Iraq beyond Zarqawi

Walter Pincus and Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post are wondering aloud if we might actually miss Zarqawi:

From the moment President Bush introduced him to the American people in October 2002, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi served a crucial purpose for the administration, providing a tangible focus for its insistence that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network responsible for the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

It's not surprising a couple of WaPo writers would pose this argument, since their own paper ran a story a few months ago suggesting the military was using Zarqawi in a psyops campaign. Seems they think we molded him into the face of al Qaeda for digestion by the American public while simultaneously molding him into a dirty foriegner (Jordanian) for digestion by the Iraqi public. Apparently the campaign was designed to mask the real face of the insurgency--Saddam...al-Sadr...Badr Brigades, etc.

Read any lefty blog and you'll find that premise, usually with a few choice invectives and a reference to Hitler for good measure. But hey, what's wrong with a psyops campaign? Exploitation is useful and necessary sometimes, but it doesn't mean we created Zarqawi. The 'War on Terror' has always been as much about psyops and intelligence than conventional war, and both sides are fervently playing the game.

Case in point--bin Laden's Cave Committee could have easily disavowed themselves from Zarqawi long ago, but they didn't. Rather, they puffed him into an even larger figure because he met their immediate needs on the cheap.

But his sudden trip to hell might change the paradigm for everyone. Example, if the attacks don't decrease president Bush might be compelled to further elaborate on exactly who we're still fighting and why. Some might even ask about Izzat al-Douri or various other 'deck of card' Ba'athists still running loose. As the earlier WaPo article alluded:

"The long-term threat is not Zarqawi or religious extremists, but these former regime types and their friends,"

But even so, it's doubtful we'll see much of a change from the WoT PR department. It does no good to refocus things away from 'rootless non-state actors' in caves to legitimate state sponsors, especially if those states are diplomatically hostile or hold certain "cards". Best to just press on under the radar. After all, the goals are exactly the same.

MORE 6/11/06

Can things get any stranger? (refer to the picture accompanying this post for reference):

When, last month, US officials pointed out how he was sporting a pair of New Balance American trainers in one of his propaganda videos, the main effect was to make their sales rocket in sports shops across the Arab world, from the refugee camps of the Gaza Strip through to the slums of Zarqa, Zarqawi's home town in Jordan.

Hey Mohammed, death to America! By the way, can you get me some of those New Balance Air Zarqawis?