Al-Qaeda in Iraq Claims Jordan Bombings
Jordanians held an anti-terrorism demonstration in Amman on Thursday to protest the hotel bombings. The death toll rose to 59.
The Times of London reported that
"Bashir Nafeh, director of military intelligence chief in the West Bank, was named as being among the dead. He had stopped in Amman with Colonel Abed Allun, a high-ranking security official, and Rawhi Futtah, the commercial attache at the Palestinian Embassy in Egypt and brother of the speaker in the Palestinian parliament. All three were staying in the Grand Hyatt."
There is already a big struggle within the Palestinian community over secular nationalsm versus Muslim fundamentalism. One wonders if this tragic incient will affect the terms of the debate.
"Al-Qaeda in Iraq" explained that it hit the hotels because they were used by Iraqi and Western intelligence agencies to fight fundamentalists, and were centers of iniquity. It should be pointed out that on the ground in Iraq, nobody talks of "al-Qaeda in Iraq." And, we have no idea who is posting these messages. It could be the Baath military intelligence.
Tony Karon believes that the Jordan bombings will hasten a split between the remnants of the Baath Party and the Zarqawi faction.
Personally, I'm not so sure the Iraqi Baath is not behind it. I think they often use Zarqawi as a cover for horrible things that they themselves actually do. They have an old feud with the Hashemites, and they are angry about Jordan's alliance with the US. As Amman becomes a forward staging ground for all sorts of US and Iraqi government meetings and planning, it becames a target for the Iraqi guerrilla movement.
posted by Juan Cole @ 11/11/2005 12:12:00 AM
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13 Comments:
i belive that Syria is responsable for this terrorist acts in Iraq and Jordan...the "cause" is in Damasc!
Juan-- I'm not sure where you're getting your data that "no one on the ground in Iraq" talks about Al Qa'ida in Iraq. Lots of Iraqis do, and not just government people.
I know educated Sunnis who take Zarqawi's existence as a fact and that he's active in the theater here, that bin Ladin has recognized him as the _emir_ of Iraq and that he's a serious player. I also hear this from my sources in the insurgency.
Now, sometimes they talk about Tawhid w'al-Jihad (often shortened to "Tawhid") but then, most Iraqis also call the new Iraqi Army the "ING" still, harkening back to its days as the Iraqi National Guard. But there are few illusions that Zarqawi and Al Qa'ida in Iraq/al-Tawhid are one and the same and allied/attached to bin Ladin's larger al Qa'ida. In fact, the only real debate is whether or not Zarqawi is the new leader of al Qa'ida -- in other words, did he merge Tahwid with Al Qa'ida last year in an effort to stage a hostile take over of bin Ladin's group? Is he making a play for worldwide pre-eminence, or is he willing to settle for being The Man in this region...
That's the debate, not whether he's really al Qa'ida or not.
Shilby Telhami and Michael Scheuer were on NewsHour, interviewed by Ray Suarez last night about the Amman bombings. I wish I could get the transcript, but they gave the slot to "Oil Spot" McCain instead.
From memory - Sheuer opined that Bush's invasion of Iraq was "a death blow" to the Hashemite kingdom, a judgement that Telhami did not dispute. Telhami, having said that he believed that the rallying effect of the bombings would be short lived, went on to say that Abdullah was in serious trouble. He noted the irony that, while Bush is trumpeting democracy, that King Abdullah will perforce resort to increasingly repressive tactics to stay in power
Do you really think Zaqari exists? He seemed to spring out of nowhere when a CD or something was found on a messenger allegedly a couple of years ago and then the meia built a legend aboot someone others said had been killed, or lost a leg. Since then all there is as far as evidence is a few old pre 9/11 photos of him in Jordan or Afghanistan (from the anti Soviet days?). The US needs a "face " to put on tha bad guys...Osama turned into an embarassment and he had no ties to Iraq anyway, so they needed a "Hitler" or "Tojo" to villify for the dull US citizen to keep him interested and hating.
I bet he is nothing but a CIA/MI6/MOSSAD creation. Tinfoil hat, anyone?
No transcript of Telhami/Scheuer
Real Audio
I have a question and it may be ignorant because I don't know much about Al-Qaeda. But if they are responsible for the bombings in Jordan what do they have against Jordan? Who were they trying to harm and why?
Mustapha Al-Aqqad, the Syrian director of the wildly popular "The Message" and "Umar Mukhtar," was among the victims of the attacks. His daughter died as well.
Could you provide more insight to Jordan? CBC's reporter made it seem a much more progressive nation (peace with Israel for example), and one that was largely outraged by this bombing.
I'm wondering if a strong backlash against Al Qaeda could have an impact. They blew up a wedding after all, that can't be what they had in mind for coverage.
"In Zarqawi: The New Face of Al-Qaeda, Jean-Charles Brisard, international expert on terrorism and terrorism financing, traces Zarqawi’s career from its origins to today’s headlines, detailing the unprecedented threat he poses to the world. Brisard presents a disturbing and challenging view of United States policy in the Middle East and the war on terrorism. Against the background of an intensive on-the-ground investigation, he reveals the astonishing details of inside intelligence sources, including previously unpublished official documents and photographs, and witness testimonies."
From the blogads to the very right of this post. Why do you say that "no one on the ground talks about Al Qaeda in Iraq?" There are countless references in the Arabophone and Anglophone media (and I am including unembedded accounts as well.)
Juan-
I don't follow the logic that Iraqi Baathis could be behind the Jordan bombings.
First of all, despite the warmth of the Hashemite regime towards the US, many Jordanians quietly support the Baathis. Ex-baath and Crypto-baath are all over Jordan and do business there. Why poison their own well?
Secondly, what is the strategic value of killing Jordanian civilians (the Baath are smart enough to know who the victims of the bombing would inevitably be)? It seems like a waste of resources and time for them. ...And then to pin it on Zarqawi?
I don't see it...
Speaking of that wedding party, I found it curious that one of the hotel bombers went straight through the lobby of several westerners and into the midst of a Arab wedding party to detonate the device. The corporate press I was listening to explained it away as an attack against western influence: champagne was being drunk (this seemed a very lame analysis to me). Even more curious was an interview with the son of the father of the bride(?) groom(?) afterwards: it wasn't so much what this Arab interviewee said, it was the fact that he said it in perfectly fluent English. Does this seem odd to anyone else?
I too have serious doubts about the existance of Zarqawi. The idea of him and Al-Qaeda is so convienient to use. But I'm not sure by who. Sadamists? Syrians? mossad? cia? the Brits? There are so many possible motives and so many amoral players.
I guess the biggest bomb was in a false ceiling and took out the Palestinian head of intel. and some other big wigs. Coincidence?
Who would gain from that? Maybe someday we'll know what's going on---Or not.
Could Zarqawi's gang be attacking the Palestinian Authority because they believe that the PA's Islamist rivals in Hamas will benefit?
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