Does Al Zarqawi really exist? How about Juba?

[ck4829]

""Juba" is the nickname that the occupation forces in Iraq have given to a supposed member of the Iraqi insurgency who is alleged to be an accurate sniper, claiming to have killed and wounded up to a hundred United States soldiers. The sniper fires only once before moving from his position, leaving behind little evidence of his whereabouts.

Juba's existence has not been proven by any military source. U.S. soldiers have been led to believe that each sniper attack was carried out by the same individual, which is what gave rise to the idea of "Juba". Every time one of these incidents occurs, a single cartridge case and a note have been found at the location where the sniper was believed to have been. The message says, in Arabic, "What has been taken in blood cannot be regained except by blood. Baghdad Sniper". These items were found after the sniper attack when buildings were searched by U.S. forces. It is not yet known whether "Juba" is a single sniper, or whether "Juba" represents a copycat phenomenon carried out by multiple individuals, or if "Juba" in fact exists at all.

In November 2005 the insurgent group Islamic Army in Iraq released video clips containing images of United States soldiers falling to the ground, allegedly due to Juba's attacks. The content of these clips has in no way been verified as showing the actions of "Juba".

There was also a release of a video clip containing nine shootings of U.S. soldiers. The video starts with "Juba" saying: "I have nine bullets in this gun and I have a present for George Bush, I am going to kill nine people. I am doing this for the viewers to watch. God is great. God is great (Allahu Akhbar)." He then makes his way from the vehicle and a series of scenes begin which show several individuals shot in action."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juba_%28sniper%29

[TomInTib]

1. Robert Fisk says Zarqawi is a myth

Now quite apart from the fact that many Iraqis - along, I have to admit, with myself - have grave doubts about whether Zarqawi exists, and that al-Qai'da's Zarqawi, if he does exist, does not merit the title of "insurgency mastermind", the words that caught my eye were "US authorities say". And as I read through the report, I note how the Los Angeles Times sources this extraordinary tale. I thought American reporters no longer trusted the US administration, not after the mythical weapons of mass destruction and the equally mythical connections between Saddam and the international crimes against humanity of 11 September 2001. Of course, I was wrong.

Here are the sources - on pages one and 10 for the yarn spun by reporters Josh Meyer and Mark Mazzetti: "US officials said", "said one US Justice Department counter-terrorism official", "Officials ... said", "those officials said", "the officials confirmed", "American officials complained", "the US officials stressed", "US authorities believe", "said one senior US intelligence official", "US officials said", "Jordanian officials ... said" - here, at least is some light relief - "several US officials said", "the US officials said", "American officials said", "officials say", "say US officials", "US officials said", "one US counter-terrorism official said".

I do truly treasure this story. It proves my point that the Los Angeles Times - along with the big east coast dailies - should all be called US OFFICIALS SAY. But it's not just this fawning on political power that makes me despair. Let's move to a more recent example of what I can only call institutionalised racism in American reporting of Iraq.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12395.htm

[Atman]

2. WaPo article today say Al Z is nearly a myth...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, 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, 2001, attacks.

The documents state that the U.S. campaign aims to turn Iraqis against Zarqawi, a Jordanian, by playing on their perceived dislike of foreigners. U.S. authorities claim some success with the effort, noting that some tribal Iraqi insurgents have attacked al-Zarqawi loyalists.

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.

Some senior intelligence officers believe al-Zarqawi's role might have been overemphasized by the campaign, which has included leaflets, radio and television broadcasts, Internet postings and at least one leak to an American journalist.

http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/hc-iraq0410.artapr10,0,5143068.story?coll=hc-headlines-nationworld

[BlooInBloo]

3. ROFL! Read a book called 'Naming and Necessity" by Saul Kripke...

It's not as easy to make sense of your question as you might think...

I'm sure there's somone NAMED "Al Zarqawi"... but that's not actually what you mean...

There may even be somebody who has done a lot of the things this Al Zarqawi fellow is reputed to have done - that doesn't mean it's actually *him* tho... (imagine that somebody, Schmidt, say, was the one who did most of the things we attribute to Hitler. That doesn't mean Schmidt IS Hitler...)

LOLOL

Sorry - I'll go back to programming now...