The Hunt for Zarqawi

The Jordanian press is reporting that a large-scale joint Iraqi-American operation has been launched to capture Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. I don't know how much of this true, but the reports are definitely worth considering. For example, Al-Dustur, a major Jordanian daily newspaper that is partially owned by the Hashemite royal family, reported on Sunday (FBIS translation, no link available):

Iraqi security quarters have revealed to Al-Dustur that an effort has started to implement a large-scale security plan to arrest Abu-Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, leader of the Al-Qa'ida Organization in Iraq. These quarters added that the implementation of the plan started with the deployment of more than 35,000 personnel affiliated with the Interior Ministry and the Defense Ministry, who are being supported by the Multinational Forces. The quarters continued: "The Americans and the British set up electronic listening bases in areas located south of the capital, Baghdad; namely, Al-Latifiyah, Al-Yusufiyah, Jurf al-Sakhr, Al-Mahmudiyah, Al-Bu'aythah, and Hawr Rajab, where Al-Zarqawi is believed to have been moving about in the past weeks."The intelligence information available to the Interior Ministry's Staff Major General Husayn Ali Kamal (under secretary of the Iraqi Interior Ministry for intelligence affairs) indicates that security officials hope for surrounding the areas where Al-Zarqawi could be located in order to conduct, later on, house-to-house and street-to-street searches. This in turn could lead to his quick arrest.

High-level quarters at the Iraqi Defense Ministry said that the Americans are waiting for Al-Zarqawi to phone his colleagues, even by using a code, in order to identify his exact location and subsequently act to either arrest or kill him. These quarters completely ruled out the hypothesis of betrayal in the initiation of the move against Al-Zarqawi; namely, the implementation of a scenario under which the US or Iraqi services would reach a close contact of Al-Zarqawi, who would provide them with information that could lead to his hideout in exchange for the $10-million bounty earmarked for anyone who would help in the arrest of the Al-Qa'ida leader, like what happened with Saddam Husayn when one of his close contacts led the Kurdish-US forces to his hideout. Security reports in Baghdad say that Al-Zarqawi trusts only a small number of people. They also say that Al-Zarqawi's contacts with the supporters of the former regime are confined to letters delivered by more than one mediator, but he does not receive the letters personally. Furthermore, Al-Zarqawi does not meet with leaders of the former regime, because he is cautious that he could be sold to the Americans. [Emphasis Added]

I'm sure some would like to pretend that those last sentences mean that Zarqawi is not working with the former Iraqi regime officials. That's not true. They simply say that he is worried one of them may betray him for cash, which is always a legitimate concern when dealing with such nefarious characters. I also find it interesting that Zarqawi remains in contact with the former regime officials through written correspondence. Those letters could contain some very interesting intelligence if intercepted.