Zarqawi PSYOP program: Difference between revisions

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	The '''Zarqawi PSYOP program''' refers to a US ] program, or propaganda campaign, implemented as part of the ], exaggerating the importance of ] in ] and the ].

	The program was primarily aimed at, but not limited to, the "Iraqi and Arab media" along with the "U.S. Home Audience," which was part of a "broader propaganda campaign." The article goes on to explain: ''That slide, created by Casey's subordinates, does not specifically state that U.S. citizens were being targeted by the effort, but other sections of the briefings indicate that there were direct military efforts to use the U.S. media to affect views of the war.'' Such efforts include selective leaking of factual information to reporters. <ref name="WaPo">, The Washington Post, 10 April 2006</ref>
	<ref name="Salon"> Ignoring U.S. intelligence, Bush inflated Zarqawi, then made a pointless trip to Iraq to pose as a heroic dragon slayer. It doesn't work anymore, By Sidney Blumenthal, ], June 15, 2006</ref><ref name="CounterPunch1"> by Jennifer van Bergen, ], June 12, 2006</ref><ref name="Global_Research"> by Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, June 09, 2006,</ref><ref name="CounterPunch2">, Patrick Cockburn, Counterpunch, June 9, 2006</ref><ref name="GRca"> by Michel Chossudovsky, ], April 18, 2006</ref><ref name="RollingStone"> by Tim Dickinson, ], April 11, 2006</ref><ref name="Daily_Kos"> by DelicateMonster, ], June 10, 2006 </ref>

	One of the goals was to set up local citizens against him by portraying him as a foreigner and key actor in the insurgency. <ref name="WaPo"/> However, ] reported that, according to a "military source," this campaign ultimately revolved around "domestic political reasons."<ref name="Salon"/>


	==Rise to power==
	Prior to the involvement of Zarqawi in the Iraqi insurgency, he was jailed in Jordan for attempting to overthrow the government. He was arrested while in possession of explosives and given a 5 year sentence. Upon release from the Jordanian prison in 1999, Zarqawi's involvement in an attempt to blow up the Radisson SAS hotel in Jordan was exposed and he fled the country. According to court testimony by Zarqwai followers he was able to secure funds from al-Qaeda to setup a training camp near Herat. <ref name="WPBio">{{cite news \| title=Al-Zarqawi's Biography \| date=], ] \| publisher=] \| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/08/AR2006060800299.html?nav=rss_world/africa }}</ref>

	Several incidents turned him from an unknown and unimportant individual into the well-known voice of Al Qaeda in Iraq.<ref name="CounterPunch2"/><ref> By ], ], June 30, 2006</ref> Following the allegation he was a link between ] and ] (used as ]<ref name="GRca2"> by Michel Chossudovsky, GlobalResearch, May 15, 2006</ref>), by ] before the ] in 2003, he became the embodiment of resistance against the US in the Muslim world. Another stimulus for his popularity was the ] by the Bush administration. After the capture of Saddam Hussein the Bush administration accused him of being behind the continuing mishaps in Iraq, or, as Patrick Cockburn commented in an editorial for Counterpunch Newsletter:
	:''"No sooner had Saddam Hussein been captured than the US spokesmen began to mention al-Zarqawi's name in every sentence."''<ref name="CounterPunch2"/>

	In the wake of his assasination, which had erroneously been reported several times before,<ref> By Kurt Nimmo, Kurtnimmo.com, June 8, 2006</ref> the US produced a video showing him to be the opposite of what the media previously advocated him to be. ] from the ] made this observation:
	:''The video portrays "Terror Mastermind" Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi acting in a "foolish" and "incompetent" fashion.''<ref name="GRca2"/>
	The article suggests that this might also be part of "successful propaganda." It continues with:
	:''What is rarely mentioned is that this outside enemy Al Qaeda is a CIA "intelligence asset", used in covert operations.''



	==Quotes==
	The Washington post cites Col. Derek Harvey who said at a meeting by the Army in ]:
	:''"Our own focus on Zarqawi has enlarged his caricature, if you will - made him more important than he really is, in some ways."''<ref name="WaPo"/><ref name="RollingStone"/>

	Citing an internal memo by Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the senior commander in charge, the Washington Post states:
	:''"The Zarqawi PSYOP program is the most successful information campaign to date."''<ref name="WaPo"/><ref name="RollingStone"/>

	According to the same article:
	:''A goal of the campaign was to drive a wedge into the insurgency by emphasizing Zarqawi's terrorist acts and foreign origin, said officers familiar with the program.''<ref name="WaPo"/><ref name="RollingStone"/>

	] in an editorial for the ] commented:
	:''The internal military documents leaked to Washington Post confirm that the Pentagon is involved in an ongoing propaganda campaign which seeks to provide a face to the enemy. The purpose is to portray the enemy as a terrorist, to mislead public opinion.''<ref name="GRca"/>
	and another quote states:
	:''"Without Zarqawi and bin Laden, the "war on terrorism" would loose its ]. The main ] is to wage a " war on terrorism."'' <ref name="GRca"/>

	==See also==
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	{{War on Terrorism}}

	==References==
	<references/>

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Latest revision as of 17:37, 11 March 2007

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Abu Musab al-Zarqawi