Spinning Zarqawi
In the post below, I note that a new document released by the Iraqi government and captured in the raid of Zarqawi's hideout purportedly demonstrates the relationship between Saddam's henchmen and the now-deceased al Qaeda terrorist.
As it happens, this same topic is the subject of my new Daily Standard piece, which builds on the work I have put together here on my blog and in earlier pieces. At least three separate high-level al Qaeda associates have stated that Zarqawi and Saddam's regime had a good relationship and worked together prior to the war. Yet, their testimony and a host of other facts haven't changed the mainstream media's storyline on Zarqawi. Many still believe, for some unknown reason, that he had no relationship with Saddam's henchmen prior to the war. This is wrong on its face.
It is no coincidence that many of the Saddam's goons [edit: went] on to become key members of Zarqawi's operations, including some of his earliest and most successful attacks. Here are two key paragraphs from my piece that demonstrate this point:
Just as Saddam ordered, many of Iraq's senior military and intelligence personnel joined or aided Zarqawi's jihad. Many of the more prominent supporters and members of Zarqawi's al Qaeda branch, in fact, came from the upper echelon of Saddam's regime. Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri (aka the "King of Clubs") and his sons allied with Zarqawi, as did members of Muhammad Hamza Zubaydi's (aka the "Queen of Spades") family. Zarqawi's allies included Muhammed Hila Hammad Ubaydi, who was an aide to Saddam's chief of staff of intelligence, and some of his more lethal operatives served as officers in Saddam's military, including Abu Ali, "Al-Hajji" Thamer Mubarak (whose sister attempted a martyrdom operation in Jordan), Abu-Ubaidah, and Abdel Fatih Isa.
THESE BAATHISTS, and others, have spilled much blood in Zarqawi's name. Their attacks were among "Zarqawi's" most successful, including an assault on the Abu Ghraib prison and the first attack on the U.N.'s headquarters. The latter strike was among al Qaeda's earliest, killing Sergio de Mello, the U.N.'s special representative in Baghdad, in August 2003. ...
There is much, much more...but you get the point.
As it happens, this same topic is the subject of my new Daily Standard piece, which builds on the work I have put together here on my blog and in earlier pieces. At least three separate high-level al Qaeda associates have stated that Zarqawi and Saddam's regime had a good relationship and worked together prior to the war. Yet, their testimony and a host of other facts haven't changed the mainstream media's storyline on Zarqawi. Many still believe, for some unknown reason, that he had no relationship with Saddam's henchmen prior to the war. This is wrong on its face.
It is no coincidence that many of the Saddam's goons [edit: went] on to become key members of Zarqawi's operations, including some of his earliest and most successful attacks. Here are two key paragraphs from my piece that demonstrate this point:
Just as Saddam ordered, many of Iraq's senior military and intelligence personnel joined or aided Zarqawi's jihad. Many of the more prominent supporters and members of Zarqawi's al Qaeda branch, in fact, came from the upper echelon of Saddam's regime. Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri (aka the "King of Clubs") and his sons allied with Zarqawi, as did members of Muhammad Hamza Zubaydi's (aka the "Queen of Spades") family. Zarqawi's allies included Muhammed Hila Hammad Ubaydi, who was an aide to Saddam's chief of staff of intelligence, and some of his more lethal operatives served as officers in Saddam's military, including Abu Ali, "Al-Hajji" Thamer Mubarak (whose sister attempted a martyrdom operation in Jordan), Abu-Ubaidah, and Abdel Fatih Isa.
THESE BAATHISTS, and others, have spilled much blood in Zarqawi's name. Their attacks were among "Zarqawi's" most successful, including an assault on the Abu Ghraib prison and the first attack on the U.N.'s headquarters. The latter strike was among al Qaeda's earliest, killing Sergio de Mello, the U.N.'s special representative in Baghdad, in August 2003. ...
There is much, much more...but you get the point.
posted by Thomas Joscelyn at 7:11 AM
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