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Officials: 'Islamic State of Iraq' Fronted by Imaginary Leader
Thursday, July 19, 2007
BAGHDAD - A terror group affiliated to Al Qaeda in Iraq is led by a
fictional character designed to mask that group's foreign influence, an Al
Qaeda in Iraq leader captured U.S. forces.
Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani was the highest-ranking
Iraqi in the Al Qaeda in Iraq leadership when he was captured July 4 in
Mosul, U.S. military spokesman Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner said.
U.S. officials say that al-Mashhadani served as the link between the
organization's command in Iraq and Usama bin Laden's inner circle, enabling
the terror group to wield considerable influence over the Iraqi
organization.
Bergner told reporters that al-Mashhadani carried messages from bin Laden,
and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, to the Egyptian-born head of Al Qaeda in
Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
"There is a clear connection between Al Qaeda in Iraq and Al Qaeda senior
leadership outside Iraq," Bergner said.
He said al-Mashhadani had told interrogators that Al Qaeda's global
leadership provides "directions, they continue to provide a focus for
operations" and "they continue to flow foreign fighters into Iraq, foreign
terrorists."
In an effort to give Al Qaeda an Iraqi face, Bergner said al-Mashhadani and
al-Masri established a front organization known as the Islamic State of
Iraq, which the general described as "a virtual organization in cyberspace."
In Web postings, the Islamic State of Iraq has identified its leader as Abu
Omar al-Baghdadi, a name indicating Iraqi origin, with the Egyptian al-Masri
as minister of war. There are no known photos of al-Baghdadi.
Bergner said al-Mashhadani had told interrogators that al-Baghdadi is a
"fictional role" created by al-Masri and that an actor with an Iraqi accent
is used for audio recordings of speeches posted on the Web.
"In his words, the Islamic State of Iraq is a front organization that masks
the foreign influence and leadership within Al Qaeda in Iraq in an attempt
to put an Iraqi face on the leadership of Al Qaeda in Iraq," Bergner said.
The relationship between bin Laden and the Al Qaeda in Iraq leadership has
long been the subject of debate. Some private analysts believe the
foreign-based leadership plays a minor role in day-to-day operations.
Analysts also have questioned U.S. military assertions that Al Qaeda in Iraq
is the main threat to U.S. forces here.
Former Pentagon analyst Anthony Cordesman quoted a background brief by U.S.
military experts in Iraq this month that said Al Qaeda in Iraq was
responsible for only 15 percent of the attacks here in the first half of
2007.
Even before al-Mashhadani's arrest, U.S. military officials have insisted
that links exist between the local Al Qaeda group and the bin Laden clique.
From time to time, officials have released captured letters indicating a
flow of policy instructions to the group's commanders in Iraq.
Although numerous armed groups operate here, Al Qaeda in Iraq's signature
attacks - high-profile truck bombings against civilian targets - were
largely responsible for unleashing the wave of sectarian slaughter last year
that transformed the character of the conflict, U.S. officials say.
"What we've learned from not just from the capture of al-Mashhadani but from
other Al Qaeda operatives is that there is a flow of strategic directions of
prioritization, of messaging and other guidance that comes from Al Qaeda
senior leadership to the Al Qaeda in Iraq leadership," Bergner said.
Al Qaeda in Iraq was proclaimed in 2004 by Jordanian-born Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi. He led a group called Tawhid and Jihad, responsible for the
beheading of several foreign hostages, whose final moments were captured on
videotapes provided to Arab television stations.
Al-Zarqawi posted Web statements declaring his allegiance to bin Laden and
began using the name of Al Qaeda in Iraq. Al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S.
airstrike in Diyala province in June 2006 and was replaced by al-Masri.
Although Al Qaeda in Iraq's rank-and-file are mostly Iraqis, the Iraqi
group's top leadership is dominated by foreigners, Bergner said. That
includes al-Masri, who joined an Al Qaeda forerunner in Egypt in the 1980s
and later helped train fighters who drove the Soviet army from Afghanistan.
Pointing to the foreign influence within Al Qaeda in Iraq could undermine
support for the organization among nationalistically minded Iraqis,
including some in insurgent groups that have broken with Al Qaeda.
Proclamation of the Islamic State is widely seen as a blunder by Al Qaeda
because it alienated independently minded insurgent groups that opposed the
religious zealots' goal of an Islamic caliphate.
Fearing they would be marginalized by Al Qaeda, Sunni sheiks and insurgent
leaders began turning against the terror movement, in some cases cooperating
with U.S. forces, notably in Anbar province.
White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters Wednesday that he didn't know
why news of al-Mashhadani's arrest was withheld for two weeks. He dismissed
a suggestion that the timing was linked to the Senate debate over
withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
Officials: 'Islamic State of Iraq' Fronted by Imaginary Leader
Thursday, July 19, 2007
BAGHDAD - A terror group affiliated to Al Qaeda in Iraq is led by a
fictional character designed to mask that group's foreign influence, an Al
Qaeda in Iraq leader captured U.S. forces.
Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani was the highest-ranking
Iraqi in the Al Qaeda in Iraq leadership when he was captured July 4 in
Mosul, U.S. military spokesman Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner said.
U.S. officials say that al-Mashhadani served as the link between the
organization's command in Iraq and Usama bin Laden's inner circle, enabling
the terror group to wield considerable influence over the Iraqi
organization.
Bergner told reporters that al-Mashhadani carried messages from bin Laden,
and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, to the Egyptian-born head of Al Qaeda in
Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
"There is a clear connection between Al Qaeda in Iraq and Al Qaeda senior
leadership outside Iraq," Bergner said.
He said al-Mashhadani had told interrogators that Al Qaeda's global
leadership provides "directions, they continue to provide a focus for
operations" and "they continue to flow foreign fighters into Iraq, foreign
terrorists."
In an effort to give Al Qaeda an Iraqi face, Bergner said al-Mashhadani and
al-Masri established a front organization known as the Islamic State of
Iraq, which the general described as "a virtual organization in cyberspace."
In Web postings, the Islamic State of Iraq has identified its leader as Abu
Omar al-Baghdadi, a name indicating Iraqi origin, with the Egyptian al-Masri
as minister of war. There are no known photos of al-Baghdadi.
Bergner said al-Mashhadani had told interrogators that al-Baghdadi is a
"fictional role" created by al-Masri and that an actor with an Iraqi accent
is used for audio recordings of speeches posted on the Web.
"In his words, the Islamic State of Iraq is a front organization that masks
the foreign influence and leadership within Al Qaeda in Iraq in an attempt
to put an Iraqi face on the leadership of Al Qaeda in Iraq," Bergner said.
The relationship between bin Laden and the Al Qaeda in Iraq leadership has
long been the subject of debate. Some private analysts believe the
foreign-based leadership plays a minor role in day-to-day operations.
Analysts also have questioned U.S. military assertions that Al Qaeda in Iraq
is the main threat to U.S. forces here.
Former Pentagon analyst Anthony Cordesman quoted a background brief by U.S.
military experts in Iraq this month that said Al Qaeda in Iraq was
responsible for only 15 percent of the attacks here in the first half of
2007.
Even before al-Mashhadani's arrest, U.S. military officials have insisted
that links exist between the local Al Qaeda group and the bin Laden clique.
From time to time, officials have released captured letters indicating a
flow of policy instructions to the group's commanders in Iraq.
Although numerous armed groups operate here, Al Qaeda in Iraq's signature
attacks - high-profile truck bombings against civilian targets - were
largely responsible for unleashing the wave of sectarian slaughter last year
that transformed the character of the conflict, U.S. officials say.
"What we've learned from not just from the capture of al-Mashhadani but from
other Al Qaeda operatives is that there is a flow of strategic directions of
prioritization, of messaging and other guidance that comes from Al Qaeda
senior leadership to the Al Qaeda in Iraq leadership," Bergner said.
Al Qaeda in Iraq was proclaimed in 2004 by Jordanian-born Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi. He led a group called Tawhid and Jihad, responsible for the
beheading of several foreign hostages, whose final moments were captured on
videotapes provided to Arab television stations.
Al-Zarqawi posted Web statements declaring his allegiance to bin Laden and
began using the name of Al Qaeda in Iraq. Al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S.
airstrike in Diyala province in June 2006 and was replaced by al-Masri.
Although Al Qaeda in Iraq's rank-and-file are mostly Iraqis, the Iraqi
group's top leadership is dominated by foreigners, Bergner said. That
includes al-Masri, who joined an Al Qaeda forerunner in Egypt in the 1980s
and later helped train fighters who drove the Soviet army from Afghanistan.
Pointing to the foreign influence within Al Qaeda in Iraq could undermine
support for the organization among nationalistically minded Iraqis,
including some in insurgent groups that have broken with Al Qaeda.
Proclamation of the Islamic State is widely seen as a blunder by Al Qaeda
because it alienated independently minded insurgent groups that opposed the
religious zealots' goal of an Islamic caliphate.
Fearing they would be marginalized by Al Qaeda, Sunni sheiks and insurgent
leaders began turning against the terror movement, in some cases cooperating
with U.S. forces, notably in Anbar province.
White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters Wednesday that he didn't know
why news of al-Mashhadani's arrest was withheld for two weeks. He dismissed
a suggestion that the timing was linked to the Senate debate over
withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
