Chlorophyll

Upon the US bombing death of al-Qaeda’s Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, President Bush stated, ”It’s a big deal, but it won’t end the conflict.” More than three years ago, the US made al-Zarqawi a “big deal” as the supposed face of terrorism in Iraq, linking him to Saddam Hussein, as former Secretary of State Colin Powell initially sought support from the United Nations for pre-emptive attack.

I must admit that I do agree with Bush in that al-Zarqawi’s death won’t end the conflict, especially understanding the nature of the conflict and the composition of the Iraqi Insurgency. There are many wars going on in Iraq: Shiite vs. Sunni, Arab vs. Kurd, open war in Basra vs. US and British troops and the Insurgency across Iraq vs. the US.

We must not forget the Dirty War that began in May ’05 when the Iraqi National Assembly unleashed US funded death squads of Iraqi police and Shiite and Kurdish militias against the Sunni. This event really began the Civil War, according to Iraqi human rights workers whom I worked with recently at the European Social Forum in Athens. Hopefully, this will end with the recent Iraqi Parliament’s appointments of a new defense minister (a Sunni) and new interior minister (a Shiite.)

The Insurgency has no centralized leadership, certainly not al-Zarqawi, but is an insurgency of insurgencies. In addition to al-Qaeda, there are many major insurgent networks, including the Islamic Army. These major networks, dominated by foreign fighters, sponsor smaller insurgent groups and take credit for their actions. The vast majority of insurgents are independent Iraqis who have lost loved ones among the 100,000 plus Iraqi deaths and are rebelling against the occupation. British Intelligence estimates the Insurgency at more than 50,000 fighters while the US projects half that number.

I am glad that al-Zarqawi is now out of the picture; he did stoke the sectarian war against the Shiites and their monuments because of Shiite cooperation with the US occupation. Major insurgent networks like al-Qaeda and the Islamic Army introduced the terrorists practice of kidnapping and beheadings to Iraq. In our first clear picture of al-Zarqawi, he was seen holding a knife to the throat of American Nick Berg, who was beheaded. Nick’s father Michael Berg is a friend of mine and the Green Party Candidate for Congress in Delaware.

Regarding al-Zarqawi’s death, Michael Berg states, “I know he is the one that is supposed to have killed my son. I have learned to forgive a long time ago, and I regret mostly if that [his death] will bring about another wave of revenge from his cohorts. George Bush is the one that invaded this country. George Bush is the one who destabilized it so that Zarqawi could get in.” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel June 9, 2006)

We Will End this Occupation! – Bring Our Troops Home Now!
Peace & Love,
George Paz Martin