Zarqawi ascending in global terror network
Indo-Asian News Service
Washington, May 20, 2005
Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, suspected to be behind much of the violence in Iraq, is positioned not only to destabilise that country but also become a global player on par with or eclipsing Osama bin Laden, according to French terrorism expert Alexis Debat.
Relying primarily on interrogation and intelligence reports from Government sources around the world, Debat lays out what he believes are Zarqawi's plans in the journal The National Interest, reports UPI.
Zarqawi had been a member of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and in 1999 was assigned by Abu Zubaydah - now in US custody - to train panoply of terrorist groups with reach throughout the Middle East and Europe. He fled Afghanistan because of the war.
There is evidence that the relationship with Bin Laden is strained, however, by the number of Muslims killed by Zarqawi's bombs in Iraq - as many as 500 in the last month.
"His global profile is not as important as (Al-Qaeda chief) Osama bin Laden's. The US is careful to not play his image up too much," Debat said, adding, "There is little doubt there is tension over their goals."
Zarqawi has been seen primarily as an Iraq problem - the force behind multiple car bombings and kidnappings and beheadings of foreigners. But Debat said Zarqawi's network extended well beyond Iraq's borders.
Zarqawi's best lieutenants are being honed on the battlefields of Iraq, those he has determined are not making the grade are martyred in suicide bombings there.
"His ambitions very clearly are global. The question is when the shift is going to happen," Debat said on Thursday. "He is in operational control of networks laid down in Europe - that I know. They are all tied to him through his time in Afghanistan," Debat said.
Zarqawi is on the rise as an international terrorist as the old guard of Al-Qaeda is descending, in large part because of the US attack on Afghanistan and the war in Iraq.
The US is offering a $25 million bounty for Zarqawi, the same price offered for Bin Laden.
Debat maintains it is geography that gives Zarqawi his power with Iraq emerging as the new centre of gravity for terrorist training. "Whoever controls the base controls the organisation. The base is in Iraq. It used to be in Afghanistan," he said.
Indo-Asian News Service
Washington, May 20, 2005
Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, suspected to be behind much of the violence in Iraq, is positioned not only to destabilise that country but also become a global player on par with or eclipsing Osama bin Laden, according to French terrorism expert Alexis Debat.
Relying primarily on interrogation and intelligence reports from Government sources around the world, Debat lays out what he believes are Zarqawi's plans in the journal The National Interest, reports UPI.
Zarqawi had been a member of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and in 1999 was assigned by Abu Zubaydah - now in US custody - to train panoply of terrorist groups with reach throughout the Middle East and Europe. He fled Afghanistan because of the war.
There is evidence that the relationship with Bin Laden is strained, however, by the number of Muslims killed by Zarqawi's bombs in Iraq - as many as 500 in the last month.
"His global profile is not as important as (Al-Qaeda chief) Osama bin Laden's. The US is careful to not play his image up too much," Debat said, adding, "There is little doubt there is tension over their goals."
Zarqawi has been seen primarily as an Iraq problem - the force behind multiple car bombings and kidnappings and beheadings of foreigners. But Debat said Zarqawi's network extended well beyond Iraq's borders.
Zarqawi's best lieutenants are being honed on the battlefields of Iraq, those he has determined are not making the grade are martyred in suicide bombings there.
"His ambitions very clearly are global. The question is when the shift is going to happen," Debat said on Thursday. "He is in operational control of networks laid down in Europe - that I know. They are all tied to him through his time in Afghanistan," Debat said.
Zarqawi is on the rise as an international terrorist as the old guard of Al-Qaeda is descending, in large part because of the US attack on Afghanistan and the war in Iraq.
The US is offering a $25 million bounty for Zarqawi, the same price offered for Bin Laden.
Debat maintains it is geography that gives Zarqawi his power with Iraq emerging as the new centre of gravity for terrorist training. "Whoever controls the base controls the organisation. The base is in Iraq. It used to be in Afghanistan," he said.
posted by Casey Britton | 9:14 AM
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