Posted on 05/27/2005 11:59:00 AM PDT by El Conservador
"Our Sheikh is in good health and is running the jihad (holy war) himself and has been overseeing the details of operations up to the time this statement was prepared," a group spokesman said in a posting issued on Islamist Web sites.
Conflicting statements about the leadership of al Qaeda in Iraq had appeared on the Internet recently after the militant group announced on Tuesday that Zarqawi had been wounded.
Al Qaeda said in its latest statement that there were no problems within the network, one of the leaders of an insurgency against U.S. forces and the Iraqi government.
"Our Sheikh has over the past two years established a cohesive leadership and has a deputy and advisers," it said. "Al Qaeda Organization in Iraq is well and cohesive."
On Thursday, an Internet statement in the name of al Qaeda Organization for Holy War in Iraq said the group had named a deputy to fill in for Zarqawi, but a later statement attributed to the group spokesman swiftly denied it.
Iraq's interior minister said on Thursday he had confirmation that Zarqawi had been wounded, but the country's prime minister later said there was no firm news.
Washington has offered a $25 million bounty for Zarqawi, its top foe in Iraq.
He's just pinin' for the fjords...
They must have nailed him to his perch.
LOL. He's an EX-terrorist!
He is undead.
The truth of the matter is that there is a fight within al-Qaeda in Iraq for power.
Yep, because it is da*m hard to catch a sole-individual within a large region (especially when he has value resources along with sympathy from a segment of the population to help him avoid capture).
He's dead.
Nope. Don't think so. That is now how al Qeade operates. Nor should we make as much as we do out of simple posting on Islamic websites (which have a history of complete BS being posted daily).
Mm-hmm. Baghdad Bob the source on this?
Translation: Dude's prolly about to die.
How often have I heard this regarding Zarqawi, UBL, Mullah Omar and Zawahiri.
Fact is we don't know at this time what the situation is with Zarqawi (but I can tell you, I don't our boys are buying that he is dead until much more Intel is gathered).
al-Qaeda does fight over power like an group. Especially, when there is a big shakeup in the organization. And, remember Zarqawi's group is a combo of alot of foreign terrorists and domestic Iraqi terrorists and neither like each other all that much.
I miss Baghdad Bob, where is he? At least with him he provided something to laugh about.
No they don't - Al Qeade leadership is very top-down structured - With those on the top being respected as men delivered straight from Allah practically - (you do not see "in-fighting" regarding who is leading / making decisions). Not with regard to trying to knock off the leadership of UBL, Zawahiri, or Zarqawi.
In Iraq those within the al Qeade section are completely responding to Zarqawi - The Iraqi insurgents are taking commands from Al Duri (who has been just as deadly as Zarqawi has been....he just hasn't received the press coverage)
well we 'better replise 'im then... if you go ta my brother's pet shop in Bolton...
I'd say he's either dead or near death. There most definitely is a power struggle going on in Al Qaeda.
Let's just exterminate all the Al Queda's and then we'll know we got him for sure.
I see what you're saying about no infighting, but I do note an exchange of comments over at Winds of Change regarding this posting:
"In Inside al Qaeda, Rohan Gunaratna documents Osama bin Laden’s ruthless rise to power, which culminated in the assassination of Sheikh Abdullah Azzam, his trusted mentor and the spiritual founder of al Qaeda. Osama ruthlessly killed anyone who stood in his way in the wake of Azzam’s death. Expect no less from the successor of Zarqawi, Inshallah. Let them fight amongst themselves."
http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/006904.php
I've not read the book and am no expert, but obviously there are some who think that there is a history of power struggles --- sometimes ruthlessly settled.
Years ago I studied soviet revolutionary tactics some, and know that there were very deadly struggles that punctuated times of very strong top down control. It would not surprise me to see similar behavior in AQ.
You are talking about Bin Laden's al-Qadea organization, which is not the same as Zarqawi's organization that Zarqawi spent years creating seperatly from al-Qaeda. Zarqawi changed the name of his organization in October of 2004, but he never changed the structure which all revovled around Zarqawi as a leader unlike Bin Laden's organization.
He's dead.
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