Martyr or Scapegoat?
With the recent death (supposed) of Abu Musab al Zarqawi we have the most significant development in the Iraq war since the fall of Saddam Hussein. The man who had become the face of the insurgency was finally eliminated by coalition forces, but what is going to be the result of his death? Will the insurgency begin to falter under the tattered leadership? Or will Al-Zarqawi's death be used as a rallying call for the rest of the insurgents? I think the latter is the only likely possiblity, but I also see some other sides that could exist. Conspiracy theorists would suggest that the Iraqis were known for having doubles, Saddam Hussein had a team of clones working to protect his true identity, so how do we know that Zarqawi didn't have his own team of doppelgangers? Since we didn't capture him alive, this man could be an actor who just happened to look like Al-Zarqawi and the real man might be sitting in his control room in Kentucky sending missions to suicide bombers in Iraq. The other curious thing about this situation is the fact that Al-Zarqawi was killed in the time leading up to an important mid-term election.
I am not one to suggest that the government is masterminding all kinds of conspiracies. I don't think our government would be capable of hiding the truth from enterprising journalists, and therefore I actually believe that Zarqawi (or a clone) was killed in that bombing. However, I definitely see this as a sign that Osama Bin-Laden is off the radar. We barely hear from the man who was originally the main reason for the wars in Afghanistan and (not including the Bush hatred for all that is Hussein) Iraq, and it's clear that the focus has shifted from finding Osama to ending the insurgency. But it is hard to ignore the timing of this occurrence, especially since we had been hearing all the stories about the massacre(s) committed by the Marines in Iraq. It's just a typical "wag-the-dog" type of moment, when a devastating story comes out that can threaten everything the administration is working for (the Haditha situation), it's only natural for that administration to do what it can to distract the public.
So what about the insurgents? How will this development affect their actions? Will we see the attacks begin to subside? Probably not, considering the fact that insurgent activity has continued uninterrupted since Zarqawi's death. Unlike top-heavy organizations that rely on a strict chain-of-command and a top-down structure of power, the insurgency is fragmented and many of the groups have no idea what their "colleagues" are up to. This isn't the Viet Cong we're fighting, it's not an organized nationalist group with the backing of powerful nations, it's just an internal insurgency and that dilutes the influence of leadership.
Since most of the insurgents are highly religious types, isn't it only natural that they will take Zarqawi's death as a martyr? He was their leader, and from those videos seemed to be portrayed as a heroic figure to the insurgency. Isn't it funny that after that film of Zarqawi misfiring his gun preceded his death by only a number of weeks? Maybe his image as the unflappable leader of the fight was tarnished and he was betrayed by his own people in order to eliminate any chance of his further damaging their illusion of competence. After all, we were only able to find his "safe-house" because of a tip, who's to say that the tip wasn't for the benefit of the insurgency.
The rallying call will be "The American infidels killed our fearless leader, they must pay for their evil deeds." And we will not see this fight end any time soon. However, the Republican party can use it as a major victory to show "progress" in the "war against terror (or 'global extremism' as it's been dubbed at times)". And come election time in November, Al-Zarqawi will fade in the memories of Americans like Khalid Sheik Mohammed or whatshisname the terrorist. Unfortunately, the fading memory of Zarqawi will not coincide with the fading memory of the Iraqi Insurgency, as that fight will still be very much alive. Only time will tell if Zarqawi's death meant anything in the big picture of the Republican fight against Islam.
I am not one to suggest that the government is masterminding all kinds of conspiracies. I don't think our government would be capable of hiding the truth from enterprising journalists, and therefore I actually believe that Zarqawi (or a clone) was killed in that bombing. However, I definitely see this as a sign that Osama Bin-Laden is off the radar. We barely hear from the man who was originally the main reason for the wars in Afghanistan and (not including the Bush hatred for all that is Hussein) Iraq, and it's clear that the focus has shifted from finding Osama to ending the insurgency. But it is hard to ignore the timing of this occurrence, especially since we had been hearing all the stories about the massacre(s) committed by the Marines in Iraq. It's just a typical "wag-the-dog" type of moment, when a devastating story comes out that can threaten everything the administration is working for (the Haditha situation), it's only natural for that administration to do what it can to distract the public.
So what about the insurgents? How will this development affect their actions? Will we see the attacks begin to subside? Probably not, considering the fact that insurgent activity has continued uninterrupted since Zarqawi's death. Unlike top-heavy organizations that rely on a strict chain-of-command and a top-down structure of power, the insurgency is fragmented and many of the groups have no idea what their "colleagues" are up to. This isn't the Viet Cong we're fighting, it's not an organized nationalist group with the backing of powerful nations, it's just an internal insurgency and that dilutes the influence of leadership.
Since most of the insurgents are highly religious types, isn't it only natural that they will take Zarqawi's death as a martyr? He was their leader, and from those videos seemed to be portrayed as a heroic figure to the insurgency. Isn't it funny that after that film of Zarqawi misfiring his gun preceded his death by only a number of weeks? Maybe his image as the unflappable leader of the fight was tarnished and he was betrayed by his own people in order to eliminate any chance of his further damaging their illusion of competence. After all, we were only able to find his "safe-house" because of a tip, who's to say that the tip wasn't for the benefit of the insurgency.
The rallying call will be "The American infidels killed our fearless leader, they must pay for their evil deeds." And we will not see this fight end any time soon. However, the Republican party can use it as a major victory to show "progress" in the "war against terror (or 'global extremism' as it's been dubbed at times)". And come election time in November, Al-Zarqawi will fade in the memories of Americans like Khalid Sheik Mohammed or whatshisname the terrorist. Unfortunately, the fading memory of Zarqawi will not coincide with the fading memory of the Iraqi Insurgency, as that fight will still be very much alive. Only time will tell if Zarqawi's death meant anything in the big picture of the Republican fight against Islam.
posted by Dan Pasternack at 3:21 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home