anonymous resistance that cannot be defeated because it is indigenous and committed, not a sinister underground cabal of beheaders and suicide bombers as much at war with Shia Islam as the United States military, and not led by a half-witted and sadistic Jordanian Palestinian, a foreigner. “Rather than extremist foreign fighters battling to the death, the marines are mostly finding local men from Falluja who are fighting to defend their city from what they view as an illegitimate occupier,” Scott Ritter wrote earlier this year. “The motivations of these fighters may well be anti-American, but they are Iraqi, not foreign, in origin.”

Nonetheless, with reality staring story editors at the BBC dead in face, they write: “But trends like the increase in suicide bombings in Baghdad may be evidence of growing collaboration between the foreign elements and local Iraqi insurgents.” And, as well, it may be a military intelligence operation on the part of the Pentagon, increasing acts of savage violence engineered to make the undefeatable Iraqi resistance look bad and alienate possible supporters, a long-held objective of counter-insurgency for decades (for instance, insurgent “pseudo teams,” as organized by the British Special Branch in Malaya, worked to discredit the insurgency). As Chris Shumway points out, many Iraqis believe “the mythic Al-Zarqawi is part of a foreign strategy to divide Iraq's religious sects and political factions and justify a prolonged occupation… According to analysts and military documents obtained by the Associated Press, the most organized and active resistance cells consist mainly of native Iraqis: Sunni Muslims, Ba’ath party loyalists—many with experience in Saddam's military and intelligence services—and tribal men who are fighting for a bigger role for their group in Iraq. Although they may be influenced by fundamentalist Islam, they are not, many analysts insist, fighting for a Taliban-like Islamic state as Al-Zarqawi’s fighters purportedly are.”

Bush and Crew believe (or want us to believe) “the level of insurgent violence” is a “sign of increasing desperation,” when in fact, as the BBC allows, “it may be further evidence that the insurgency is stronger and more sophisticated than US commanders and intelligence have calculated,” or are willing to admit. In desperation, the Pentagon has once again deployed “more than 1,000 soldiers to flush out foreign fighters and Iraqi extremists from Haditha,” as the Los Angeles Times reports.

Even so, “the pace of suicide bombings, sabotage and assassinations has shown no signs of abating,” and will not do so until the United States gets out of Iraq, something they keep telling us they will not do, even though it is obvious that with every “sweep” through Iraqi “terrorist strongholds” the resistance not only grows, but increases its deadly effectiveness. As if on cue, following the now dog-warred Straussian master plan and shooting script, “U.S. and Iraqi officials accuse Syria of tolerating the use of their territory as a conduit for foreign fighters entering Iraq,” once again refusing to face reality, a totality that demands common sense be enlisted: the Iraqi resistance is indigenous, not cooked up in Damascus or Tehran.

Meanwhile, as if to admit the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi myth is on its last legs, an “Internet statement signed in the name of al-Qaida in Iraq said the group has appointed an interim leader for al-Zarqawi in light of his purported injury,” even though this was later disputed. As usual, the “statement, posted on a Web site known for carrying extremist material, could not be immediately authenticated,” although this hardly matters. “The back-and-forth on same Web site, known as a clearinghouse of Islamic militant material, could be a sign of confusion or competition within al-Qaida of Iraq. It follows speculation about the Jordanian-born militant that has been unusual in size and scope.” Of course, it makes absolutely no sense for al-Qaeda “in Iraq” to air its dirty laundry and admit this weakness publicly. But then, since the American people, who either directly or tacitly support Bush’s “war on terrorism,” are so easily fooled and are remiss when it comes to picking up on crucial details, this may not be much of a concern for the masters of war who are emboldened by the fact so few people actually care about their bald-faced lies and deceptions.


May 26, 2005

The Bush Gulag and Amnesty
International’s Annual Report
May 25, 2005,

It was a cold day in Hell. Scott McClellan, Bush’s intrepid White House spokesman, admitted the United States government condones “atrocious” human rights violations, “thereby diminishing its moral authority and setting a global example encouraging abuse by other nations,” as the New York Times reports, citing accusations leveled by Amnesty International.

“President Bush and the administration,” averred McClellan, “admit culpability and plan to make amends. As of eight PM Eastern Standard Time, the president has ordered the release of all detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and Bagram AFB in Afghanistan. Moreover, beginning immediately, the president has ordered a sweeping and comprehensive investigation of all allegations of abuse and the Justice Department will not rest until all who are guilty of such abuses are held to account for their behavior.”

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice … won’t get fooled again.

Actually, Scott McClellan said no such thing. In fact, Mr. McClellan reamed the human rights organization. “I think the allegations are ridiculous, and unsupported by the facts,” said McClellan. “The United States is leading the way when it comes to protecting human rights and promoting human dignity. We have liberated 50 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have worked to advance freedom and democracy in the world so that people are governed under a rule of law, that there are protections in place for minority rights, that women’s rights are advanced so that women can fully participate in societies where now they cannot.”

Not only have the batteries died in the dung-o-meter but somebody has disassembled the device and scattered its parts to the four corners of the empire. McClellan continued: “We’ve also—are leading the way when it comes to spreading compassion. The United States leads the way when it comes to providing resources to combat the scourge of AIDS.”

In fact, as Human Rights Watch documents, the Bushites are in the process of mixing apples and oranges when it comes to AIDS, thus allowing even more people to suffer horrible deaths. “The U.S. government is trying to withhold anti-HIV/AIDS funding unless both U.S.-based and foreign organizations adopt policies that explicitly oppose all forms of prostitution, Human Rights Watch and a group of more than 200 leading public and human rights experts and organizations said [on May 18] in a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush… ‘The U.S. government’s “anti-prostitution” pledge not only undermines its global efforts against HIV/AIDS,’ said Rebecca Schleifer, researcher with Human Rights Watch’s HIV/AIDS Program. ‘It also undermines the fundamental right of sex workers and trafficking victims to receive lifesaving information about HIV/AIDS. And it violates freedom of speech for anti-HIV/AIDS groups working with these high-risk groups.’”

According to the presbyopic religious fundies who advise and rule the Bush administration, AIDS in places such as Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia is best addressed through sexual abstinence. “In an age where five million people are newly infected each year, and women and girls too often do not have the choice to abstain, an abstinence-until-marriage programme is not only irresponsible, it’s really inhumane,” remarked US Congresswoman Barbara Lee last July, as the Bushites pedaled their simplistic notions at an international summit on the disease in the Thai capital Bangkok.

So really, when you think about it—and obviously millions of us here in the United States never do—the Bushcons cannot help but tell lies whenever they open their mouth, as McClellan demonstrated once again when he made the mistake of mentioning AIDS and the amiable behavior of the United States, a demented nation now run by a gaggle of right-wingers who essentially believe AIDS is God’s punishment for the wicked. ( “AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals,” once declared the bible-thumper Jerry Falwell. “To oppose it would be like an Israelite jumping in the Red Sea to save one of Pharaoh’s chariotters.” )

And so it is with the torture and “rendition” of Muslims, who figure in the Bush constellation about the same as homosexuals, that is to say they are to be dealt with severely and then—for the consumption of somnolent consumers at home, or those with one eye open, affixed to the telescreen—this severity will be spin-dried as compassion or swept under the proverbial rug. In essence, no matter what Amnesty International says or does, it does not matter because most Americans are not paying attention and really don’t care, thank you very much. Paris Hilton and the “Spicy BBQ Burger” have more relevance.

For instance, as the so-called Blair memo makes obvious, Bush fixed intelligence and facts around his long-held desire to bomb Iraq and kill a whole lot of Iraqis. “Bush had decided we’re going in, the memo said that Bush was going in, no matter what,” explains crack reporter Greg Palast. “This is what nailed Nixon in the end, not just Watergate, but it was fixing the intelligence.”

Unfortunately, the days when people actually gave two cents worth of a damn are long gone. Few of us care about the Blair memo or the torture and murder of innocent taxi drivers in Afghanistan or the slaughter of more than 100,000 Iraqis predicated on disgusting lies and more than a few of us consider Amnesty International no different than the French.

In other words, they can screw off.