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al-Zarqawi is dead

al-Zarqawi is dead

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Finally, it looks as though there has been some valuable on-the-ground intelligence.

The Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (real name Ahmed Fadhil Nazzal al-Khalayleh), the most-wanted terrorist in Iraq, is dead. As far as we know, he was the top guy in charge of kidnappings, beheadings and suicide bombings. Of course, our propaganda campaign may have exaggerated his importance to some degree, but however he got there, Zarqawi was considered the figurehead of the Sunni insurgency. He is said to be the leader of the merged insurgency/al-Qaeda network in Iraq, responsible for killing thousands of Shias and US forces. Jordanian courts have given him the death penalty more than once, and he is believed to have personally beheaded at least two Western hostages, among them American Nicholas Berg, who was slain on camera in late 2004.

The two 500-pound bombs dropped by warplanes on his safehouse seem to be a little bit of an overkill to me, but maybe not, since Iraqi police – first to arrive on the scene – were able to recover his body.

At this point, there are some conflicting reports about who else may have died. His key lieutenant and spiritual adviser Sheik Abdul Rahman al-Iraqi is being named as being among the dead, but seems also to have issued a statement today? An Australian site claims two women were killed in addition to the unnamed 6-7 aides at the safehouse. The story develops.

Al-Qaeda will, of course, try to use al-Zarqawi’s murder as a rallying point, but I don’t think there could really be such a huge following for the idea of “martyrdom” in this case. I hope that his death will contribute to improvements on the ground for the Iraqi people.

Iraq Raid

Iraq Raid

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Who do you call to protect you from the New Iraq’s security forces?

We found out a few hours later that one of our neighbors, two houses down, had died. Abu Salih was a man in his seventies and as the Iraqi mercenaries raided his house, he had a heart-attack. His grandson couldn’t get him to the hospital on time because the troops wouldn’t let him leave the house until they’d finished with it. His grandson told us later that day that the Iraqis were checking the houses, but the American troops had the area surrounded and secured. It was a coordinated raid.

They took at least a dozen men from my aunts area alone- their ages between 19 and 40. The street behind us doesn’t have a single house with a male under the age of 50- lawyers, engineers, students, ordinary laborers- all hauled away by the ‘security forces’ of the New Iraq. The only thing they share in common is the fact that they come from Sunni families (with the exception of two who I’m not sure about).

We spent the day putting clothes back into closets, taking stock of anything missing (a watch, a brass letter opener, and a walkman), and cleaning dirt and mud off of carpets. My aunt was fanatic about cleansing and disinfecting everything saying it was all “Dirty, dirty, dirty…” J. has sworn never to celebrate her birthday again.

Question: Why are we rounding up Sunni men?