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Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Al-Zarqawi, An American False Flag Operative
By Bruce Kennedy - Jihad Unspun
Over the past months, JUS has been watching a frightening trend of “false flag” operations beening waged by US intelligence. The latest in the series is Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, who has been accredited with everything from the Ricin attacks (which later turned out to be fake) to the resistance in Fallujah. An amazing enemy in deed for a man who has the staring role in an American “False Flag” operation.
As America escalates its “war on terrorism” which in fact is a war on Islam, the need to escalate disinformation and propaganda is also prevalent, particularly when the American public is loosing its stomach for the battle, when American lives are being lost each day and when the President continues to be caught red handed in one scandal after another.
To rouse public opinion to support America's colonial war effort, the US intelligence community has created it own terrorist organizations. War propaganda, disinformation and counterterrorism are braided together to achieve the maximum result, for “terrorism” must remain front and center in the minds of American citizens if America is going to reach its foreign policy objectives, be it under George Bush or John Kerry.
Here’s how it works. The disinformation is circulated to the news media and then the intelligence community creates its own terror warnings concerning the very organizations it has created. In some cases, the disinformation appears in advance, in order to pave the way for an up and coming act of “terror” that roots in a desired political outcome. This problem/solution equation always appears when the war effort is waning and serves to give a face to terror via an expensive advertising campaign.
And this is precisely what we have Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, America’s new “public enemy No 1” is. Zarqawi and his group have been used from the justification for the invasion of Iraq to the latest “barbaric” videotaped beheadings that his group claims to have carried out.
The US State Department has increased the reward for his arrest from $10 million to $25 million, which puts his "market value" at par with that of Osama. Interestingly, Al Zarqawi is not on the FBI most wanted fugitives list. http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/topten/fugitives/fugitives.htm )
What follows are excerpts from an in-depth report from The Centre for Research on Globalization that has gone to considerable lengths to document this false flag operation. The complete article can be read at http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO405B.html
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Al Zarqawi's Links to Al Qaida
Al Zarqawi is often described as an "Osama associate", the bogyman, allegedly responsible for numerous terrorist attacks in several countries. In other reports, often emanating from the same sources, it is stated that he has no links to Al Qaida and operates quite independently. He is often presented as an individual who is challenging the leadership of bin Laden.
His name crops up on numerous occasions in press reports and official statements. Since early 2004, he is in the news almost on a daily basis.
Osama belongs to the powerful bin Laden family, which historically had business ties to the Bushes and prominent members of the Texas oil establishment. Bin Laden was recruited by the CIA during the Soviet-Afghan war and fought as a Mujahideen. In other words, there is a longstanding documented history of bin Laden-CIA and bin Laden-Bush family links, which are an obvious source of embarrassment to the US government.
In contrast to bin Laden, Al-Zarqawi has no family history. He comes from an impoverished Palestinian family in Jordan. His parents are dead. He emerges out of the blue.
He is described by CNN as "a lone wolf" who is said to act quite independently of the Al Qaida network. Yet surprisingly, this lone wolf is present in several countries, in Iraq, which is now his base, but also in Western Europe. He is also suspected of preparing a terrorist attack on American soil.
He seems to be in several places at the same time. He is described as "the chief U.S. enemy", "a master of disguise and bogus identification papers". We are led to believe that this "lone wolf" manages to outwit the most astute US intelligence operatives.
According to The Weekly Standard -- which is known to have a close relationship to the Neocons in the Bush administration: "Abu Musab al Zarqawi is hot right now. He masterminded not only Berg's murder but also the Madrid carnage on March 11, the bombardment of Shia worshippers in Iraq the same month, and the April 24 suicide attack on the port of Basra. But he is far from a newcomer to slaughter. Well before 9/11, he had already concocted a plot to kill Israeli and American tourists in Jordan. His label is on terrorist groups and attacks on four continents." (Weekly Standard, 24 May 2004)
Al-Zarqawi's profile "is mounting a challenge to bin Laden's leadership of the global jihad."
In Iraq, he is said to be determined to "ignite a civil war between Sunnis and Shiites". But is that not precisely what US intelligence is aiming at ("divide and rule") as confirmed by several analysts of the US led war? Pitting one group against the other with a view to weakening the resistance movement. (See Michel Collon, http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/COL312A.html , See also http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/RAD308A.html )
The CIA, with its $30 billion plus budget, pleads ignorance: they say they know nothing about him, they have a photograph, but, according to the Weekly Standard (24 May 2004), they apparently do not know his weight or height.
There is an aura of mystery surrounding this individual which is part of the propaganda ploy. Zarqawi is described as "so secretive even some operatives who work with him do not know his identity."
Consistent Pattern
What is the role of this new mastermind in the Pentagon's disinformation campaign, in which CNN seems to be playing a central role?
In previous propaganda ploys, the CIA hired PR firms to organize core disinformation campaigns, including the Rendon Group. The latter worked closely with its British partner Hill and Knowlton, which was responsible for the 1990 Kuwaiti incubator media scam, where Kuwaiti babies were allegedly removed from incubators in a totally fabricated news story, which was then used to get Congressional approval for the 1991 Gulf War.
What is the pattern?
Almost immediately in the wake of a terrorist event or warning, CNN announces (in substance): we think this mysterious individual Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi is behind it, invariably without supporting evidence and prior to the conduct of an investigation by the relevant police and intelligence authorities.
In some cases, upon the immediate occurrence of the terrorist event, there is an initial report which mentions Al-Zarqawi as the possible mastermind. The report will often say (in substance): yes we think he did it, but it is not yet confirmed and there is some doubt on the identity of those behind the attack. One or two days later, CNN may come up with a definitive statement, quoting official police, military and/or intelligence sources.
Often the CNN report is based on information published on an Islamic website or a mysterious Video or Audio tape. The authenticity of the website and/or the tapes is not the object of Discussion Or Detailed Investigation.
History Of Al Zarqawi
The first time Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi's name is mentioned was in relation to the thwarted attack on the Radisson SAS Hotel in Amman, Jordan, during the millennium celebrations (December 1999). According to press reports, he had previously gone under another name: Ahmed Fadil Al-Khalayleh, (apparently among other aliases).
According to the New York Times, Al Zarqawi fled Afghanistan to Iran in late 2001, following the entry of US troops. Official US reports suggest that he was protected at the highest levels of the Tehran government.
"United States intelligence officials say they are increasingly concerned by the mounting evidence of Tehran's renewed interest in terrorism [and support to Al Zarqawi], including covert surveillance by Iranian agents of possible American targets abroad. American officials said Iran appeared to view terrorism as deterrent against possible attack by the United States.
Now, Iranian actions to destabilize the new interim government in Afghanistan, its willingness to assist Al Qaida members and its fueling of the Palestinian uprising are prompting a reassessment in Washington, officials say." (NYT, 24 March 2002)
In 2002, his presence in Tehran, allegedly "collaborating with hardliners" in the Iranian military and intelligence apparatus, is part of an evolving disinformation campaign which consists in presenting Iran as a sponsor of the "Islamic terror network". In February 2002, he was allegedly involved in planning terror attacks inside Israel.
Colin Powell's Address to the UN Security Council
In the months leading up to the war on Iraq, Al Zarqawi's name re-emerges, this time almost on daily basis, with reports focusing on his sinister relationship to Saddam Hussein.
A major turning point in the propaganda campaign occurs on February 5, 2003. Al-Zarqawi was in the spot light following Colin Powell's flopped WMD report to the UN Security Council. Powell's speech presented "documentation" on the ties between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaida, while focusing on the central role of Al-Zarqawi:
“Our concern is not just about these illicit weapons; it's the way that these illicit weapons can be connected to terrorists and terrorist organizations...
But what I want to bring to your attention today is the potentially much more sinister nexus between Iraq and the Al Qaida terrorist network, a nexus that combines classic terrorist organizations and modern methods of murder. Iraq today harbors a deadly terrorist network, headed by Abu Musaab al-Zarqawi, an associate and collaborator of Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaida lieutenants...
When our coalition ousted the Taliban, the Zarqawi network helped establish another poison and explosive training center camp, and this camp is located in Northeastern Iraq. [there were no WMDS at this camp according to ABC report]
Those helping to run this camp are Zarqawi lieutenants operating in northern Kurdish areas outside Saddam Hussein's controlled Iraq, but Baghdad has an agent in the most senior levels of the radical organization Ansar al-Islam, that controls this corner of Iraq. In 2000, this agent offered Al Qaida safe haven in the region. After we swept Al Qaida from Afghanistan, some of its members accepted this safe haven. They remain there today.
We know these affiliates are connected to Zarqawi because they remain, even today, in regular contact with his direct subordinates, including the poison cell plotters….
From his terrorist network in Iraq, Zarqawi can direct his network in the Middle East and beyond. [Note he is present in several countries at the same time]
We are not surprised that Iraq is harboring Zarqawi and his subordinates. This understanding builds on decades-long experience with respect to ties between Iraq and al Qaida." (US Secretary of State Colin Powell to the UN Security Council, Excerpts, 5 February 2003)
The statement of Secretary Powell regarding Al-Zarqawi consisted in linking the secular Baathist regime to the "Islamic terror network," with a view to justifying the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Meanwhile, network TV had warned that "American hotels, shopping malls or apartment buildings could be al Qaida's targets as soon as next week…". Following the announcement, tens of thousands of Americans rushed to purchase duct tape, plastic sheets and gas-masks.
It later transpired that the terrorist alert was fabricated by the CIA, in all likelihood in consultation with the State Department (ABC News, 13 Feb. 2003). The FBI, for the first time had pointed its finger at the CIA. While tacitly acknowledging that the alert was a fake, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge decided to maintain the ‘Orange Code’ alert:
"Despite the fabricated report, there are no plans to change the threat level. Officials said other intelligence has been validated and that the high level of precautions is fully warranted." ( ABC News, 13 Feb. 2003 ).
A few days later, in another failed propaganda initiative, a mysterious Osama bin Laden audio tape was presented by Sec. Colin Powell to the US Congress as ‘evidence’ that the Islamic terrorists "are making common cause with a brutal dictator". (US official quoted in The Toronto Star, 12 Feb. 2003). Curiously, the audio tape was in Colin Powell's possession prior to its broadcast by the Al Jazeera TV Network. (Ibid.)
Meanwhile, Al Zarqawi had been identified as the mastermind behind the (thwarted) ricin attacks in several European countries including Britain and Spain.
In London, in January 2003, there was a ricin terror alert, which had apparently also been ordered by Al Zarqawi. The ricin had allegedly been discovered in a London apartment. It was to be used in a terror attack in the London subway.
British press reports, quoting official statements claimed that the terrorists had learnt to produce the ricin at the camp in Northern Iraq. Yet when US Special Forces in March 2003 raided the camp in Northern Iraq, nothing resembling biological or chemical weapons was found (see ABC report quoted above).
It is worth mentioning, in this regard, that news stories on the chemical weapons plant in Northern Iraq have continued to be churned out, despite the fact that US Forces said that it did not exist. In a recent story in the Washington Times:
“Zarqawi stands as stark evidence of a link between Saddam Hussein's autocratic regime and bin Laden's al Qaida terror network. Zarqawi, 38, operated a terrorist camp in northern Iraq that specialized in developing poisons and chemical weapons”.(Washington Times, 8 June 2004)
The Link To Ansar Al-Islam
Following Powell's February 2003 presentation to the UNSC, Al-Zarqawi immediately gained in public notoriety.
Since early 2004, his name appears almost daily in CNN reports. All in all, his name is linked to some 25 "terrorist attacks" in Iraq, not to mention numerous terrorist warnings, threats or alerts. Already before the war in Iraq, he was presented in media reports as an ally of Saddam Hussein.
The press reports, which quoted Colin Powell's UNSC 5 Feb 2003 speech, confirmed that Al Zarqawi was back in Iraq, working hand in glove with Ansar Al-Islam, which was held responsible for the attack on the UN in Baghdad. In August 2003, Zarqawi was identified, without supporting evidence, as having played a role in the attack on the UN, which led to the death of the UN head of mission and 24 other people.
Bear in mind Ansar was also said to be behind the alleged ricin plant in Northern Iraq, which was confirmed to be a fake.
It is useful to recall that Ansar al-Islam, which constituted a pre-existing Islamist group, developed into a paramilitary organisation, only after the 9/11 attacks. Ironically, it was allowed to develop in a region of Iraq, which was already under US military control, namely Kurdish held Northern Iraq.
Ansar was largely involved in terrorist attacks directed against the secular institutions of the Kurdish regional governments. It was also involved in assassinations of members of the Kurdish PUK. And the US military and intelligence were present in the region.
In other words, prior to the war, Northern Iraq -which was in "the no fly zone"-- was already a US protectorate. According to one report "Al Qaida affiliates coordinating the movement of people, money and supplies for Ansar al-Islam have been operating freely in the [regional] capital." (Midland Independent, 6 February 2003).
Responding to Colin Powell's February 2003 UN address, an Iraqi foreign ministry spokesman had stated at the time that:
"the Iraqi government helped the [PUK] Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani against the Ansar al-Islam group. He [the spokesman] accused Ansar al-Islam of carrying out acts of sabotage inside Iraq…[and] that the United States had turned down an Iraqi offer to cooperate on the issue of terrorism." (News Conference by Lieutenant-General Amir al-Sa'di, adviser at the Iraqi Presidency; Dr Sa'id al-Musawi, head of the Organizations' Department at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry; and Major-General Husam Muhammad Amin, head of the Iraqi National Monitoring Directorate. BBC Monitoring Service, 6 February 2003).
The Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal
Was it a coincidence? At the very outset of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, there were rumors of an Al Zarqawi terrorist attack on American Soil, in Jordan as well as in Iraq.
Al Zarqawi identified by CNN as "the lone wolf" was, according to these reports, planning terrorist attacks simultaneously in several countries. Then there was the mysterious video on the Nicholas Berg execution.
The Attacks in Jordan
A mysterious tape released by CNN pointed to Al Zarqawi's plan to attack the Jordanian intelligence headquarters in an attack using chemical weapons which could have been more deadly than 9/11. Again the evidence is based on a mysterious tape.
Alleged Al Zarqawi "Attack on America"
Two days later, following the alleged terrorist threat on Jordanian intelligence, the State Department announced that Al Zarqawi was planning an attack on America (29 April 2004, CNN Report). Note that the rumours of an attack on America and the attack in Jordan took place virtually at the same time.
The State Department today said the number of terrorists attacks around the world declined last year, but the government's annual report on terrorism includes a chilling warning about the year ahead.
“The State Department says terrorists are planning an attack on U.S. soil. High on their anxiety list, terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He is representative of a very real and credible threat. His operatives are planning and attempting now to attack American targets, and we are after them with a vengeance.” CNN
Bear in mind that the Attack on America report, focusing on "We are after them with a vengeance", was published one day following the CBS 60 minutes program on torture at the Abu Ghraib prison. (Complete transcript at http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CBS405A.html ).
The Nicholas Berg Video
Barely a couple of weeks later (11 May 2004), Al Zarqawi is reported as being the mastermind behind the execution of Nicholas Berg on May 11, 2004.
Again perfect timing! The report coincided with calls by US Senators for Defense Sec Donald Rumsfeld to resign over the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. It occurs a few days after President Bush's "apology" for the Abu Ghraib prison "abuses" on May 6.
The Nicholas Berg video served to create "a useful wave of indignation" which served to distract and soften up public opinion, following the release of the pictures of torture of Iraqi prisoners.
CNN coverage of the Nicholas Berg execution was based on a mysterious report on an Islamic website, which CNN upholds as providing "evidence" of Al-Zarqawi's involvement:
“The Web site claims that the killing was done by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian terrorist whose al Qaida affiliated group is held responsible by U.S. intelligence for a string of bombings in Iraq and for the killing of an American diplomat in Amman. CNN Arab linguists say, however, that the voice on the tape has the wrong accent. They do not believe it is Zarqawi. U.S. officials said the killers tried to take advantage of the prison abuse controversy to gain attention.”
A subsequent more definitive report by CNN was aired 2 days later on 13 May 2004.
“The CIA confirms that Nicholas Berg's killer was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi; The CIA acknowledges sticking to strict rules in tough interrogations of top al Qaida prisoners." (CNN)
“Blitzer: Because originally our own linguists here at CNN suspected that -- they listened to this audiotape and they didn't think it sounded like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. But now definitively, the experts at the CIA say it almost certainly is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi? Ensor: They say it almost certainly is. There's just a disagreement between the CNN linguists and the CIA linguists. The U.S. Government now believes that the person speaking on that tape and killing Nick Berg on that tape is the actual man, Abu Musab al- Zarqawi.”
Did the US officials check the mysterious website or was it CNN?
The video footage published on the website was called “Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi shows killing of an American". Then the CIA experts released a statement saying that Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was the man in the mask who beheaded the US citizen Nick Berg in front of a camera. Yet several reports question the authenticity of the video.
Al Zarqawi is Jordanian. Yet the man in the video posing as Jordanian native Zarqawi does not speak the Jordanian dialect. Zarqawi has an artificial leg, but none of these murderers did. The man presented as Zarqawi had a yellow ring, presumably a golden one, which Muslim men are banned from wearing, especially so-called fundamentalists. Another report states that Zarqawi was dead (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4446084/)
Immediately when the issue of his artificial leg was mentioned in relation to the video, US officials revised their story, stating they were not sure whether he actually lost a leg: "U.S. intelligence officials, who used to believe that Zarqawi had lost a leg in Afghanistan, recently revised that assessment, concluding that he still has both legs." (News and World Report, 24 May 2004).
There were a number of other aspects of the video, which suggest that it was a fraud: there was no blood when Nicholas Berg was beheaded. The audio was not in synchrony with the video, indicating that the film might have been manipulated.
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In addition to this research, there are several other clues, including the alleged nine page letter that Al-Zarqawi was said to have written to Osama bin Laden that was conveniently found just as the administration was coming under attack for the lack of evidence linking Al-Qaida to Saddam. In that letter, Al-Zarqawi bears not one hallmark of a Mujahideen, the text lacks the phraseology of Islam and there is no way that any Mujahideen would complain of his pending martyrdom as is indicated in this pitiful diatribe. (see http://www.iraqcoalition.org/transcripts/20040212_zarqawi_full.html)
We now also have the Kim Sun-Il beheading to add to Al-Zarqawi “list”. The video tape strikes a close resemblance to that of Nick Bergs and raises just as many questions about its authenticity, with almost the same individuals appearing, the same orange prison gear and the same bloodless execution. It appeared on a website hosted in California and boasted links to Reuters, to the March of Dimes and the National Wildlife Federation. Both “barbaric” incidents have curiously occurred in quick succession following the Abu Ghraib atrocities.
While the US State Department has increased the reward for Al Zarqawi’s arrest from $10 million to $25 million, which equals that of Bin Laden, he is not on the FBI most wanted fugitives list. http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/topten/fugitives/fugitives.htm ). That’s because Al-Zarqawi is a product of American intelligence and the main actor in this covert false flag operation.
America is both creator and defender in this war on terrorism that exists only because of its greed for global dominance. While hatred is now raging against Muslims who are being attributed with the brutal acts the American government is in fact staging, Muslim anger is also growing as is the number of those who are prepared to stand in legitimate resistance against an enemy that respects no lawm no human life or moral code. Rest assured, we will fight this enemy justly, as we are required to do under the laws of the Sunnah of our Prophet (pbuh), not under a false flag of America’s, but under the Black flag of Islam in the Name of Allah.
# ANTENNA SHARON | 6:09:00 pm |
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