Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terrorist leader allegedly claiming responsibility for the graphic beheading of a U.S. civilian in Iraq, is adopting an increasingly public and influential role in the decentralized world of Islamic militants, U.S. officials and terrorism experts say.
| Wonder if he's having dreams of being Head Turban? |
| Can't do it. He's not a Soddy. Best he can hope for is Grand Vizir... |
On Tuesday, an Islamic Web site released a video titled "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Shown Slaughtering an American," which chronicles the beheading of Nicholas Berg.
| On some sites it's also reportedly titled, "Sheikh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi slaughters an American infidel with his own hands",according to one translation. |
In the most gruesome moments, five men disguised by head scarves and ski masks shout "Allahu Akbar!" — or "God is great." As recently as March, U.S. officials said al-Zarqawi's modus operandi was not to make taped public pronouncements nor to claim credit for attacks. But that changed five weeks ago when he released what is believed to be his first audiotape — a 33-minute recording in which he called on Sunni Muslims in Iraq to "burn the earth under the occupiers' feet." Then, he claimed responsibility for the attacks on the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad and an Italian police station in Nasiriyah, among others. At least two other tapes involving al-Zarqawi, including the beheading, have followed.
| It's almost like he's in charge, or want's to be. |
It was unclear whether al-Zarqawi, thought to be an ally of Osama bin Laden, though running his own "Zarqawi network," was shown in Tuesday's video, or whether he was simply claiming responsibility for ordering the execution.
The authenticity of the tape, found on a Web site known for carrying militant Islamic messages, also could not be verified Tuesday.
| I think that's pretty clear now. |
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a U.S. intelligence official said authorities were still reviewing the tape to glean information. For some time, the intelligence community has been paying attention to al-Zarqawi, also known as Ahmed al-Khalayleh. The Jordanian has been described as an al-Qaida associate, a senior operations planner and, in Iraq, a leader of a network targeting Americans. A specialist in poisons, he spent time in Afghanistan's camps alongside al-Qaida fighters and other militant Muslims. And, over the years, al-Zarqawi also is thought to have developed ties to terrorist groups ranging from Iraq's Ansar al-Islam to Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
| He seems to be Operations Director - Europe/Middle East. |
Senior U.S. officials view him as evidence of an evolution under way, as the al-Qaida organization and its affiliates — under siege by the United States — devolve into a more diffuse, less centrally organized network of militants who follow al-Qaida ideology. At a recent congressional hearing, the State Department's counterterrorism director, Cofer Black, named the Zarqawi network on a short list of threats to the United States and its allies as this decentralization takes place. "Literally scores of such groups are present around the world today," Black said. Black said jihadists view Iraq as a "new training ground to build their extremist credentials and hone the skills of the terrorist."
| We should make it a place for them to get dead... |
Another U.S. official, also speaking Tuesday, said al-Zarqawi had increased the size of his network and his capabilities in Iraq, giving him increasing opportunities to carry out his operations. Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at the Rand Corp. think tank, said he believed al-Zarqawi was after power.
| Dreaming of that turban, maybe he knows Binny won't be needing it. |
"He is not competing with al-Qaida, but he's emulating it," he said.
| He's not competing because he's a senior member. |
Last month, al-Zarqawi was sentenced to death in absentia in Jordan for masterminding the 2002 murder of Laurence Foley, a diplomat and administrator of U.S. aid programs in Jordan. Now believed to be in Iraq, al-Zarqawi is thought to be behind at least a dozen high-profile attacks there that have killed hundreds.
| He was thought to be in Fallujah, but he's most likely slipped away. |
The United States is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his death or capture.
| Need to raise that price, he's more dangerous than Binny. |
| We need to put a dedicated kill squad on his case. If we don't have one, ask the Israelis if we can borrow one. |
Abu Musab Zarqawi, the one-legged Jordanian behind the horrific beheading of a U.S. hostage, has emerged as one of the most dangerous terrorists in the world — and could soon eclipse Usama bin Laden in importance. The slaughter of American Nick Berg was just the latest in a massive series of bloody and spectacular attacks on U.S. and Western interests in Iraq and Europe that have been attributed to the shadowy al-Tawhid network commanded by Zarqawi. With bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, on the run, Zarqawi, who operates separately from al Qaeda, has increasingly taken up the global jihad banner.
| Why do they keep saying he's not al-Qaeda? |
He has backed up his bid to become the next bin Laden with a massive string of deadly bombings in Iraq and fiendish chemical and poison plots in Europe and the Middle East. Lately, he's been making a series of bin Laden-style statements to Arabic TV stations calling for a religious civil war and the assassination of top U.S. military and civilian leaders in Iraq.
"He is clearly the most active terrorist in the world right now, and what you are seeing is a rise in his stature as well as a rise in his ego," said Jonathan Schanzer, a terrorism analyst for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (search).
"Bin Laden and Zawahiri are hiding out in caves in Waziristan [northwestern Pakistan], so he is going for spectacular operations to seize the spotlight. This is a man who is committed to the utopian vision of the demise of the West and the rise of a radical Islamic world, and he sees Iraq as the main theater of operations to accomplish that goal."
More:Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a U.S. official said that authorities were still reviewing the tape to gather information. Among other facets being examined, the official noted that the tape's posted name refers to al-Zarqawi as a ``sheikh'' - an Arab title of respect frequently reserved for religious elders or leaders, not seen in previous public references to him.
| If that is the correct translation, Abu just got a promotion. Or gave himself one. |
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