Death of Zarqawi

The death of Abu Musab Al Zarqawi may well be a blow to Al Qaeda but it is unlikely to bring peace, stability or democracy to Iraq any time soon. In fact, the number of attacks against the US-led occupying forces may well rise, in retaliation for his death. For some, the Jordanian may have been a heroic figure of sorts battling the US army and its allies in Iraq, but the truth of the matter is that he was a ruthless killer who tried to exploit Iraq's sectarian divide to incite a civil war by targeting Shias. A statement believed to be from Taliban leader Mullah Omar mourned Zarqawi's "martyrdom" saying that his death would not weaken the "struggle against the crusaders" and that "every young man in Iraq could become a Zarqawi". This however ignores the fact that he personally took part in numerous incidents of kidnapping and murder of unarmed civilians and that some of his victims were decapitated. Clearly, those who believe in an extremist and hardline interpretation of Islam seem to see nothing wrong with targeting innocent civilians and do not distinguish between military soldiers involved in a war and a non-military population. Though both sides of the ideological divide in the Muslim world may share the same antagonism and view of America's imperialist and hegemonic policies and may be able to see through its double standards, as long as the extremists use violence and target innocent civilians they will not win any of the moderates/progressives of their faith to their side.

Then the question becomes: what causes the Zarqawis of this world to be born? The stock answer will be: US policies on the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq – the Islamic world in general – and specifically Iraq's invasion. Zarqawi joined Al Qaeda only after the US invaded Iraq. But is that the whole story? No one can deny the double standards that the US applies in the case of Israel or the fact that America always does what it wants, regardless of another country's sovereignty. But can one also deny the fact that most countries of the Muslim world are non-democratic and are mostly governed by dictators that range from the autocratic to the mildly benevolent? Most of these countries are ruled by a cabal of oligarchs or monarchs that allow limited democratic rights to their citizens and members of the extended ruling family serve in key positions in government and commerce. Political dissent is usually not tolerated, the press is tightly controlled and the government's secret agencies (which do not shy away from using ruthless tactics) are used to keep track of dissidents. And not all of them are rich like Saudi Arabia or Qatar or the UAE. No wonder then, a whole generation has grown believing that it is disenfranchised, marginalised and increasingly becoming impoverished.

If America is indeed such a champion of peace and democracy and wants to bring these good things to the Middle East, it should leave Iraq as soon as it can and impress upon its various allies in the region to undertake serious political and social reforms. It is that or what Mullah Omar is predicting will come true and there will be many more Zarqawis.