After three long years of somber and often depressing news from Iraq – where by mid-June, according to Pentagon sources, the American military death count had reached the landmark total of 2,500 – the situation took a dramatic turn with the death of the most wanted man in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Zarqawi was believed to be responsible for many attacks against American, coalition and Iraqi forces, as well as for the killing of Iraqi military, security and police recruits. International intelligence agencies suspect Zarqawi was also responsible for the gruesome beheading of several hostages. He was a meticulously savage man intent on igniting a civil war between Iraq’s Sunni and Shiite communities.
The US made it a priority to find Zarqawi and offered a $25 million reward for information leading to his capture. Jordan also had its reasons to want Zarqawi’s head, after he was blamed for bomb attacks in three hotels in Amman last November. While President Bush quickly claimed credit for the death of the Jordanian-born terrorist, Jordanian special forces operating under cover inside Iraq made a key contribution.
Jordanian special forces’ key role
Executive has learned from official Jordanian sources – and confirmed with several US intelligence sources – that a man close to Zarqawi was apprehended by Jordanian special forces and turned over to US authorities.
One American security and terrorism expert who is well-acquainted with the region told Executive that Jordan’s special forces were possibly the best-trained in the Middle East.
It was this arrest by the Jordanians that led the US special forces in Iraq to Zarqawi’s religious advisor. The Americans were able to monitor a cellular phone used by the imam, which in turn led the American and Iraqi forces to the house used by Zarqawi in the town of Baqouba. The rest, as they say, is history.
This time, Bush truly had something to celebrate. The elimination of Zarqawi may have finally absolved President Bush of his premature victory lap three years earlier, when, clad in a fighter pilot’s outfit, the president landed onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and triumphantly declared the end of all “major combat operations,” standing before a huge banner that read “Mission Accomplished.”
As we were soon to find out, the battle had only just begun. In the three years since, American and coalition forces were to face two different types of insurgents; the first, making up the Sunni resistance, are in fact mostly Iraqis – cashiered soldiers and officers who served in Saddam’s army, along with members of the Baath Party.
American officials and the previous and sitting Iraqi governments have in the past tried to kick-start peace talks with these rebels. The talks, usually held in utmost secret, have mostly sputtered and stopped. But experts believe that at the end of the day, the Iraqis as well as the Americans will have to bring the main branch of Sunnis into the equation and include them in the rebuilding of Iraq.
Zarqawi and his followers are a whole different kettle of fish. They are for the most part foreigners who will have no part in any peaceful future Iraq. These are the people who will fight to the finish.
Immaculate timing
For Bush, the timing of Zarqawi’s death could not have been better. It came as his approval ratings were at an all-time low. The war was not going well, with casualties mounting on a daily basis.
Riding the momentum of this success, President Bush paid a surprise visit to Baghdad. The American president met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, spent a few minutes with some US troops and left before word got out that he was there. In all, the American president spent no more than five hours in Iraq. But for him, every minute spent in Iraq was worth its weight in gold.
As a reminder that Baghdad is still a very dangerous place, Bush’s visit to the Iraqi capital was a far cry from his landing aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Three years after that event, a select few – the Iraqi prime minister and his cabinet, along with some American soldiers – saw a far more somber and down-to-earth Bush. This time there was no fanfare as Bush arrived aboard Air Force One. To avoid anti-aircraft fire the presidential aircraft had to engage in a spiraling maneuver over Baghdad International Airport. Bush was taken in a Black Hawk helicopter to the heavily defended Green Zone compound where the Iraqi government, the US Embassy, and many foreign legations are located.
Zarqawi’s death has helped Bush’s approval ratings, pushing him up to 38%, two full points higher than he was a month ago. And as the November elections approaches, the president needs all the help he can get to keep the Republicans in the majority on Capitol Hill. But breaks like the capture of Zarqawi are rare in an Iraq that continues to be plagued by almost daily terror attacks.
