The appearance of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a Web video is "an act of desperation," according to a U.S. military official. Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, at his weekly press briefing on Thursday, said the military believes "that is indeed Zarqawi in his final hours."| I'd be a lot happier if Zark's last hours had been sometime last year. Or the year before that. |
Al-Zarqawi showed up Tuesday in a Web site video defending the insurgent fight, exhorting his followers to keep the faith, urging unity among fighters, and mocking the U.S.-led effort in Iraq. Lynch said the al Qaeda in Iraq leader showed his face for the first time since March 2004. In the Tuesday video, Lynch noted, al-Zarqawi said "you've got to stop the democratic progress. Anybody that enrolls or joins the police, the army, we've got to kill."
"So he is indeed on the verge failure and the people of Iraq are on the verge of forming a national unity government."
The military official underscored progress in Iraq on both the political and military fronts. He cited the latest political developments, the filling of top posts in the new government and the designation of Shiite Muslim politicians Nuri al-Maliki as prime minister. He said al-Zarqawi and his allies have the most to lose as Iraq gets close to solidifying its government. Al-Maliki is charged with putting together a new government by filling a slew of Cabinet positions and must present the list to parliament for its approval by around May 21.
He said attacks like the string of car bombings on Monday in Baghdad are efforts by al-Zarqawi and his allies to "surge." Coalition and Iraqi troops are making inroads in their battles, Lynch maintained. There are 19,000 Iraqi troops conducting operations in Anbar province. In October 2004, there were none and March 2005 there were just nearly a few thousand operating in the vast province. This is where U.S. and Iraqi forces have been fighting militants who have entered Iraq from Syria and created bases in Euphrates River valley towns
Lynch mentioned Operation Scales of Justice, the beefed-up presence of forces in Baghdad that started in the middle of the last month. More than 1,000 insurgent suspects and more than 100 weapons caches have been found during that time and the operation has led to decreased violence in Iraq. He said troops were making progress finding and clearing improvised explosive devices because the more battle-hardened, savvy insurgents in this area are being arrested. More inexperienced personnel are attempting to make and emplace bombs.