The Stone Face of Zarqawi (Iraq is no "distraction" from al Qaeda)

Wall Street Journal ^ | March 21, 2006 | CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS

[RWR8189]

In February 2004, our Kurdish comrades in northern Iraq intercepted a courier who was bearing a long message from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to his religious guru Osama bin Laden. The letter contained a deranged analysis of the motives of the coalition intervention ("to create the State of Greater Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates" and "accelerate the emergence of the Messiah"), but also a lethally ingenious scheme to combat it. After a lengthy and hate-filled diatribe against what he considers the vile heresy of Shiism, Zarqawi wrote of Iraq's largest confessional group that: "These in our opinion are the key to change. I mean that targeting and hitting them in their religious, political and military depth will provoke them to show the Sunnis their rabies . . . and bare the teeth of the hidden rancor working in their breasts. If we succeed in dragging them into the arena of sectarian war, it will become possible to awaken the inattentive Sunnis as they feel imminent danger."

Some of us wrote about this at the time, to warn of the sheer evil that was about to be unleashed. Knowing that their own position was a tenuous one (a fact fully admitted by Zarqawi in his report) the cadres of "al Qaeda in Mesopotamia" understood that their main chance was the deliberate stoking of a civil war. And, now that this threat has become more imminent and menacing, it is somehow blamed on the Bush administration. "Civil war" has replaced "the insurgency" as the proof that the war is "unwinnable." But in plain truth, the "civil war" is and always was the chief tactic of the "insurgency."

[MNJohnnie]

But! Howie Dean, Nancy Pelosi and all the other Democrats insist that Iraq has nothing to do with terrorism!!!! (Sarcasm)

[Ninian Dryhope]

Howie Dean, Nancy Pelosi and all the other Democrats are only a minor part of the problem. The real problem is that the main stream media is doing everything in their considerable power to make sure Bush loses this war, even though it is cutting off their own nose to spite their face.

[wildcatf4f3]

I liked it all, except the "comrades" bit. He ought to drop that schtick.

[nuconvert]

Bump

[IrishMike]

.....But in plain truth, the "civil war" is and always was the chief tactic of the "insurgency.".....


and a good tactic, if successful. However knowing the game plan is an advantage, which is probably why civil war has yet to materialize, despite the insurgencies best efforts, a high cost of civilian lives and the destruction of many religious sites.

[justa-hairyape]

Actually it appears that these Islamic extremists are just playing the old divide and conquer game. Saddam used such tactics (Kurdish Arbil 1996). Under Clinton, Saddam was in the process of reclaiming all of Iraq with the divide and conquer game. Would send 'his people' into a town and then have them start civil strife and then 'his people' would request his intervention. At least thats the impression you get by reading their audio transcripts on the Leavenworth site. So in essence, during the Clinton presidency civil strife was being staged in Iraq as justification for Saddam to bring his ground troops into the area. Clinton was powerless to stop it. Although he did probably kill quite a few camels with his cruise missile volleys.

[kittymyrib]

Democrats and our msm are the best allies Zarqawi has. They are dishonoring the sacrifice our soldiers have given to the cause of winning in Iraq. This ought to be repeated every day by Republicans, but I never hear a peep from them. If they can't stand up to the Democrats, who just want to win the next election, how can we expect them fight the Muslims who want to destroy the USA?

[Cboldt]

-bump-
Very good piece from Mr. Hitchens. Readers should not be content with the excerpt.

[RAY]

Democrats and our MSM are the best allies Zarqawi has. They are dishonoring the sacrifice our soldiers have given to the cause of winning in Iraq. This ought to be repeated every day by Republicans, but I never hear a peep from them. If they can't stand up to the Democrats, who just want to win the next election, how can we expect them fight the Muslims who want to destroy the USA?

Right on!!!

[harpu]

The article ends...

"In Iraq we have made some good friends and some very, very bad enemies. (How can anyone, looking down the gun-barrel into the stone face of Zarqawi, say that fighting him is a "distraction" from fighting al Qaeda?) Over the medium term, if our apparent domestic demoralization continues, the options could come down to two...

First, we might use our latent power and threaten to withdraw, implicitly asking Iraqis and their neighbors if that is really what they want, and concentrating their minds. This still runs the risk of allowing the diseased spokesmen of al Qaeda to claim victory...

Second, we can demand to know, of the wider international community, if it could afford to view an imploded Iraq as a spectator. Three years ago, the smug answer to that, from most U.N. members, was "yes." This is not an irresponsibility that we can afford, either morally or practically, and even if our intervention was much too little and way too late, it has kindled in many Arab and Kurdish minds an idea of a different future. There is a war within the war, as there always is when a serious struggle is under way, but justice and necessity still combine to say that the task cannot be given up."

[NonValueAdded]

bump

[SJackson]

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[justshutupandtakeit]

Comrade was a good word preCommies. Meaning "close companion". Like "gay" a perfectly fine word has been ruined.