Does Zarqawi Even Exist?
The Bush administration has attributed the bulk of the Iraqi resistance to a character named “Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.”
There are many people asking the legitimate question, does Zarqawi even exist? Given the credibility of Bush and company – the people who brought us phantom weapons of mass destruction, false links between Saddam and bin Laden, forged uranium documents, and a stack of other untruths – there is little reason to accept Bush’s super-boogeyman on faith alone.
As pointed out in the Asia Times (Oct. 15, 2004):
“Not a single source, anywhere, claims to have actually seen ‘Zarqawi’ since late 2001 in Afghanistan. Ask the Pentagon. Ask the CIA. Ask the Federal Bureau of Investigation. No one, on the record, is able to independently verify that ‘Zarqawi’ actually exists.”
Mainstream US corporate media has not challenged the administration on this point, nor on most of the other lies, distortions, omissions or obvious international crimes they have committed. Rather Reuters, ABC, and Washington Post have uncritically raised the phantom warrior to the status of a “Zarqawi movement.” Never mind they haven’t made the case for Zarqawi the person, alive and breathing.
"’We want to know what proof there is that Zarqawi is in Fallujah,’ Hatem Maddab, a member of a Fallujah negotiating committee, told Arabic Al Jazeera television (…) ‘Zarqawi is like the weapons of mass destruction that America invaded Iraq for,’ (…) ‘We hear about that name (Zarqawi), but he is not here. More than 20 or 30 homes have been bombarded because of this Zarqawi and his followers but only women, children and the elderly have been affected.’" (1)
Why doubt the official story?
Q: Just who has this alleged “Zarqawi” targeted primarily?
A: Iraqis.
Q: What is “Zarqawi’s” GOAL in Iraq at this time?
A: To trigger a civil war between Sunnis and Shi’ites.
"… ‘Zarqawi’ also released a statement - but with a different voice, saying he was determined to ‘ignite a civil war between Sunnis and Shi'is’. Curiously enough, that's exactly what US intelligence wants, a rehashing of the same old British maxim of ‘divide and rule’.”
- -Asia Times (Oct. 15, 2004)
Most people learned of the alleged existence of “Zarqawi” when Nicholas Berg was apparently beheaded in May of 2004. There are several serious problems with the Berg evidence, however.
1) The video that was allegedly put out by “Zarqawi” showed heavy editing,
with a soundtrack completely out of synchronization from the images. Why?
2) The alleged voice of “Zarqawi” – a Jordanian national – did not have
a Jordanian accent, according to CNN’s Arab language experts. (2)
3) The man in the video had two perfectly good legs, whereas the actual
Jordanian Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was reported to have had his leg amputated.
4) Why would a man who deliberately identifies himself wear a black mask
to shield his identity?
5) The “Zarqawi” in the video wore a golden ring, which is forbidden,
and is a telltale sign that the killers were not Jihadists.
6) Nicholas Berg wore an orange jumpsuit – standard prison issue – so are we to believe that “Al Qaeda” fighters bring along US styled orange prison wear to clothe their victims in? For what possible reason?
7) This atrocity served the purpose of diverting media attention away from the Abu Ghraib torture abuse scandal, that had just shocked the world.
Zarqawi’s Dubious Existence Predates the Iraq War (II)
“Zarqawi” was introduced at the United Nations, by Colin Powell on February 5th 2003. Like most of Powell’s bogus information, Zarqawi’s role was also proven to be untrue.
Powell claimed that “Zarqawi” was the missing link between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. Powell also claimed that “Zarqawi” was running a poison and chemical warfare training camp in northern Iraq.
No evidence has ever come out linking Saddam Hussein to Zarqawi, or to bin Laden. Even Bush and Rumsfeld have admitted as much.
As far as the alleged chemical and poison laboratory is concerned:
“Ansar al-Islam - the Islamic group that uses the compound identified as a military HQ by Powell - yesterday invited me and several other foreign journalists into their territory for the first time. 'We are just a group of Muslims trying to do our duty,' Mohammad Hasan, spokesman for Ansar al-Islam, explained. 'We don't have any drugs for our fighters. We don't even have any aspirin. How can we produce any chemicals or weapons of mass destruction?'"
- The London Observer's correspondent in Northern Iraq, February 9 2003
After the camp was destroyed by cruise missiles, US inspectors also came to the same conclusion:
“A specialized biochemical team scoured the rubble for samples. They wore protective masks as they entered a building they suspected was a weapons lab. Inside they found mortar shells, medical supplies, and grim prison cells, but no immediate proof of chemical or biological agents.”
- - Jim Sciutto, ABC News, with US Special Forces in Northern Iraq " (ABC News, 29 March 2003)
This alleged chemical weapons story is even more bizarre than it appears. When Colin Powell tells the UN, and the world, that this camp is evidence of Saddam Hussein’s connection to Islamic terrorists, he neglects to tell us that the camp was in the Kurdish “no fly zone”, and not controlled by Saddam’s forces at all. The area was a US protectorate!
“Zarqawi” has been a creation of US foreign policy, a myth, a fable, the most convenient man in Bush’s alleged “war on terror.” Much like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy “Zarqawi” is a mythical creature that leaves gifts for those in position to take advantage of them. He is a manufactured enemy, built to specifications, and his presence ensures outrage and an escalation of the conflict.
I do not believe in Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.
Notes:
1 – ABC News, Thursday, October 14, 2004. 6:00pm (AEST), Fallujah negotiator questions Zarqawi ultimatum, http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1220237.htm
2 - CNN, May 11, 2004, as recorded by Professor Michel Chossudovsky, Center for Research on Globalization, http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO405B.html
“CNN Arab linguists say, however, that the voice on the tape has the wrong accent. They do not believe it is Zarqawi. U.S. officials said the killers tried to take advantage of the prison abuse controversy to gain attention.” 3 - Was Nick Berg Killed by US Intelligence, Sirajin Sattayev, KavkazCenter.com,
May 22 2004, Center for Research on Globalization, http://globalresearch.ca/articles/SAT405A.html
"U.S. intelligence officials, who used to believe that Zarqawi had lost a leg in Afghanistan, recently revised that assessment, concluding that he still has both legs." (News and World Report, 24 May 2004).
4 - Who is Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi? Professor Michel Chossudovsky, Center for Research on Globalization, http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO405B.html
The article was submitted by the author to Al-Jazeerah.info on October 23, 2004.
John Doraemi is a freelance writer currently living in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. He can be reached at johndoraemi@hush.com
There are many people asking the legitimate question, does Zarqawi even exist? Given the credibility of Bush and company – the people who brought us phantom weapons of mass destruction, false links between Saddam and bin Laden, forged uranium documents, and a stack of other untruths – there is little reason to accept Bush’s super-boogeyman on faith alone.
As pointed out in the Asia Times (Oct. 15, 2004):
“Not a single source, anywhere, claims to have actually seen ‘Zarqawi’ since late 2001 in Afghanistan. Ask the Pentagon. Ask the CIA. Ask the Federal Bureau of Investigation. No one, on the record, is able to independently verify that ‘Zarqawi’ actually exists.”
Mainstream US corporate media has not challenged the administration on this point, nor on most of the other lies, distortions, omissions or obvious international crimes they have committed. Rather Reuters, ABC, and Washington Post have uncritically raised the phantom warrior to the status of a “Zarqawi movement.” Never mind they haven’t made the case for Zarqawi the person, alive and breathing.
"’We want to know what proof there is that Zarqawi is in Fallujah,’ Hatem Maddab, a member of a Fallujah negotiating committee, told Arabic Al Jazeera television (…) ‘Zarqawi is like the weapons of mass destruction that America invaded Iraq for,’ (…) ‘We hear about that name (Zarqawi), but he is not here. More than 20 or 30 homes have been bombarded because of this Zarqawi and his followers but only women, children and the elderly have been affected.’" (1)
Why doubt the official story?
Q: Just who has this alleged “Zarqawi” targeted primarily?
A: Iraqis.
Q: What is “Zarqawi’s” GOAL in Iraq at this time?
A: To trigger a civil war between Sunnis and Shi’ites.
"… ‘Zarqawi’ also released a statement - but with a different voice, saying he was determined to ‘ignite a civil war between Sunnis and Shi'is’. Curiously enough, that's exactly what US intelligence wants, a rehashing of the same old British maxim of ‘divide and rule’.”
- -Asia Times (Oct. 15, 2004)
Most people learned of the alleged existence of “Zarqawi” when Nicholas Berg was apparently beheaded in May of 2004. There are several serious problems with the Berg evidence, however.
1) The video that was allegedly put out by “Zarqawi” showed heavy editing,
with a soundtrack completely out of synchronization from the images. Why?
2) The alleged voice of “Zarqawi” – a Jordanian national – did not have
a Jordanian accent, according to CNN’s Arab language experts. (2)
3) The man in the video had two perfectly good legs, whereas the actual
Jordanian Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was reported to have had his leg amputated.
4) Why would a man who deliberately identifies himself wear a black mask
to shield his identity?
5) The “Zarqawi” in the video wore a golden ring, which is forbidden,
and is a telltale sign that the killers were not Jihadists.
6) Nicholas Berg wore an orange jumpsuit – standard prison issue – so are we to believe that “Al Qaeda” fighters bring along US styled orange prison wear to clothe their victims in? For what possible reason?
7) This atrocity served the purpose of diverting media attention away from the Abu Ghraib torture abuse scandal, that had just shocked the world.
Zarqawi’s Dubious Existence Predates the Iraq War (II)
“Zarqawi” was introduced at the United Nations, by Colin Powell on February 5th 2003. Like most of Powell’s bogus information, Zarqawi’s role was also proven to be untrue.
Powell claimed that “Zarqawi” was the missing link between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. Powell also claimed that “Zarqawi” was running a poison and chemical warfare training camp in northern Iraq.
No evidence has ever come out linking Saddam Hussein to Zarqawi, or to bin Laden. Even Bush and Rumsfeld have admitted as much.
As far as the alleged chemical and poison laboratory is concerned:
“Ansar al-Islam - the Islamic group that uses the compound identified as a military HQ by Powell - yesterday invited me and several other foreign journalists into their territory for the first time. 'We are just a group of Muslims trying to do our duty,' Mohammad Hasan, spokesman for Ansar al-Islam, explained. 'We don't have any drugs for our fighters. We don't even have any aspirin. How can we produce any chemicals or weapons of mass destruction?'"
- The London Observer's correspondent in Northern Iraq, February 9 2003
After the camp was destroyed by cruise missiles, US inspectors also came to the same conclusion:
“A specialized biochemical team scoured the rubble for samples. They wore protective masks as they entered a building they suspected was a weapons lab. Inside they found mortar shells, medical supplies, and grim prison cells, but no immediate proof of chemical or biological agents.”
- - Jim Sciutto, ABC News, with US Special Forces in Northern Iraq " (ABC News, 29 March 2003)
This alleged chemical weapons story is even more bizarre than it appears. When Colin Powell tells the UN, and the world, that this camp is evidence of Saddam Hussein’s connection to Islamic terrorists, he neglects to tell us that the camp was in the Kurdish “no fly zone”, and not controlled by Saddam’s forces at all. The area was a US protectorate!
“Zarqawi” has been a creation of US foreign policy, a myth, a fable, the most convenient man in Bush’s alleged “war on terror.” Much like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy “Zarqawi” is a mythical creature that leaves gifts for those in position to take advantage of them. He is a manufactured enemy, built to specifications, and his presence ensures outrage and an escalation of the conflict.
I do not believe in Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.
Notes:
1 – ABC News, Thursday, October 14, 2004. 6:00pm (AEST), Fallujah negotiator questions Zarqawi ultimatum, http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1220237.htm
2 - CNN, May 11, 2004, as recorded by Professor Michel Chossudovsky, Center for Research on Globalization, http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO405B.html
“CNN Arab linguists say, however, that the voice on the tape has the wrong accent. They do not believe it is Zarqawi. U.S. officials said the killers tried to take advantage of the prison abuse controversy to gain attention.” 3 - Was Nick Berg Killed by US Intelligence, Sirajin Sattayev, KavkazCenter.com,
May 22 2004, Center for Research on Globalization, http://globalresearch.ca/articles/SAT405A.html
"U.S. intelligence officials, who used to believe that Zarqawi had lost a leg in Afghanistan, recently revised that assessment, concluding that he still has both legs." (News and World Report, 24 May 2004).
4 - Who is Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi? Professor Michel Chossudovsky, Center for Research on Globalization, http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO405B.html
The article was submitted by the author to Al-Jazeerah.info on October 23, 2004.
John Doraemi is a freelance writer currently living in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. He can be reached at johndoraemi@hush.com
posted by R7 | 11/01/2004 10:48:00 AM
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