Terrorism In Iraq? Don't Blame Zarqawi
By Mike Whitney
George Bush is right; Iraq is "the central battlefield in the global war on terror". Regrettably, it is United States that is the main sponsor and supporter of that terror in the form of American-trained death squads. Death squad activity in Iraq now accounts for more than 1,000 casualties per month. The Baghdad morgue has become a conveyor-belt for American-generated carnage.
Up to now, the US involvement in the killing has been effectively concealed by the media. The blame for the sectarian violence has been adroitly shifted to "alleged" terrorist mastermind, Abu Musab al Zarqawi. But the evidence suggests that Zarqawi’s role and the role of foreign fighters has actually been very small and has nothing to do with the thousands of dead men who are turning up every day around Bagdad. That is the work of the death squads which operate out of the Interior Ministry.
Once again, the media is covering the facts and creating a narrative that absolves the administration of culpability. Unfortunately, most leftist web sites seem more eager to debate whether Zarqawi actually existed or not. This debate goes nowhere. What is imperative is to realize that Zarqawi has become more important to the Bush administration dead than alive. The media has taken the shadowy details of his life and shaped them into a storyline that is supposed to rewrite the history of the war in Iraq. Zarqawi is now being held responsible for everything from initiating the sectarian violence to stopping the political dialogue between Sunni leaders and the new government.
By Mike Whitney
George Bush is right; Iraq is "the central battlefield in the global war on terror". Regrettably, it is United States that is the main sponsor and supporter of that terror in the form of American-trained death squads. Death squad activity in Iraq now accounts for more than 1,000 casualties per month. The Baghdad morgue has become a conveyor-belt for American-generated carnage.
Up to now, the US involvement in the killing has been effectively concealed by the media. The blame for the sectarian violence has been adroitly shifted to "alleged" terrorist mastermind, Abu Musab al Zarqawi. But the evidence suggests that Zarqawi’s role and the role of foreign fighters has actually been very small and has nothing to do with the thousands of dead men who are turning up every day around Bagdad. That is the work of the death squads which operate out of the Interior Ministry.
Once again, the media is covering the facts and creating a narrative that absolves the administration of culpability. Unfortunately, most leftist web sites seem more eager to debate whether Zarqawi actually existed or not. This debate goes nowhere. What is imperative is to realize that Zarqawi has become more important to the Bush administration dead than alive. The media has taken the shadowy details of his life and shaped them into a storyline that is supposed to rewrite the history of the war in Iraq. Zarqawi is now being held responsible for everything from initiating the sectarian violence to stopping the political dialogue between Sunni leaders and the new government.
