Who was Abu Musab al Zarqawi?

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Who was Abu Musab al Zarqawi?
By Michel Chossudovsky
GlobalResearch.ca
Jun 12, 2006

Mythical figure and terror mastermind Abu Musab Al Zarqawi was
killed in an air raid, according to a statement of the Iraqi
government.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki announced at a press
conference . "We have eliminated Zarqawi." The head of US-led forces
in Iraq, General George Casey, said the strike against an "isolated
safe house" took place at 1815 (1415 GMT) on Wednesday. (BBC, 7 June
2006)

"Jordanian-born Zarqawi was said to have been in a meeting with
associates at the time. Several other people were reported to have
been killed in the raid. General Casey said Zarqawi's body was
identified through fingerprints, facial recognition and known
scars." (Ibid)

Zarqawi has been upheld both in official statements and the media as
head of "the Sunni insurgency", leader of "al-Qaeda in Iraq",
allegedly responsible for the the killings of thousands of civilians.

Intelligence Asset

The evidence suggests, however, that Zarqawi was part of a Pentagon
disinformation campaign launched in 2003, which was initially
intended to justify the US led invasion of Iraq. This central role
of Zarqawi as an instrument of war propaganda was recently confirmed
by leaked military documents revealed by the Washington Post.

The Pentagon had set up a "Zarqawi program". Military documents
confirm that the role of Zarqawi had been deliberately "magnified"
with a view to galvanizing public support for the US-UK led "war on
terrorism":

"The Zarqawi campaign is discussed in several of the internal
military documents. "Villainize Zarqawi/leverage xenophobia
response," one U.S. military briefing from 2004 stated. It listed
three methods: "Media operations," "Special Ops (626)" (a reference
to Task Force 626, an elite U.S. military unit assigned primarily to
hunt in Iraq for senior officials in Hussein's government)
and "PSYOP," the U.S. military term for propaganda work . . ." (WP.
10 April 2006)

An internal document produced by U.S. military headquarters in Iraq,
states that "the Zarqawi PSYOP program is the most successful
information campaign to date." (WP, op cit). (For further details
see: Who is behind "Al Qaeda in Iraq"? Pentagon acknowledges
fabricating a "Zarqawi Legend" - by Michel Chossudovsky - 2006-04-18)

Is Zarqawi's Death Part of Pentagon PSYOP?

If indeed Zarqawi was fabricated to deliberately mislead public
opinion, what are the implications of his death in the process of
media disinformation? Is the killing of Zarqawi part of the Pentagon
PSYOP program?

The Bush adminstration is already announcing "a post-Zarqawi era",
suggesting that with the death of its presumed leader,
the "insurgency" is in the process of being defeated. Zarqawi's
death was an opportunity for the new government to "turn the tide",
President Bush said. "The ideology of terror has lost one of its
most visible and aggressive leaders."

The killing of Zarqawi has occurred at a time when Bush's public
support is at an all time low, as confirmed by the opinion polls. In
a press conference at the White House, Bush underscored the role of
Zarqawi. as "commnders of the terrorist movement in Iraq. He led a
campaign of car bombings, assassinations and suicide attacks that
has taken the lives of many American forces and thousands of
innocent Iraqis. Osama bin Laden called this Jordanian terrorist the
prince of Al Qaida in Iraq. He called on the terrorists around the
world to listen to him and obey him."

"Now Zarqawi has met his end and this violent man will never murder
again." suggesting that the US has from now on the upper hand in
Iraq. "Zarqawi's death is a severe blow to Al Qaida. It's a victory
in the global war on terror, and it is an opportunity for Iraq's new
government to turn the tide of this struggle."

Zarqawi's death has also served as a convenient coverup of the
extensive war crimes committed by coalition forces in Iraq. The
news coverage suggests that Zarqawi rather than coaltion forces are
responsible for countless atrocities and civilian deaths. In the
words of Don Rumsfeld, the man who led the criminal invasion and
occupation of Iraq: "I think arguably, over the last several years
no single person on this planet has had the blood of more innocent
man, women and children on his hands than Zarqawi."

Historical Background: Who Was Musab Abu al Zarqawi?

The following text first publish in June 2004, provides details on
the origin of the Zarqawi Legend and how this mythical figure was
used by Us intelligence to justify the invasion and occupation of
Iraq.

Who is Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi?
By Michel Chossudovsky
June 11, 2004
The US intelligence apparatus has created its own terrorist
organizations. And at the same time, it creates its own terrorist
warnings concerning the terrorist organizations which it has itself
created. In turn, it has developed a cohesive multibillion dollar
counterterrorism program "to go after" these terrorist organizations.

Counterterrorism and war propaganda are intertwined. The propaganda
apparatus feeds disinformation into the news chain. The terror
warnings must appear to be "genuine". The objective is to present
the terror groups as "enemies of America."

The underlying objective is to galvanize public opinion in support
of America's war agenda.

The "war on terrorism" requires a humanitarian mandate. The war on
terrorism is presented as a "Just War", which is to be fought on
moral grounds "to redress a wrong suffered."

The Just War theory defines "good" and "evil." It concretely
portrays and personifies the terrorist leaders as "evil individuals".

Several prominent American intellectuals and antiwar activists, who
stand firmly opposed to the Bush administration, are nonetheless
supporters of the Just War theory: "We are against war in all its
forms but we support the campaign against international terrorism."

To reach its foreign policy objectives, the images of terrorism must
remain vivid in the minds of the citizens, who are constantly
reminded of the terrorist threat.

The propaganda campaign presents the portraits of the leaders behind
the terror network. In other words, at the level of what constitutes
an "advertising" campaign, "it gives a face to terror." The "war
on terrorism" rests on the creation of one or more evil bogeymen,
the terror leaders, Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, et al,
whose names and photos are presented ad nauseam in daily news
reports.

Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi is presented to World public opinion, as the
upcoming terrorist mastermind, overshadowing "Enemy Number One",
Osama bin Laden. The U.S. State Department has increased the reward
for his arrest from $10 million to $25 million, which puts
his "market value" at par with that of Osama. Ironically, Al Zarqawi
is not on the FBI most wanted fugitives list.
(http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/topten/fugitives/fugitives.htm )

Al Zarqawi's Links to Al Qaeda

Al Zarqawi is often described as an "Osama associate", the bogeyman,
allegedly responsible for numerous terrorist attacks in several
countries. In other reports, often emanating from the same sources,
it is stated that he has no links to Al Qaeda and operates quite
independently. He is often presented as an individual who is
challenging the leadership of bin Laden.

His name crops up on numerous occasions in press reports and
official statements. Since early 2004, he is in the news almost on a
daily basis.

Osama belongs to the powerful bin Laden family, which historically
had business ties to the Bushes and prominent members of the Texas
oil establishment. Bin Laden was recruited by the CIA during the
Soviet-Afghan war and fought as a Mujahideen. In other words, there
is a longstanding documented history of bin Laden-CIA and bin Laden-
Bush family links, which are an obvious source of embarrassment to
the US government.

In contrast to bin Laden, Al-Zarqawi has no family history. He comes
from an impoverished Palestinian family in Jordan. His parents are
dead. He emerges out of the blue.

He is described by CNN as "a lone wolf" who is said to act quite
independently of the Al Qaeda network. Yet surprisingly, this lone
wolf is present in several countries, in Iraq, which is now his
base, but also in Western Europe. He is also suspected of preparing
a terrorist attack on American soil.

He seems to be in several places at the same time. He is described
as "the chief U.S. enemy", "a master of disguise and bogus
identification papers". We are led to believe that this "lone wolf"
manages to outwit the most astute US intelligence operatives.

According to The Weekly Standard --which is known to have a close
relationship to the Neocons in the Bush administration:

"Abu Musab al Zarqawi is hot right now. He masterminded not only
Berg's murder but also the Madrid carnage on March 11, the
bombardment of Shia worshippers in Iraq the same month, and the
April 24 suicide attack on the port of Basra. But he is far from a
newcomer to slaughter. Well before 9/11, he had already concocted a
plot to kill Israeli and American tourists in Jordan. His label is
on terrorist groups and attacks on four continents." (Weekly
Standard, 24 May 2004)

Al-Zarqawi's profile "is mounting a challenge to bin Laden's
leadership of the global jihad."

In Iraq, he is said to be determined to "ignite a civil war between
Sunnis and Shiites". But is that not precisely what US intelligence
is aiming at ( "divide and rule") as confirmed by several analysts
of the US led war? Pitting one group against the other with a view
to weakening the resistance movement. (See Michel Collon,
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/COL312A.html , See also
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/RAD308A.html

The CIA, with its $30 billion plus budget, pleads ignorance: they
say they know nothing about him, they have a photograph, but,
according to the Weekly Standard (24 May 2004), they apparently do
not know his weight or height.

There is an aura of mystery surrounding this individual which is
part of the propaganda ploy. Zarqawi is described as "so secretive
even some operatives who work with him do not know his identity."

Consistent Pattern

What is the role of this new mastermind in the Pentagon's
disinformation campaign, in which CNN seems to be playing a central
role?

In previous propaganda ploys, the CIA hired PR firms to organize
core disinformation campaigns, including the Rendon Group. The
latter worked closely with its British partner Hill and Knowlton,
which was responsible for the 1990 Kuwaiti incubator media scam,
where Kuwaiti babies were allegedly removed from incubators in a
totally fabricated news story, which was then used to get
Congressional approval for the 1991 Gulf War.

What is the pattern? Almost immediately in the wake of a terrorist
event or warning, CNN announces (in substance): we think this
mysterious individual Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi is behind it, invariably
without supporting evidence and prior to the conduct of an
investigation by the relevant police and intelligence authorities.

In some cases, upon the immediate occurrence of the terrorist event,
there is an initial report which mentions Al-Zarqawi as the possible
mastermind. The report will often say (in substance): yes we think
he did it, but it is not yet confirmed and there is some doubt on
the identity of those behind the attack. One or two days later, CNN
may come up with a definitive statement, quoting official police,
military and/or intelligence sources.

Often the CNN report is based on information published on an Islamic
website or a mysterious Video or Audio tape. The authenticity of the
website and/or the tapes is not the object of discussion or detailed
investigation.

Bear in mind that the news reports never mention that Al Qaeda is a
creation of the CIA and that Al Zarqawi had been recruited to fight
in the Soviet-Afghan war (This is in fact confirmed by Sec. Colin
Powell in his presentation to the UN Security Council on 5 February
2003) (see details below). Both Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab Al-
Zarqawi are creations of the US intelligence apparatus. The
recruitment of foreign fighters was under the auspices of the CIA.

The press usually present the terrorist warnings emanating from the
CIA as genuine, without acknowledging the fact that US intelligence,
has provided covert support to the Islamic militant network
consistently for more than 20 years.

Amply documented, the training camps in Afghanistan established
during the Reagan Administration had been set up with the support of
the CIA. In fact, several members of the current Bush administration
including Richard Armitage and Colin Powell were directly involved
in channeling support to Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, where bin Laden
and Al Zarqawi received specialized training. (See Michel
Chossudovsky, globalresearch.ca/articles/CH0109C.html and
globalresearch.ca/articles/CH0303D.html )

History of Al Zarqawi

The first time Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi's name is mentioned was in
relation to the thwarted attack on the Radisson SAS Hotel in Amman,
Jordan, during the millennium celebrations (December 1999).
According to press reports, he had previously gone under another
name: Ahmed Fadil Al-Khalayleh, (apparently among other aliases).

According to the New York Times, Al Zarqawi fled Afghanistan to Iran
in late 2001, following the entry of US troops. Official US reports
suggest that he was protected at the highest levels of the Tehran
government.

"United States intelligence officials say they are increasingly
concerned by the mounting evidence of Tehran's renewed interest in
terrorism [and support to Al Zarqawi], including covert surveillance
by Iranian agents of possible American targets abroad. American
officials said Iran appeared to view terrorism as deterrent against
possible attack by the United States.

Since the surprise election of reformer Mohammad Khatami as
president of Iran in 1997 and his wide public support, Washington
has been counting on a new moderate political majority to emerge.
But the hard-line faction has maintained its grip on Iran's security
apparatus, frustrating American efforts to ease tensions with Tehran.

Now, Iranian actions to destabilize the new interim government in
Afghanistan, its willingness to assist Al Qaeda members and its
fueling of the Palestinian uprising are prompting a reassessment in
Washington, officials say." (NYT, 24 March 2002)

In 2002, his presence in Tehran, allegedly "collaborating with
hardliners" in the Iranian military and intelligence apparatus, is
part of an evolving disinformation campaign which consists in
presenting Iran as a sponsor of the "Islamic terror network"

In February 2002, he was allegedly involved in planning terror
attacks inside Israel.

Colin Powell's Address to the UN Security Council

In the months leading up to the war on Iraq, Al Zarqawi's name
reemerges, this time almost on daily basis, with reports focusing on
his sinister relationship to Saddam Hussein.

A major turning point in the propaganda campaign occurs on February
5, 2003. Al-Zarqawi was in the spot light following Colin Powell's
flopped WMD report to the UN Security Council. Powell's speech
presented "documentation" on the ties between Saddam Hussein and Al
Qaeda, while focusing on the central role of Al-Zarqawi: (emphasis
added):

Our concern is not just about these illicit weapons; it's the way
that these illicit weapons can be connected to terrorists and
terrorist organizations . . .

But what I want to bring to your attention today is the potentially
much more sinister nexus between Iraq and the Al Qaeda terrorist
network, a nexus that combine