Nbadan
10-10-2004, 05:41 AM
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terrorist leader believed to be responsible for the abduction of Kenneth Bigley, is 'more myth than man', according to American military intelligence agents in Iraq. Several sources said the importance of Zarqawi, blamed for many of the most spectacular acts of violence in Iraq, has been exaggerated by flawed intelligence and the Bush regime's desire to find "a villain" for the post-invasion mayhem.
US military intelligence agents in Iraq have revealed a series of botched and often tawdry dealings with unreliable sources who, in the words of one source, "told us what we wanted to hear". "We were basically paying up to $10,000 a time to opportunists, criminals and chancers who passed off fiction and supposition about Zarqawi as cast-iron fact, making him out as the linchpin of just about every attack in Iraq," the agent said. "Back home this stuff was gratefully received and formed the basis of policy decisions. We needed a villain, someone identifiable for the public to latch on to, and we got one."
Legitgov.org (http://www.legitgov.org/)
The obvious question becomes...So, if Al-Zarqawi isn't in Iraq as some American officials have claimed, where is he?
http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/common/images/story_image_pop.gif
A statement from purported insurgents said Abu Musab al-Zarqawi died when he was unable to escape U.S. bombing because of his artificial leg. (Photo: AP)
CBS/AP) An extremist suspected of bloody suicide attacks in Iraq was killed some time ago, and a letter outlining plans for fomenting sectarian war is a forgery, a statement signed by a dozen alleged insurgent groups said.
In February, the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq made public an intercepted letter it said was written by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to al Qaeda leaders, detailing a strategy of spectacular attacks to derail the planned June 30 handover of power to the Iraqis.
U.S. officials say al-Zarqawi may have been involved in some of the series of suicide bombings this year in Iraq — including the massive mosque bombings on Tuesday that killed more than 100 Shiite Muslims.
But according to a statement circulated this week in Fallujah, a hotbed of anti-U.S. insurgency activity, al-Zarqawi was killed in northern Iraq "during the American bombing there."
The Fallujah statement called the al-Zarqawi letter "fabricated," saying it has been used by the U.S.-run coalition "to back up their theory of a civil war" in Iraq.
The claim reflects the murky enemy U.S. troops are fighting in Iraq. American officials agree foreign fighters are now the main resistance. But determining who they are, and how they operate, has proven difficult.
CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/05/iraq/main604191.shtml)
US military intelligence agents in Iraq have revealed a series of botched and often tawdry dealings with unreliable sources who, in the words of one source, "told us what we wanted to hear". "We were basically paying up to $10,000 a time to opportunists, criminals and chancers who passed off fiction and supposition about Zarqawi as cast-iron fact, making him out as the linchpin of just about every attack in Iraq," the agent said. "Back home this stuff was gratefully received and formed the basis of policy decisions. We needed a villain, someone identifiable for the public to latch on to, and we got one."
Legitgov.org (http://www.legitgov.org/)
The obvious question becomes...So, if Al-Zarqawi isn't in Iraq as some American officials have claimed, where is he?
http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/common/images/story_image_pop.gif
A statement from purported insurgents said Abu Musab al-Zarqawi died when he was unable to escape U.S. bombing because of his artificial leg. (Photo: AP)
CBS/AP) An extremist suspected of bloody suicide attacks in Iraq was killed some time ago, and a letter outlining plans for fomenting sectarian war is a forgery, a statement signed by a dozen alleged insurgent groups said.
In February, the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq made public an intercepted letter it said was written by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to al Qaeda leaders, detailing a strategy of spectacular attacks to derail the planned June 30 handover of power to the Iraqis.
U.S. officials say al-Zarqawi may have been involved in some of the series of suicide bombings this year in Iraq — including the massive mosque bombings on Tuesday that killed more than 100 Shiite Muslims.
But according to a statement circulated this week in Fallujah, a hotbed of anti-U.S. insurgency activity, al-Zarqawi was killed in northern Iraq "during the American bombing there."
The Fallujah statement called the al-Zarqawi letter "fabricated," saying it has been used by the U.S.-run coalition "to back up their theory of a civil war" in Iraq.
The claim reflects the murky enemy U.S. troops are fighting in Iraq. American officials agree foreign fighters are now the main resistance. But determining who they are, and how they operate, has proven difficult.
CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/05/iraq/main604191.shtml)