CAIRO, Egypt – The U.S. military has only seen “loss, disaster and misfortune” in Iraq, al-Qaida’s No. 2 said, in a video message that a U.S. official deemed part of a propaganda campaign to demonstrate the terror network’s relevancy.
The video by Ayman al-Zawahri, posted on an Islamic militant Web forum Saturday, came within the same week as an audiotape by Osama bin Laden and a video by the head of al-Qaida’s branch in Iraq — a volley of messages by the group’s most prominent figures.
Al-Zawahri, an Egyptian militant believed to be hiding in Afghanistan or Pakistan, also denounced the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq as “traitors” and called on Muslims to rise up to “confront them.”
He said that U.S. and British forces in Iraq had bogged down in Iraq and “have achieved nothing but loss, disaster and misfortune.”
Al-Qaida in Iraq “alone has carried out 800 martyrdom operations (suicide attacks) in three years, besides the sacrifices of the other mujahedeen, and this is what has broken the back of American in Iraq,” al-Zawahri said.
Clearly, Al-Qaeda’s #2 isn’t above posturing. I don’t want to appear to minimize or discount in any way the losses of the soldiers or their families that have been suffered as a result of the carnage in Iraq. But whether our army has broken a fingernail or broken a finger there remains to be seen.
American generals aren’t above exaggerating, either. I seem to recall General Vines overstating the weakness of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, too. I’ve heard that truth is the first casualty of war and this one seems to be no exception. I wonder, however, which pronouncement will appear more absurd 50 years hence. Clearly, one of them will.
UPDATE: Counterterrorism Blog has an extensive link round-up.
ANOTHER UPDATE: You know, I’d really like to see the transcript of the entire tape. I find the snippet that everyone’s quoting (the “800 martyrdom operations†cited above) curious. Have you ever heard the old joke about a guy describing a fight he was in?
“First, I caught him in the knee with my groin. Then I clipped him on the fist with my chin. Then I caught him on the other first with my eye…â€
I suppose if you’re getting the snot kicked out of you you’ve got to find your victories whereever you can but recounting you losses doesn’t sound too victorious, does it? Okay, so they’ve lost 800 of theirs in suicide attacks and more than 6,000 Iraqis have been killed in those attacks, mostly Muslims. Is that a resounding victory for Islam?
Maybe al Qaeda hired Baghdad Bob as their PR consultant.
I’ve heard that truth is the first casualty of war and this one seems to be no exception. I wonder, however, which pronouncement will appear more absurd 50 years hence. Clearly, one of them will.
It might come out a tie. Or both so absurd the difference is hard to figure.
It looks to me like Vines is mostly right that al Qaeda is very weak in iraq. And Zawahiri is mostly right that we’re bogged down there and haven’t accomplished much of anything, but mostly not because of anything his people have done.