The lies, the alibias and now the al-Zarqawi lie...

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The Risks of the al-Zarqawi Myth
By Scott Ritter*
Aljazeera
December 14, 2005

For months now, the Bush administration had been building up the image of a massive network of foreign terrorists using Falluja as a base for their terror attacks against targets associated with the interim government of Iyad Allawi and the US military which backs him.

One name appeared in western media accounts, over and over again: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a wanted Jordanian turned alleged "terror" mastermind. Almost overnight, Zarqawi's terrorist group, al-Qaida Holy War for Iraq, expanded its operations across the width and breadth of Iraq. Al-Zarqawi was everywhere, his bombers striking in Mosul, Baghdad, Samarra, Najaf, Baquba, Ramadi and Falluja. Islamist websites published accounts of al-Zarqawi's actions, and the western media, together with western intelligence services, ran with these stories, giving them credibility. The al-Zarqawi legend, if one can call it that, was born.

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But the tragedy that is the war in Iraq is far from over, and it may very well be that it is al-Zarqawi and his followers, and not the Baathist Mukhabarat, who will have the last laugh. And, as always, it will be the people of Iraq who will pay the price.

<more at link> http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/resist/2004/1214zarqawilegend.htm

About the Author: Scott Ritter was a senior UN arms inspector in Iraq between 1991 and 1998. He is now an independent consultant.

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1. Baathist loyalists

Hmmm, Scott Ritter doesn't think the violence in Iraq is just everyday people protecting their country. He thinks it's a coordinated effort by a group that wants to continue to rule the country, through violence if necessary.

I suspect there's not one group at play in Iraq, it's a variety of groups with a variety of motives. That's why just removing the occupying troops wouldn't end the violence for the Iraqi people.