 |
|
 |
| [-] |
| [−] |
| [−] |
| [−] |
| [−] |
Prev | List | Random | Next |
The New York Times and Associated Press are rushing to defend Abu Musab al Zarqawi in the wake of the release of captured video outtakes.
The Times explains:
The weapon in question is complicated to master, and American soldiers and marines undergo many days of training to achieve the most basic competence with it. Moreover, the weapon in Mr. Zarqawi's hands was an older variant, which makes its malfunctioning unsurprising.Until now the US has been accused of inflating the importance of al Qaeda's leader in Iraq.
The videotape of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi trying to fire a gun — and having trouble with it — is now playing out in the Arab world.And in a new development, somebody got the memo:This was the raw tape of the Zarqawi video propaganda session in which he was to portray himself as the Arab superhero slaying the enemies of the Arab people and the enemies of Islam as well.
That's why the black jihadi outfit. That's why the Popeye forearms. That's why the gun blasting away. That's why it hurts that he doesn't know how to actually operate the weapon. The tough guy needs his helper to figure out his gun.
In the Arab world this didn't play so well, which figures.
The US military revealed parts of a planning memo attributed to Al Qaeda in Iraq yesterday that outlines plans to ignite sectarian war by targeting Shi'ites and to shift the battle toward the capital and religiously mixed parts of the country.Jalaluddin al-Saghir, Shiite Member of Parliament and Imam of Baghdad's Buratha mosque (the target of a triple suicide bomb attack last April that left 85 people dead and 160 injured) responds:The memo, which the military said was seized during a raid last month, ordered followers to ''Make the struggle entirely between Shi'ites and the mujahideen," or holy warriors, and lambasted moderate Sunni groups. It included a call for insurgents to ''displace the Shi'ites and displace their shops and businesses from our areas. Expel those black market sellers of gas, bread, or meat or anyone that is suspected of spying against us."
A day after the release of a memo attributed to Al Qaeda in Iraq that described plans for a violent campaign to displace Shiite Muslims from many parts of the country, one of the sect's most influential religious leaders used his Friday sermon to urge the faithful to hold their ground.No reply yet from al Qaeda, The NY Times, or the AP."I demand first the government and second the brothers to keep their places," said Sheik Jalaluddin Saghir, leader of the capital's largest and most influential Shiite house of worship, the Bratha Mosque.
"We should not let the terrorists do that," Saghir said, referring to a strategy memo that the U.S. military said it had found at an Al Qaeda in Iraq hide-out in Yousifiya, south of Baghdad. "We should help families in finding a way to stay in their places."
Although the memo could not be independently authenticated, it echoed earlier instructions attributed to insurgent leaders, who are fighting coalition forces and trying to prevent the establishment of a stable central government.
The memo called on insurgents to "displace the Shiites and displace their shops and businesses from our areas."
The memo said Baghdad should be an area of focus for the attacks. It told insurgents to cast a broad net, urging the expulsion of "black market sellers of gas, bread or meat" and the "cleansing" of areas of "any person suspected of spying against us."
The outspoken Saghir, a member of parliament who distributes DVDs of his Friday sermons, blamed Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab Zarqawi for such extreme sentiments. He called the insurgent leader "an exceptional criminal who hurts all Iraqis."
