by stickdog99 » Tue Apr 25, 2006 11:00 pm
April 10, 2006 WaPo:<br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002921913_zarqawi10.html">seattletimes.nwsource.com...awi10.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>The U.S. military is conducting a campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program. The effort has raised his profile in a way that some military-intelligence officials believe may have overstated his importance and helped the Bush administration tie the war to the organization responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks.<br><br>The documents state that the U.S. campaign aims to turn Iraqis against Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian, by playing on their perceived dislike of foreigners. U.S. authorities claim some success with the effort, noting that tribal Iraqi insurgents have attacked al-Zarqawi loyalists.<br><br>For the past two years, U.S. military leaders have been using Iraqi media and other outlets in Baghdad to publicize al-Zarqawi's role in the insurgency. The documents explicitly list the "U.S. Home Audience" as a target of a broader propaganda campaign.<br><br>...<br><br>It is difficult to determine how much has been spent on the al-Zarqawi campaign, which began two years ago and is believed to be ongoing. U.S. propaganda efforts in Iraq in 2004 cost $24 million, but that included extensive building of offices and residences for troops involved, as well as radio broadcasts and distribution of thousands of leaflets, said the officer speaking on background.</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br><br>April 25, 2006 WaPo:<br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/25/AR2006042500893.html?sub=AR">www.washingtonpost.com/wp...tml?sub=AR</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, pledged in a rare video appearance broadcast today that his followers will overcome a three-year "onslaught" by the "crusader enemy" to defeat the United States in Iraq.<br><br>"By God, America will be defeated in Iraq," Zarqawi said, according to a translation of the tape by the al-Jazeera satellite network. "When the enemy entered into Iraq, their aim was to control Iraq and the area. But here we have been fighting them for the last three years."<br> <br>The video -- posted on a radical Islamic Web site -- appeared two days after the release of an audiotape in which al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden urged followers to prepare for a drawn-out conflict with the Western world. The bearded Zarqawi, who has kept a low profile in recent months, also announced the formation of an umbrella group for insurgents fighting U.S. troops, al-Jazeera reported. And he vowed that "worse" attacks against the United States were to come.<br><br>Today's video offered an unusual peek at Zarqawi, the feared Jordanian-born insurgent whose group has claimed credit for numerous attacks as well as the beheading of U.S. hostage Nicholas Berg. The United States is offering a $25 million bounty on Zarqawi, the same amount it is offering for bin Laden.</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br><br>No mention whatsoever of the US military's PSYOPS campaign in today's article, of course! <p></p><i></i>
