William Jockusch - 08 May 2008 08:10 PM
The New York Times consistently describes Al Qaeda in Iraq as “homegrown”. However, the NYT has never to my knowledge given any evidence for this assertion. It also ignores substantial evidence to the contrary. I have been blogging about this. For more detail, see my blog here.
The New York Times doesn’t give evidence for this “assertion” (your word) for the same reason that it doesn’t cite evidence that the Sun rises in the East and sets in the West, or that George W. Bush is the present holder of the office of the President of the United States. NO publication, including the New York Times, cites evidence for commonly known facts.
YOU state that there is substantial evidence to the contrary, but I took the effort to review your entire blog, and found solid evidence curiously absent. Indeed, the strongest “evidence” you offer is a 2003 Newsweek article concerning an alleged meeting in which bin-Laden purportedly announced plans to divert funds from the Taliban to Iraq.
First, for one who claims to be concerned about fair reporting, you pointed left out one of the article’s key findings: “Al Qaeda doesn’t have substantial resources to divert to Iraq. ‘There just doesn’t seem to be evidence of that,’ says a U.S. intel official.”
Second, neither the Newsweek article, nor any of the facts presented in your blog even suggest, much less prove, that bin-Laden’s al Qaeda organized the al Qaeda in Iraq (or more formally, Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn, or “Organization of Jihad’s Base in the Country of the Two Rivers").
To rational minds, there is no question that al Qaeda in Iraq is homegrown. It was led by Musab al-Zarqawi until his death in 2006. In October 2004, Zarqawi announced allegiance to bin Laden’s al Qaeda. At NO time has AOI announced subservience to, or ownership by, bin-Laden’s organization.
Finally, if you don’t believe me or the New York Times, the source of the FACT (or as you call it, “assertion") that al Qaeda in Iraq is homegrown is none other than the Bush Administration intelligence agencies and State Department! Here are two exhaustive reports, both CLEARLY distinguishing the AQI (al Qaeda in Iraq) from the AQ (bin Laden’s al Qaeda):
1> “Middle East and North Africa Overview”, Country Reports on Terrorism, U.S. State Department,
28 April 2006 http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2005/64344.htm
2> “Foreign Terrorist Organizations”, Country Reports on Terrorism, U.S. State Department, 28 April
2006 http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2005/65275.htm
The government’s conclusions have not changed since then, the State Department continues to distinguish the two distinct terrorist organizations. See the just released (on April 30, 2008) State Department Country Reports on Terrorism at http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2007/103708.htm
