Hmmm…is he or isn’t he?
From Aljazeera:
Sheikh Jawad al-Kalesi, the imam of the al-Kadhimiyah mosque in Baghdad, told France’s Le Monde newspaper on Friday: “I don’t think that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi exists as such. He’s simply an invention by the occupiers to divide the people.”
Al-Kalesi claimed that al-Zarqawi was killed in the Kurdish northern region of Iraq at the beginning of the US-led war on the country as he was meeting with members of the Ansar Al-Islam group affiliated to al-Qaida.
But, wait a minute. Haven’t we recently heard statements from al-Zarqawi?
“If the occupation continues, the situation will only get worse and the Iraqi will increasingly join the resistance”
He said an audio message posted on the Internet on Wednesday and attributed to al-Zarqawi, was meant to push Shia “to find refuge with the Americans rather than join the resistance.”
Frankly, when it comes to the illegal war in Iraq, I don’t know who to believe anymore. I wouldn’t put it past Bushco to use propaganda to keep this bogeyman alive, but it’s also in the interest of al-Zarqawi supporters to claim that he is dead so he is no longer a target.
The Times Online reports a different story:
Regardless of whether or not he’s alive, the fact remains that this war is far from being over with thousands of Iraqis dying in the name of “freedom” as dictated by the US government. As we’ve all been distracted by the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe, the situation on the ground in Iraq has remained equally catastrophic with no end in site.
US troop deaths are nearing 1900 and recruiters are still aggressively trying to round up more volunteers. More coalition members are pulling out and there is no exit strategy. So, whether or not one resistance leader is dead really doesn’t matter. There are thousands more waiting to fill his shoes to make sure this conflict goes on for years. And, there is no doubt that it will.
