Put simply, the press continues to mis-report what's happening on the ground in Iraq. Whether this is because of their reluctance to call Zarqawi and his merry band "terrorists," as opposed to the other groups fighting, or whether some reporters simply do not differentiate between Zarqawi and indigenous Iraqi fighters, there is this continued pattern of writing that is so wrong as to be extremely misleading.
Here's a major front page piece in today's Washington Post on Zarqawi:
Zarqawi, 39, has sought for years to overthrow the monarchy in his native Jordan. But since he emerged over the past two years as the best-known leader of the insurgency in Iraq, his success in rallying Islamic extremists from other countries to fight U.S. forces there has enabled him to extend his reach and influence, officials and analysts say. His guerrilla network, they say, has established roots in Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Iran. (My emph.)
Viewing the al Queda elements and the insurgents as a single enemy leads you to overlook many things, not the least of which would be the way the brutal tactics of the former is losing it any support among ordinary Iraqis -- and even among insurgents, with whom splits are so strong that firefights have been reported in the streets at times. (via Countercolumn, here.) Surely, as the Post itself has reported in the past, the terrorist element is by far the most dangerous. But the Post has periodically been reporting for some time on splits between these two groups, some violent.
It is interesting, is it not, that reporters wanting expert commentary, turn to "terrorism analysts," and not "insurgency analysts," for their thoughts on the "insurgent leader" Zarqawi?
Particularly since:
"He's fashioned himself as the most important competitive force to al Qaedism," said Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert and director of the Washington office of the Rand Corp., a California-based research group. "For Zarqawi, Iraq is a means to an end, rather than an end to a means. His road runs through Baghdad, but it doesn't stop there. It goes on to Amman, Tel Aviv, Riyadh and perhaps even Western Europe."
Yeah, listen, that isn't an "insurgency" (or "guerrilla operations," by the way) that he's looking to launch in Israel and Western Europe. And let's keep in mind that he's had cells in Western Europe for years.
Does this sound to you like "insurgent action?"
Last month, four Zarqawi acolytes were convicted in Duesseldorf of plotting attacks against Jewish targets in Germany in 2002. Testimony showed that some of them were in regular phone contact with Zarqawi and raised money on his behalf.
The presiding judge, Ottmar Breidling, said there was no doubt who was behind the plots. "Abu Musab Zarqawi should also be sitting on the defendants' bench," he said in court.
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