Re: A-Q, Iraq, and al-Zarqawi ~~~I saw that and wondered what Rumsfeld was really saying. So looked up some timetables for the #1 bad guy over there....He's been in Iraq since 2002 and probably in and out of there for some time. Does anyone seriously think Saddam allowed this guy in just to rest, or go out and terrorize a few people....?? Maybe people couldn't figure out how to spell his name, so don't know. 2002 was well before we went into Iraq in Spring of 2003....
Here's some interesting info from good sources.....
globalsecurity.org
Jamaat al-Tawhid wa'l-Jihad / Unity and Jihad Group
Iraq Insurgency
References
Intercepted Letter from Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi to Osama bin Laden released February 2004
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Jamaat al-Tawhid wa'l-Jihad [Unity and Jihad Group] is believed to be led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi [aka Abu Massad Al-Zakawi]. Al-Zarqawi is a Jordanian-born Sunni militant said to have links to Al-Qaeda. He is wanted by the United States on suspicion on organizing terrorist attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq.
The beheading of a US civilian by a group with ties to Al-Qaeda was a shocking image from Iraq. The group appears to be hoping that the graphic videotape will fan anger at Washington even as it revolts the public. The video, released ll May 2004, is titled: "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi shown slaughtering an American." The videotape shows 26-year-old Nicholas Berg kneeling on the floor as one of the masked men reads a statement saying he will be killed in response to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghurayb prison. Next, a man puts a large knife under Berg's neck and begins sawing off his victim's head. The killer shouts "God is Great" over Berg's screams. Then, he holds up the severed head to the camera like an executioner.
ABU MUSA'AB AL-ZARQAWI [AKAs: KHALAILAH, Ahmed Fadee Ii AL-KHALAYLAH, Ahmad Fadil Nazzali ABU AL-MU'TAZ], has ties to al-Qaida, Asbat al-Ansar and Hizballah. In addition to providing the financial and material support for the assassination of a U.S. diplomat, he has participated in acts of terrorism, trained terrorist, led terrorist cells, facilitated transport of terrorists and is being cited in the international press as a suspect in the recent devastating bombing of the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad.
ZARQAWI has arranged training for terrorists at al-Qaida camps. While he was in Pakistan, ZARQAWI made contact with al-Qaida to train Jordanians. His operatives (called "Jund al-Sham") began to arrive in Afghanistan in large numbers in l999. Some of these operatives trained at al-Qaida's al-Faruq Camp, where they received full support from al-Qaida. ZARQAWI eventually established his own cell and camp in Herat, Afghanistan.
Returning to Afghanistan in 2000, he oversaw a terrorist training camp. One of his specialties, and one of the specialties of this camp, is poisons. When the American-led coalition ousted the Taliban, the Zarqawi network helped establish another poison and explosive training center camp, and this camp is located in northeastern Iraq.
Plans were made to send ZARQAWI's operatives to meet with Asbat al-Ansar (designated under E.O. l3224 as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on September 24, 200l and as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on March 27, 2002), Hizballah and any other group that would enable them to smuggle mujaheddin into Palestine. This plan was launched by ZARQAWI with other terrorist leaders in order to smuggle operatives into Israel to conduct operations. In addition to being tasked with finding a mechanism that would enable more suicide martyrs to enter Israel, these operatives were also sent to provide training on explosives, poisons, and remote controlled devices.
In October 2000, ZARQAWI was indicted in absentia in Jordan for his role in the al-Qaida Millennium bombing plot targeting the Radisson SAS hotel in Amman as well as other American, Israeli, and Christian religious sites in Jordan.
In mid 200l, ZARQAWI returned to Qandahar from Herat. At this time, he had received more than U.S. $35,000 for work in Palestine. ZARQAWI planned to use the money to bring more Jordanian and Palestinian mujaheddin to the camp in Herat, to purchase passports, and to facilitate travel to Lebanon. He received assurances that further financing would be provided for attacks against Israel. In early 2002, ZARQAWI was reported to have found a way into Palestine.
Zarqawi's activities were not confined to a small corner of northeast Iraq. He traveled to Baghdad in May of 2002 for medical treatment, staying in the capital of Iraq for two months while he recuperated to fight another day. During his stay, nearly two dozen extremists converged on Baghdad and established a base of operations there. These al-Qaida affiliates based in Baghdad coordinated the movement of people, money and supplies into and throughout Iraq for his network.
On October 28, 2002, U.S. diplomat Laurence Foley, an officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development, was assassinated in Amman, Jordan. ZARQAWI provided financial and material support for this assassination. Key individuals involved in both the planning and execution of the operation had strong ties to Afghan Jihad, the International Mujaheddin Movement, and al-Qaida. One of these individuals, Salim Sa'd Salim Bin-Suwayd, a member of al-Qaida, received more than U.S. $50,000 for his cooperation in planning assassinations in Jordan against U.S., Israeli, and Jordanian government officials. ZARQAWI instructed Suwayd to hide after he had completed his first operation and to plan to pursue additional operations against Israeli and Jordanian targets in Amman in the future. Jordanian authorities arrested Suwayd for the murder. The trial of Suwayd, a Libyan national, is currently underway in Jordan.
In late 2002, ZARQAWI traveled to Iraq where he initiated plans to smuggle additional small arms, explosives, and rockets (NFl) into Jordan for use by his terrorist cell.
The German government has established that ZARQAWI is the operational leader of Al Tawhid, an organization with close personal and organizational links to the al-Qaida network. Al Tawhid, which has the figurative meaning of "unity of all the faithful" -is the name of a Palestinian Sunni movement with roots in Jordan. It is waging a campaign against the Jordanian monarchy, which it rejects as "un-Islamic." Based on a militant interpretation of Islam, the Al Tawhid movement promotes and supports the "jihad" of all fellow-believers worldwide; in particular, the "fight against non-believers and crusaders" led by Usama bin Laden and al-Qaida.
The German government notes that an independent Al Tawhid cell was formed in Germany by September 200l. Formed around Mohamed ABU DHESS, the cell worked in both an isolated and clandestine manner. In addition to ZARQAWI, members of the cell included Mohamed ABU DHESS, Shadi ABDALLA, Aschraf AI-DAGMA, and Ismail SHALABI, who were living in Beckum, German. In early September 200l, ZARQAWI met his confidant, Mohamed ABU DHESS, in Iran and instructed him to commit terrorist attacks against Jewish or Israeli facilities in Germany with "his people."
According to the German government, the group was involved in gathering donations, smuggling "fighters" and forging passports, but then increasingly concentrated on planning the attacks in Germany. ZARQAWI urged them to carry out his instructions swiftly. The members of the cell planned to use a pistol fitted with a silencer to carry out an attack on a busy square in a German town or city and to explode hand grenades in another German town in the immediate vicinity of an Israeli or Jewish property with the aim of killing as many people as possible. The attacks were supposed to be carried out by Shadi ABDALLA, Aschraf AL-DAGMA and Ismail SHALABI.
The German government has also stated that Shadi ABDALLA, a trusted ally of ZARQAWI with close contacts to Mohamed ABU DHESS, was instructed to identify potential targets in German cities and, above all, to obtain the necessary weapons. In March 2002 he ordered a pistol fitted with a silencer and a crate of hand grenades from Djamel MOUSTFA, a supporter of the cell based in Dusseldorf. However, before the weapons could be delivered, Shadi ABDALLA, Mohamed ABU DHESS, Aschraf AL-DAGMA, Ismail SHALABI and Djamel MOUSTFA were arrested along with other suspects on April 23, 2002. All five of them are currently in detention awaiting trial.
Shadi ABDALLA was indicted by the German Public Prosecutor General of the Federal Court of Justice on May l5, 2003 before the State Security Division of the Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court for being a member of a terrorist organization and for the organized forging of passports. The investigations against Mohamed ABU DHESS, Aschraf AL-DAGMA, Ismail SHALABI, and Djamel MOUSTFA are still ongoing.
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Abu Musab Zarqawi
worldhistory.com
Abu Musab Zarqawi has been named as the link between Iraq and al Qaeda. He has been involved with terrorist activites for many years and is thought to be one of Osama bin Laden's chief supporters.
1966 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was born as a Palestinian-Jordanian.
1990 Zarqawi went to Afghanistan
1991 Zarqawi helped fight against Russia in Khosht
1999 Zarqawi planned a terrorist attack for the millennial celebration Jordan. The Radison SAS hotel in Aman an other American, Israeli, and Christian sites were targeted. The plot was discovered before it was carried out. Zarqawi escaped before he could be indicted.
2000 Zarqawi went to Afghanistan, where he oversaw a terrorist training camp. He also specialized in chemical and biological weapons.
2001 Zarqauwi was sentenced to 15 years for his terrorist plots in Jordan. However, since he escaped, before he was arrested, he has not served any of his term.
October 2001 After the Taliban lost control in Afghanistan Zarqawi fled to Iran with a wounded leg. While he was there Zarqawi dispatched two Palestinians and a Jordanian who entered Turkey and then they were supposed to go to Israel to conduct bombing attacks.
15 February 2002 The three terrorists who were sent by Zarqawi were caught in Turkey.
May 2002 Zarqawi traveled to Iraq. He had his leg amputated and had a prosthetic limb to replace it.
May-July 2002 Zarqawi spent time recovering in Baghdad. At the same time several extremists also came to Baghdad and established a base of operations.
Late Summer 2002 Zarqawi traveled to Lebanon to meet with leaders from Hezbollah, another terrorist group.
October 2002 Lawrence Foley, an United States official with the Agency for International Development, was assassinated. After some arrests were made of the actual shooters in December 2002, and Zarqwai was linked to the plot by providing the murder weapons.
Early 2003 Zarqawi returned to the Ansar al-Islam camp in northern Iraq. Other terrorist who have trained at this particular camp have plotted chemical attacks with various toxins in Britain, France, Georgia, and Chechnya.
January 2003 Several terrorists were arrested in Britain for planning to put the toxin ricin in the military food supply. These terrorist were linked to Zarqawi.
5 February 2003 United States Secretary of State Collin Powell spoke to the United Nations Security Council and provided information the Zarqawi ties the terrorist group al-Qaeda to Iraq.
Works Cited
Levitt, Matthew A. " The Zarqawi Node in the Terror Matrix: Linking the terrorists." February 6, 2003, 9:00 a.m.
False trails that lead to the al-Qaeda 'links' observer.co.uk
Suspects affiliated with Al Qaeda —— Adwan jordanembassyus.org
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Moe info at both of these links:
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September 27, 2004 BBC News
Zarqawi's Jordanian roots
news.bbc.co.uk
By Jon Leyne
BBC Amman correspondent
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Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
en.wikipedia.org
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